Mon, 17 Feb 2003
A shore team perspective on the Around Alone Race:
The Around Alone race concludes leg 3 in Tauranga, New Zealand. We were keen to see the yachts and planned to sail south to see them arrive. We were particularly interested in Ocean Planet, the Open 60 designed by the same Naval Architect, Tom Wylie, who drew up our boat 28 years ago. Ocean Planet's unusual design features made it even more intriguing, with its unstayed carbon fibre rotating mast, pusher vang, and extremely narrow foam core wood hull.
We mentioned our interest to a couple of people who happened to know Ocean Planet's skipper, Bruce Schwab, a rigger from San Franscisco and they encouraged us to help him since he has no large sponsors and limited resources with which to prepare for the next leg of the race. Soon we were receiving emails from Bruce and the project team about repairs and upgrades planned for the Tauranga stopover. Our familiarity with Tauranga where we had hauled last year proved to be handy as well as the fact that we knew many people in the vicinity.
We left Auckland with 10 days to get 150 miles south to Tauranga before most Around Alone racers were expected to arrive. We enjoyed a leisurely 2 days near Auckland, catching up with friends, hiking to the top of the 800 year old volcano (Rangitoto) that forms the backdrop for America's Cup racing, and digging for clams for a fresh shellfish dinner. We had high hopes for gradually cruising our way south, but those 2 days were all we were able to enjoy. After losing several days to gale force winds and driving rains, we had run out of extra play days and could wait no more. Bruce Schwab had estimated his arrival and we were determined to arrive at the start of his stopover to help before the rest of his volunteer shore crew was scheduled to arrive. As we altered our course to navigate around the Coromandel peninsula that blocks a direct path between Auckland and Tauranga the wind shifted in tune with our course to be perpetually strong on the nose and effectively doubled the distance. While a forecast eventually called for light headwinds, encouraging us to make an overnight run for Tauranga, instead the wind built creating steep seas to make for one of our more unpleasant passages. Tiscali, the Italian competitor in the open 60 class, seeking shelter from the waves passed closely enough for us to wave and get some good photos and encouraged us on through the night. We held him off briefly while we were both pinching to navigate between rocky islets (causing him to tack unintentionally as he back winded his sails). Once he cracked off, he quickly left us in his wake.
Within 15 hours of our arrival, a large entourage from Tauranga Yacht Club escorted Ocean Planet to the docks where American cruisers waited to welcome him. We were relieved that we'd made it in time. After touring the boat and chatting with Bruce, we set to stripping the boat and removing sails, luff ropes and runners and canvas work for repair and moved items to an alternate location so there'd be room to work. We quickly identified someone who might be able to help resolve some computer issues, a critically important task. No ocean and especially the southern ocean is kind to laptop computers which have become vital for accessing navigation and weather information and for communicating. Then with the help of a small group of recruits, we then removed the boom and the vang struts. All the while we answered questions from the public about the boat as they came to see the boats that had arrived. Most of the Open 50 class was still nearly a week in coming and we had a good head start on repairs and upgrades for the layover.
Ocean Planet was scheduled to haul out of the water but the 14 foot draft was slightly too deep for slack high water in front of the travel lift, so we had to manually jack up the keel over a meter with 4 borrowed and somewhat broken hydraulic jacks. The travelift wasn't strong enough to pull the mast, so we had to call a crane to rush over to pull it out of the boat before the tide changed. Bruce, a rigger by trade, was amazing to watch as he free climbed the stayless mast (without even the usual fittings to grab onto) with the dexterity of a monkey to move the hauling strap higher on the mast. Once the mast was pulled, the travelift was just able to lift the boat to clear the keel. The main issues to address during the haul out were some looseness in the keel and the mast butt, repairing a bent vang strut, as well as rebuilding the starboard water ballast tank that had exploded on the leg. But, given an energetic core of volunteers and the high quality of marine workmanship available for the price in New Zealand, tackling a bit more was tempting.
Compared to the other Open 60s and Open 50s, which are reminiscent of an aircraft carrier at 18-20 feet of beam, Ocean Planet is extremely narrow, measuring only 12.5 feet wide (only 2 feet wider than our boat at twice the length!). The design makes Ocean Planet faster upwind in waves but its finer entry and low freeboard bury the bow into waves going downwind, making it difficult for Bruce to push the boat hard in conditions that are typical in this race. Bruce immediately started talking about changing the bow to add buoyancy and to address another concern, which was that his crash box (required on all Around Alone entries in case they hit something at the high speeds they travel) was not external and in a collision might lead to extensive damage aft of the bow. To our surprise, soon after the boat hauled, two guys started cutting off the bow! With only a 3 week layover, it was a drastic measure.
