Volvo Ocean race-Life at the Extreme

I have visited beaches many times in my life, however, when I was told that all journalists would be taken to the middle of the ocean to see sailors sailing off to Singapore, via the Lankan Island, along with their 8 yachts competing not just with one another but also with mother nature, I became excited and nervous at the same time. Excited, because I have never travelled to the middle of the ocean and nervous because not being a strong swimmer, absurd thoughts crossed my mind like what if I fell down from the yacht or something!

However, the anticipation to meet these sailors grew stronger in me when I learnt that these sailors would be spending over nine months away from their friends and family. I really wanted to meet these sailors ask them how it felt when they prepared to leave their loved ones for so long?

On the afternoon of 12th of December, I along with seven other journalist friends arrived at the Kochi port to meet the sailors who were gearing up to leave the following day for their next destination. After lunch I had brief chat with some of the skippers and I must admit their perseverance and passion for the sea bowled me over. Also it was really great to experience the raw thrill of their neck-to-neck battle on the race course; the sailors were feeling immense pressure to prove that they could overcome all extreme conditions including really bad weather!

Upon asking them about their experiences on the voyage, one skipper told me, "Forget the myths about fiery infernos and scorching eternal damnation, you can see what hell is really like right here on this earth! " I realised that these guys go into battle, whatever the odds, and when they are not risking their lives they are equally happy being the real workhorses of their boats.

Talking to Torben Grael, the skipper of Ericsson Racing team and a five-time Olympics medalist, I asked him about the preparation he underwent for this race; Grael paused for a moment before he replied "The project is all you dream about when it comes to going around the world with the Volvo Ocean Race."Greal also told me that it took him more than six months to prepare for his dream project and this fact was quite visible in the passion that shone in his eyes while he talked about this project.

As the day came to an end we boarded back to the hotel, I couldn't wait to go to the port the following day when Kochi was to bid adieu to these eight magnificent yachts. The following morning at 9.30 we were again back to the port Kochi and I got to see an equally exuberant crowd gathered on the pier to cheer the sailors off the dock. The crowd showed incredible enthusiasm, though unfamiliar with the race and history of the race. As the teams paraded one by one along the BTP Jetty and down to the pontoon, before boarding the yacht, the people pressed deep into the passage waving arms and cheering with hoarse voices, a few of them even mobbed the crew while taking their pictures.

I along with my journalist friends boarded another yacht where we were told that we would be sailed to the starting point around 4 nautical miles from the shore where the ships would be sailing at around 3.30 pm to their next destination. We reached the starting point at about 2 pm and were waiting for the Yachts to make their entry, at about 3 in the afternoon, I finally saw them lining up one after another being set to venture out for their next destination. It was a spectacular show for the lensemen when the eight yachts lined up at the starting point - an imaginary line between INS Tharangini and Number 3 buoy. The teams, which lined up together only for a few minutes, started off from the line at 3.30 pm after a gunshot. The yachts started sailing to the next stopover in Singapore which is about 1950 nautical miles away.

As I watched the yachts sail away from me, I thought about the fantastic adventurous journey that lay ahead of them. I still wonder in awe how these amazing sailors continue to follow their dreams, even when they have to leave their family and friends for such long time periods. I salute these heroes, may their glory become as eternal as their undying passion for the sea!