Feature Story

18.11.2005 (11:06 CET) - Alinghi

Offshore warriors

It takes a certain breed to tackle the southern ocean, dodge icebergs and share a 70 foot carbon bullet with nine other guys. Alinghi happens to have quite a few of these rare breeds and two of them crossed the start line on Saturday 12 November at 1400 on board the Disney boat The Black Pearl for the Volvo Ocean Race.

Bowman Curtis Blewett on the job aboard The Black Pearl
(Photo credit: ©Th.Martinez)

Unfortunately, the fist of Neptune was to strike sooner than anticipated, although better the first 24 hours than further offshore. During the first night, the Pirates of the Caribbean started taking on water at high speed and with the breeze gusting 35 and up, the boat speed was averaging 30 knots. Opting for safety, skipper Paul Cayard changed course and headed for Cascais in Portugal where they assessed the damage and made the call to fly the boat to Cape Town where they will make the repairs necessary to compete in Leg 2.

Rodney Ardern
(Photo credit: Ivo Rovira/Alinghi)

Earlier that same day, Rodney Ardern had hugged his wife and baby son goodbye on the dock and stepped aboard to tour the bay and wave to the enthusiastic crowds, before heading out to the start line off Vigo in the top left corner of Spain. Curtis Blewett had shrugged off the public attention focused on The Black Pearl, looking forward to getting going. The time for last minute checks was all but over as they got into race mode, ahead of them 20,650-odd nautical miles and approximately 54 days at sea. Little did they know that they?d be heading ashore again in a matter of hours.

Curtis Blewett
(Photo credit: Ivo Rovira/Alinghi)

Both the guys have round-the-worlds behind them. Rodney got started early as bowman on the Whitbread challenge, Tokyo in 1993-94, he recalls the progression: ?I started off as most young guys do, by doing bow, midbow and mast. I used to find myself running forward rather than running back for a while. Then after a few Whitbreads and Volvos, I became quite a good helmsman and in the last two races [1997-98 Whitbread on Swedish Match and 2002-03 VOR on SEB] I have been a watch captain so I spend plenty of time behind the wheel.? Rodney is also watch captain on the Pirates? boat.

One can?t help but wonder what common trait ties these men, do they ever get scared? Interviewing them on a quiet sunny day at the yacht club in Valencia, before they left, they both come across as calm and gentle. Hard to imagine Curtis hanging on to the top of the rig on EF Language in the 97-98 Whitbread during a storm in the Southern Ocean: ?We had a bad crash and were trying to take the spinnaker down. One guy was already out cold in his bunk. We were racing really hard, the breeze was getting heavier and we had a bad crash and broke the spinnaker pole, the vang and all the battens in the main. Everything wiped out while I was up the rig doing repairs. In the excitement to cut the spinnaker halyard to get it down, they cut the halyard that I was on.? He adds wryly: ?That could have finished really badly, luckily I had good grip and that?s why I am still here!?

?A lot of people find it hard to believe that you can sail three times around the world and not have been scared yet,? comments Rodney, adding: ?I think I have always been lucky to be around good people. You have to trust each other to do the job and I don?t think we?ve really been in a situation where life has been in danger, nothing where you really think you?re going to die or anything too extreme. Nothing like what Curtis went through. I have never been in that situation!?

This is unlikely to have been what was going through their heads as the gun went in Vigo though. It would more likely have been who is on first watch, setting the right course, tweaking the sails, generally shaking down and getting into the mindset of a three week race to Cape Town with all the challenges that would bring.

Their first challenge was quick to come, but the team has been fast to recover and despite the Vigo to Cape Town leg of the race coming to an abrupt end, the boat will be flown to South Africa. There she will be made ready for the inshore racing and the next leg through the Southern Ocean; the aim is to recapture as many points as possible to still win the race. Rodney and Curtis will do the Cape Town to Melbourne and Wellington legs before hopping off the boat in Rio and returning to their jobs as runner/pit and midbowman on the America?s Cup Defender, Alinghi.

(Photo credit: Th.Martinez/Alinghi)