A crew of 1-3 professionals worked steadily with foam to build up the layers for the new bow shape. They began by mounting crosscut foam perpendicular to the hull to simulate the general desired shape (like a set of foam frames) and then filled the area between them with foam mounted parallel to the hull and then gradually carved and shaped to simulate the desired form. Then they fared in the hollows with epoxy, fiber glassed for strength and then long boarded to smooth it out. It was fascinating to see the new shape take form and impressive how quickly. Ocean Planet now has a plumb bow and a lower forefoot, more like the other Open 60s. We felt better about it when Robin Knox-Johnston (famous for being first to circle the world non-stop in 1968 and the Around Alone race organizer) commented that he thought the move made sense on one of his regular trips through the yard.
In addition to rebuilding the bow and starboard water ballast tank and repairing the vang struts, adding layers of fiberglass to expand the keel wedges and applying a thin layer of epoxy to tighten the fit of the mast into the mast butt, we tackled a number of other items, such as: shaping an unfinished emergency rudder to fit into its holder; stripping, sanding and clear coating the mast and boom; rebedding the bow sprit seal; checking solar panels and resealing them; rewiring the aft switch panel; applying sponsor graphics for equipment suppliers; fiber glassing a crack around the keel housing; sanding and painting areas on the bottom, rudder and keel; removing and replacing copper ground strapping; plus a number of smaller items to prevent problems like injury and chafe such as cutting off and smoothing long bolts and other sharp areas and adding leather sleeves to protect the carbon fiber vang struts. In this race, preventing problems can mean the difference between finishing successfully and a fatal breakdown in the cold southern ocean. And as it is a race of more than just attrition, each competitor is looking for ways to extract additional speed out of the boat.
While it often struck us as insane that we were in the yard working on someone else's boat while our own boat needs continual TLC, we found it exciting to be involved at such a level. The camaraderie amongst the competitors and shore teams was notable. We constantly borrowed tools from other shore teams and each dropped our tasks to help, as additional hands were needed on various boats particularly during haul out and launching. Teams traded equipment they no longer needed freely with other teams. The skippers were extremely accessible, particularly those without sponsors, while they were busy preparing their own boats for the next leg of the race. We got to study and see inside many of the boats and met lots of interesting people. Many on the shore teams were also very accomplished sailors. The mainsheet grinder from the America's Cup One World team helped prepare the Japanese competitor in the Open 50 class. And the entire Japanese cruising community currently located in New Zealand convened in Tauranga to participate.
Generally speaking, Tauranga gave a very warm welcome and hosted a number of impressive events for the Around Alone competitors and shore crew, as well as the media. The Tauranga Bridge Marina Travelift yard staff was extremely helpful to work with and a very organized host committee helped coordinate logistics and support in any way they could, offering coupons and discounts for goods and services around town so skippers could enjoy their short respite and teams could get their preparations completed. We did our best to spoil Bruce and some of the shore crew with a series of cocktail/dinner parties on various boats with many of our cruising friends: Velella, Elakha, Roxanne, Aventyr and Nepenthe. Bruce, a talented musician, enjoyed jamming on his guitar along with Sue and Brian on Nepenthe and performing at several of the Around Alone events, which brought in helpful donations. Boy can he play!
It was amusing to hear the skippers each talking about how crazy the other skippers were. Comments like: Bruce Schwab was nuts for cutting off and rebuilding his bow; Bernard Stamm, the winner of the leg in the Open 60, pushed his boat so hard that he barely made it in one piece; and jokes about how Tim Kent on the U.S. Open 50 Everest Horizontal, was smoking himself out of his own boat every time he ran his engine and arrived looking like a chimney sweep; Thierry Dubois, the highly experienced French competitor on a proven boat was short tempered because he wasn't winning; Simone Bianchetti, skipper of the Italian Open 60 entry Tiscali, was hell bent on having a motorcycle to ride during the layover and looked like he was straight out of a Harley ad, with tattoos along both arms. Brad Van Liew (a trained pilot) got so into gliding at the tiny Tauranga airport that he took a marathon of lessons to qualify to fly solo in a single day; And Emma Richards, the 27 year old Brit and only female, undoubtedly the media and possibly the event darling, had not a soul cast a doubt on her sanity. While the skippers good-naturedly kid one another, their affection and respect for one another is obvious.
All the skippers without sponsorship have placed themselves into a financial tight jacket, but even the sponsored skippers find that sponsorship doesn't always cover everything that it takes to do a race like this, especially a race with so many stopovers. >From what we've learned, a race with multiple legs tends to cost more than the Vendee Globe non-stop around the world race, which Bruce initially envisioned for his Ocean Planet campaign, because the race lasts for a longer time period, the skippers tend to push the boats harder since they can make repairs ashore following a difficult leg, and a shore crew and parts for repairs and upgrades needs to be located (and often relocated) at the stopover location. Ocean Planet wasn't quite ready for the last Vendee Globe, but could not await the next race 4 years hence and the Around Alone offered an excellent opportunity. For those like Brad Van Liew, of Tommy Hilfiger, who raced the previous Around Alone unsponsored, the experience and preparation of the boat has been invaluable for an extremely successful second attempt.
