Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is the first man to sail solo, non-stop around the world. In April 2009 he celebrated the 40th anniversary of his return to Falmouth in Suhaili, 312 days after setting sail on a voyage no one else had ever accomplished. In 2007 he completed his second solo circumnavigation as a competitor in the VELUX 5 OCEANS race. Sir Robin is the founder and Chairman of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and is an inspirational figurehead to those who undertake this challenge of a lifetime.
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is the first man to sail solo, non-stop around the world
At the Singapore crew brief in Keppel Bay Marina, we briefed the crew on two things. Firstly, to be prepared for the toughest conditions of the race so far and secondly, the scale of the welcome they could expect from our friends in Qingdao.
My words were proved right on both counts. While this race probably had the easiest passage compared to the Clipper 05-06 and 07-08 Races, it was still a hard one. The heat and light winds stayed with the fleet for longer than expected but as we predicted, off the coast of Taiwan things got a bit more interesting.
Winds were coming down from the north blowing at strengths up to 50 knots. With the wind came freezing cold temperatures and for the crew who had been sailing in the tropics for the past four months, it would have come as a rude shock. There were also currents to contend with and although they pushed the boats in the right direction, the wind over a counter flow of water delivers very short, sharp, steep waves. The final twist is the edge of the continental shelf towards the north of Taiwan and this too helps to deliver Bay of Biscay style seas.
When the Volvo Race set out to do this leg last year, the elements I have just described were the winners – just four boats made it to Qingdao. It makes me immensely proud of our crews who had to deal with the exact same conditions. We see how taxi drivers, farmers, students, CEOs, housewives and doctors can be trained to become excellent sailors. Before their training, 40 percent of them had never been on a boat before, but here they are in China, having taken on and beaten conditions that were incredibly testing.
For the crew of Team Finland, unfortunately they got to experience what happens when things go wrong. From their accounts, it is clear that a huge wave, bigger than anything they had previously experienced, lifted the boat high out of the water. But unlike the long rolling swells one finds in the open ocean, this wave had no back to it. It meant that the 30-tonne hull simply went in to freefall as the sea no longer supported the yacht and the impact was significant. The force it placed on the rig was clearly high and brought the mast down.
As I have said in previous blogs, the one given in ocean racing is that challenges will always happen. It is how one responds to those challenges that marks the strength of a team. For the Finnish crew, they rose to the occasion magnificently and all have paid warm tribute to the calm and professionalism of their skipper. I would not have expected anything less from Rob McInally but it is clear that his team are from the same mould. There was no drama as they set about dealing with the incident and no complaint as they set up a jury rig and completed the final part of the journey motor sailing.
When they arrived, it was great to see the boat rigged as one would expect for a port entry. The battle flags were flying, the podium pennants were strung on the temporary forestay and it was a proud arrival that spoke volumes about the morale on board. Their welcome was identical to the ones given to the other eight boats and the spectacle that Qingdao delivers just gets better and better each year. We have made many friends in the city and it’s great to have eleven Chinese crew sailing with us on the 09-10 race. With Qingdao already confirmed as a stop in the 11-12 race, I am confident that even more local sailors will be inspired to take up the challenge next time round and help introduce ocean sailing to more Chinese people.
The next race will be a fascinating one. It is the longest in the history of any of the Clipper Races and to complete the Pacific in one long five week bite is a major challenge. When the crews arrive in San Francisco, they will have sailed for a longer distance than 99.9% of all boat owners and it’s a magnificent ocean to have in your log book. The race can be divided in to several stages, the first of which will be getting down to the southern tip of Japan. The fleet will still be in shallow and busy waters and the cold will be intense – on the last two races, snow has been an added element to contend with.
From Japan, the fleet will be watching out for the Kuroshio Current which snakes north along the eastern seaboard of Japan. If winds come from the north, it too can kick up some pretty fierce seas and is not a wise place to hang about in. After a couple of months away from the big oceans, the crews will relish being released in to the Pacific proper and get back in to classic surfing conditions on the big swells. The international dateline will be another significant milestone as will passing the Hawaiian chain of islands almost 1,000 miles to the south.
It’s a long time for crews to live in the conditions on board a racing yacht and individuals need to manage themselves well in order to ensure the team dynamic remains strong, focussed and united. Anyone can be competitive for an afternoon racing round the cans but to keep that focus for up to five weeks delivers a sporting challenge like no other.
But as I often say, why do something if it is easy? A challenge needs to be tough if there is to be satisfaction in the achievement.