Dear readers,
The time of waiting is over. The Ocean Race is underway - and how!
There it is again, the protagonists' infectious passion for their sea marathon. A great competition at sea that captivates us. More and more every day. A glance at the tracker before the first coffee in the morning, a quick check of the messages received overnight. Who is in the lead? Is everyone doing well? What has happened? What's coming?
We accompanied the teams for a week before the start in Alicante, conducted interviews and studied the high-tech bullets of the latest Imoca generation. As reporters on site, we captured voices and moods for you and experienced special people and moments.
What made me switch from other sports to sailing by chance a long time ago as a sports journalist, and what made me so happy to stay, is still true: regatta sailors - both men and women - are intelligent, highly interesting and open personalities. The Ocean Race proves this once again with its magic and spirited teams despite the small fleet.
I'm not sure if a Lewis Hamilton or a Max Verstappen would let me drive their Formula 1 cars just like that. Paul Meilhat simply handed me the tiller of his "Biotherm" two days before the start of the Ocean Race. I'm sure he didn't realise how brave that was. Unlike all my YACHT colleagues, I am not an experienced sailor, but a sports reporter. Nevertheless, I jumped at the chance to steer "Biotherm". I simply nodded bravely when he asked if I knew what I was doing. Two days later, the rocket launch of what I thought was the prettiest Imoca in the Ocean Race field showed that I hadn't sunk the boat, but had kept it on course to Paul's satisfaction.
I enjoyed steering the boat. It felt amazingly direct when you consider that 99 per cent of these foilers in the Ocean Race are steered by autopilots, because "masterminds" are simply better at it than the best helmsmen or helmswomen in the world when it comes to the flood of data they have to incorporate.
The fact that I then volunteered to grind on "Biotherm" was of course a mistake. After a few minutes, Anthony Marchand looked at me very sympathetically. I gratefully accepted his offer to take over at the crank. Which gave me a place to catch my breath in the cockpit corner. From there, in the cockpit capsule, which was open at the rear but only 1.45 metres high, I was able to see for myself from a distance of one metre how playfully easy Imoca icon Sam Davies and Class 40 soloist Amélie Grassi made the cranks on the grinder fly a short time later.
Samantha Davies will strengthen Team Biotherm alongside Paralympics winner and Vendée Globe skipper Damien Seguin and all-rounder Marchand on the queen's stage. At 12,750 nautical miles, the historically longest leg will take the field non-stop for over a month from Cape Town past the three great capes through the Southern Ocean to Itajaí in Brazil.
Because "Biotherm" is the most recent newbuilding in the fleet and was only completed in September, Paul Meilhat has put together his crew from seasoned soloists. "They are all autonomous and have already been alone in the Southern Ocean," says Paul Meilhat, explaining his smart strategy, which did not require a team-building process.
Sam Davies hasn't known "Biotherm" any longer than I have. We got on the boat together for the first time two days before the start of the Ocean Race. The Brit, who lives in France, will be a valuable support for Meilhat, with whom she has already competed in a Transat Jacques Vabre. She could also tame the projectile on her own.
Annie Lush, a woman, is also an important linchpin in the Guyot Environnement - Team Europe. The team led by French co-skipper Ben Dutreux and Berlin co-skipper Robert Stanjek sails the ex-"Hugo Boss", which has been modified several times and in which Alex Thomson came second in the 2016/2017 Vendée Globe. It is a good boat that Boris Herrmann also believes has a chance of winning.
"Guyot" differs from the light-coloured newbuild "Biotherm" because of the carbon fibre black on and below deck. I imagine it would be difficult to endure this darkness for four weeks in the Southern Ocean. But a white paint job, "Robse" Stanjek tells me during the training race, would add too many extra kilos to the tried and tested racing yacht.
This cockpit also has no standing height like Boris Herrmann's very comfortable deckhouse, in which even I, at 1.80 metres tall, still have room to stand up. "Guyot's" heart chamber can only be crossed by bending over. I don't bend over enough during the race, overlook a reinforcement in the black roof and hit my head so hard on it that I turn into a unicorn for a few days.
The fact that the "Guyot" crew has been training together for some time is clearly demonstrated by the manoeuvres performed by the calm and level-headed Stanjek. Even though Anne-Claire Le Berre, another ex-Olympian and Imoca expert, joins the team for the first time on this day alongside the regular crew of Ben Dutreux, Robert Stanjek, Annie Lush and Spanish Olympic champion Tamara Echegoyen, and is tested a lot.
As all three women work quietly together in the cockpit for a while, it becomes crystal clear what a gift the Imocas give the race in addition to their many attractive attributes for the future: In contrast to the sometimes extremely physically demanding VO65 yachts, Imocas allow female sailors to be the equal of men across the board. Later on land, a fan says to Tamara Echegoyen, who narrowly missed out on victory with "Mapfre" in the last race around the world: "Next time you have to lead your own team in the Ocean Race." Tamara laughs and nods.
The women in the 14th Ocean Race are ambitious - and honest. Abby Ehler, the most experienced sailor in this edition with three circumnavigations, is not afraid to admit that she initially hesitated to accept the offer from the Swiss team Holcim - PRB. "At first I was afraid of the speed and acceleration of these boats, but Kevin persuaded me. He's good at it. We call him 'positive Kevin' in our team. For me, this is now the next stage of my personal challenge," says Abby. And this too: "I love this race and it would have made me unhappy if I hadn't been there." However, the Briton will probably prefer to leave the queen stage to the fearless Strander high-flyer Susann Beucke, who is eagerly awaiting her hoped-for premiere on stage three. We are looking forward to it with her!
The pre-start week in Alicante was also full of charming little encounters. I folded paper boats with Boris' bright daughter Malou at one of the long wooden tables in Team Malizia's tent camp. The first one was to be called "Papa". The fact that Team Malizia sees itself not only as a racing team with a climate mission, but also as a big family, is demonstrated every day at the communal meals that French team chef Thibaut happily prepares in the mobile kitchen wagon next door. Boris and his team cannot enjoy this at the moment. They eat freeze-dried food from a bag on board. I don't envy the sailors for that.
But their big adventure and the ongoing competition - may the Imocas remain intact, the sailors healthy, the news from the sea friendly and the best team win. And don't forget: The final judgement is made at the finish line!
See you soon and a good week for you and yours
Tatjana Pokorny,YACHT sports expert
The week in pictures:
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THE OCEAN RACE
Team Malizia around Boris Herrmann starts to catch up
Nothing has changed in the Ocean Race standings. As things stand, it would be Kevin Escoffier who would give his team its first stage win. But thanks to a strong race to catch up by Boris Herrmann and his crew, an exciting final sprint is on the cards
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ARC January fleet sails to the Caribbean
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Hotel group Accor plans largest sailing yacht in the world
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COMMUNICATION
More and more smartphones with satellite function
Following Apple and Samsung, Motorola has now also announced the development of a communication capability via satellite. The new Defy model is to be launched at the end of February and will be able to send both SOS and standard text messages outside the mobile phone network.
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Baltic 110 takes shape
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The key to success - how to do it right!
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