We found it interesting that 3 or 4 competitors lost their starboard navigation lights and that a couple of boats, after battling the southern ocean without incident, were damaged entering Tauranga harbor where there is a wicked current and shallows: Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America hit the dock, Everest Horizontal hit the bottom and tweaked the keel. We worked steadily in the yard, but enjoyed wandering around the yard and marina to see the other Around Alone boats as their work progressed as well as visit our cruiser friends in the vicinity.
We were about ready to drop from exhaustion about the time the relief shore crew arrived after working non-stop for 12 days. We worked alongside them for another couple days (for a total 14 day stretch non-stop), then left Bruce in good hands, as we had visitors coming and we needed to get Velella back to Auckland. We had a pleasant cruise back north, stopping along the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula in several remote bays and off lying islands, our arrival successfully timed to return to Tauranga by car just before the start. With barely a moment to spare, we made it back to Auckland late on Friday, and left for Tauranga by 8 the next morning. We rushed down to help in the last minute frenzy to prepare Ocean Planet for the start and found our fellow shore crew team members and Bruce relatively calm and the boat relatively ready.
We later found out what work we missed: re-rigging mast and boom as well as the newly beefed up vang struts; putting sails into position (hoisting main with halyard over onto the boom), rehanging and filling the pouches that hold gear at hand such as lines, galley items, emergency items, navigational items; and inventorying and placing underway repair kits, paper charts and emergency gear in immediately accessible locations
The day before the race start, on the drive down, we stopped for food fixings along the way, and immediately prepared food for the rest of the crew that had been working since early morning. We then joined making the final preparations, including storing provisions, relashing the lifelines and a making a few final touches on the rigging. We then went out for a test sail in the harbor to make sure we had put everything back together right. Getting off the dock and weaving our way around the other Around Alone boats in a ripping current made us a little anxious that we'd screw up something major with little time to make repairs but we did it without incident. Hoisting the humongous main was quite a chore, particularly as doing so bends the mast as the sail goes up. We did a few tacks and jibes in the harbor. Garth and I were amazed at how much the mast moved around as we maneuvered. With all of the shore crew busy setting up the boat on each tack, we wondered how Bruce sailed so effectively alone, but figured it was probably because we were so much less familiar with the subtleties of the boat than he is. Few outstanding issues meant most of us could wander over to the Tommy Hilfiger sponsored cocktail party before venturing out for a crew dinner. A few last minute items caused some concern but adaptations sorted these out somewhat.
After a short night's sleep, we got all put on our crew shirts and mostly milled around the boat and the docks, gathering well wishes for Bruce's halfway box, wishing other competitors well, taking photos, watching the interviews and saying our goodbyes. The Tiscali skipper had his face painted in the traditional Maori style and Maori warriors blessed the boats with a traditional haka dance. During a Haka dance to bless the Kiwi yacht Hexagon, a photographer went into the water in a controversial incident in which he lost a significant amount of camera equipment. (Apparently he was quickly able to get hold of another camera and still capture the start.)
One by one, the competitors were towed out the harbor, beginning with the 40 and 50 foot yachts in class 2. (The race requires the gear shifter be sealed so that it cannot be shifted into forward without breaking the seal. Apparently it's OK to shift into reverse during the race.) When they announced that it was Bruce's turn, we said our goodbyes and let off the dock lines and Wendy hopped into an inflatable for a ride out to the towboat along with most of the shore crew. Garth was among the 5 people allowed on the boat prior to the start to help coordinate the towing and raise the sails. Through a miscommunication, the towline was let off a little too soon and that made getting the huge main a bear to get up since the sail suddenly was under load. It made us acutely aware of the forces Bruce faces each time he unreefs.
Just before noon, the last few shore crew and sponsors were taken off each of the boats and delivered to the towboats. There were thousands of spectators lining the shores of Mount Manganui and out on their boats, churning up the water. At noon the boats lined up for the start and they were off. This leg to Salvador, Brazil is 8000 miles, and is expected to take them about 6 weeks. We followed along with the fleet for quite sometime and it was hard not to feel a little sad as we turned around to leave Bruce on his own. He seemed in his element, as did all the other skippers. We keep stopping to think of him (along with the rest of the fleet) still out there after it gets dark heading towards the icebergs and growlers of the Southern Ocean as the rest of us settle in for a full night's rest.
We continue to follow the race on the Around Alone Web site (www.aroundalone.com). To see the photos we took as we worked on Ocean Planet, visit:
Now back in Auckland, we return our attention to the America's Cup. To see our photos of the Louis Vuitton and America's Cup action, visit:
All our photos are at:
http://photos.yahoo.com/atomicsalsa
Cheers,
Wendy Hinman and Garth Wilcox
S/V Velella (Wylie 31)