The Ocean Race: Robert Stanjek on the pleasures and burdens of the ocean marathon

"On the whole, I'm satisfied," says Robert Stanjek, who is currently recovering from the exertions of the past few weeks on a short holiday with his family near Cape Town. Two of the seven stages of the Ocean Race are now behind the teams. Hardly anyone has to complete such a steep learning curve as the 41-year-old 2012 Olympic sixth-placer in the Star boat.

Two worlds continue to grow together in his Guyot Environnement - Team Europe: the French Imoca aces around skipper Ben Dutreux and navigator Sébastien Simon, who are characterised by solo sailing, and the core of Offshore Team Germany with co-skipper Stanjek, his highly esteemed and experienced two-time circumnavigator Annie Lush and crew mate Phillip Kasüske. They tackle the legs in different constellations.

Robert Stanjek was the skipper in charge for the first time on leg two. Ben Dutreux retired as planned. Stanjek was joined by French navigator Seb Simon, his compatriot Anne-Claire le Berre and Phillip Kasüske from Berlin as they raced down the Atlantic to Cape Town. They did this with their eight-year-old boat, battling with the newbuildings in a rousing manner at times.

"Our equator crossing was navigationally well assessed"

The two-day lead on 27 and 28 January shortly after the start and the one-week lead from the end of January into the first week of February did them good. "Overall, the team sailed very strongly on leg two," Stanjek looks back. Like Phillip Kasüske, he experienced his equatorial baptism in the heat around the zero latitude during his team's peak phase. Team Guyot was the first boat to reach the southern hemisphere.

In sporting terms, things were going well at the time. "Our equator crossing was navigationally well assessed and technically very cleanly executed. The entire Doldrums passage was a straight, smooth line for us. That's what we set out to do, and that's what we did. The aim was to squeeze out everything that went south. That meant our route was shorter," summarises Stanjek.

First missed the jump, then lost the lead

Team Guyot also got off to a good start in the trade winds. "Our boat is cool in room sheet winds," Stanjek states. However, the Franco-German team then failed to find the jump in the position poker in relation to the next high pressure area. Team Guyot was ultimately asked to pay for their sensational positioning to the east and their persistence on the "inside track".

As the competition rounded the broad and widening high to the west, Team Guyot got stuck. "We made a big navigational blunder," admits Stanjek, who has long known that a more balanced position in relation to the field - a golden rule in Olympic sailing - would have been the better answer. As a result, the black and green boat is quickly passed to the back of the field - as sailors and fans can see from the tracker positions.

Sam Davies: "Guyot is an interesting sailing team that I like to follow"

After his first regatta in the South Atlantic, Stanjek freely admits that he himself still lacks navigational experience. In retrospect, however, his Olympic experience reminds him of a classic regatta law that his team would have done better to keep in mind. According to Stanjek, at some point you have to use a lead as a safeguard. In the end, Team Guyot Environnement - Team Europe wanted too much for too long.

Imoca expert, "Biotherm" sailor and Eurosport TV commentator Sam Davies summarised the Guyot performance as follows: "Team Guyot had positioned themselves the furthest east. They came through the zone a bit faster than other boats. However, as we all know, they were unable to convert this into points in the end. That was really unlucky for them because they got stuck under a cloud. I felt sorry for them because it was a brave and good decision." Davies continued: "It's an interesting sailing team that I enjoy following. What they manage to do is pretty amazing."

"Last night, the high pressure ridge bit us in the rear once again"

In the final phase of the second leg of the Ocean Race, the "Guyot" quartet once again showed what they are capable of. In a show of strength, they manage to "jump on" the same low that is now quickly carrying the competition ahead towards the stage harbour of Cape Town. The bad news: in front of and with the depression, the front-runners are gaining ground at top speed, while the Guyot crew is struggling at the back of the depression. "Although we were travelling in the same low pressure area, we were travelling slower. This was because the boats in front had fewer waves and were able to sail at better angles, but we almost broke our ship at the back and in the middle of the cross sea," says Stanjek, explaining the renewed loss of miles.

This was followed by a conciliatory end to the final leg for Team Guyot. "We scrubbed around 1,500 nautical miles over three days at top speeds of 30 or 35 knots," recalls Robert Stanjek of the impressive race to catch up. It was almost enough to attack the fourth-placed "Malizia - Seaexplorer". "But on the last night, the high pressure ridge bit us in the stern again," recalls the skipper. Nevertheless, his team's last stand left a strong impression of a crew that never gave up at any point during this leg.

"My brain was at the limit with the volume on board"

With regard to his own boat, "Guyot" co-skipper Stanjek has long since realised: "Eight years of design progress cannot be compensated for just like that. But when opportunities arise, we'll be there." Stanjek makes no secret of his team's position in this Ocean Race: "We're already the rookies here." Two sails broke on leg two: the A2 and the Fractional Zero. "We were missing both of them," says Stanjek.

Stanjek, a proven team player, struggles with the reduced communication on board compared to sailing with large crews. You are very much alone with yourself in your world of thoughts. He never thought that this level would demand so much professionalism from him. As on all other boats, the "blatantly loud background noise" on board "Guyot" puts an enormous strain on the crew. "My brain was at the limit with the volume," says Stanjek. He will start the longest and most brutal stage three with new noise-cancelling headphones.

"It's loud, wild, an insane responsibility"

Steering in windy conditions - overpowered and tightly trimmed at 106 per cent - is extremely demanding. "It's an incredible feat of concentration to constantly steer the ship on a razor's edge. It's loud, wild, an insane responsibility," says Stanjek.

When looking at the competition, the analyst Stanjek noticed a few points. Everyone thought that 11th Hour Racing would shoot out of the starting blocks with the long preparation for the Ocean Race. This is not the case. Instead, the experienced Imoca team impressed. "Kevin Escoffier, Paul Meilhat and Boris have been around for a long time," says Stanjek. He is also certain that the Ocean Race will take on a very French flavour in the coming years.

"The lack of volume in the bow is our Achilles' heel"

In the coming week, Guyot Environnement - Team Europe, like all the other teams, will be preparing for stage three in Cape Town. The toughest and longest leg in the history of the Ocean Race begins on 26 February and will take the teams non-stop over 12,750 nautical miles from South Africa to Itajaí in Brazil. Team Guyot will start the race with skipper Ben Dutreux, co-skipper Robert Stanjek, navigator Seb Simon and Ocean Race ace Annie Lush. "Apart from me, everyone in our crew has already been down there. Our two Vendée sailors, of course. And Annie twice. We are starting the leg with maximum offshore experience," says Stanjek. He has great respect for the queen's stage, but is in good spirits.

Team Guyot's boat is ready for the endurance test. Even if the lack of volume in the bow is "an Achilles heel", as Stanjek admits. "Malzia - Seaexplorer", on the other hand, is the extreme at the other end of the scale. "We're already pushing hard into the waves. That knocks the average speed down," says Stanjek, describing his own boat. Which is why his team will be "radically stacking" before stage three: Everything that needs to be sealed will go to the back of the boat. The good news remains, says Stanjek: "We have a robust and stable boat for the tough conditions in the Southern Ocean and will give it our all."

"Boris' boat will perform extremely well on stage three"

Robert Stanjek believes that his compatriot Boris Herrmann and his team Malizia have ideal prospects for the upcoming "monster stage" along the three large capes: "I believe that Boris' boat will perform extremely well on the upcoming stage. They sail a blistering boot in the wind. My guess is that some people will now look at this boat with more humility. Half of Lorient made fun of the boat at the beginning and it's certainly pretty hard to swallow now."

Here are the interim results after two of seven legs in the Ocean Race.