An Aussie abroad - pt2

Nick Moloney on maxi-cats versus Volvo 60s and his struggle with the French language

The way you sail the boat is also very different. On the Volvo 60 it is much more a case of the helmsman holding his course while responding to waves as the trimmers constantly keep the rig delivering the optimum output.

On a big catamaran the trimmers do less and more of the onus for keeping the boat up to speed is on the helmsman. On Orange Moloney says there is regularly just two people out in the cockpit - the helmsman and the mainsheet trimmer, while two others take refuge in the cockpit cuddy, ready if needed. "People asked me after the Whitbread 'did you sit with your legs over the side all the time - and the answer was 'no' because we were all normally so busy internally in the boats - you're either steering, grinding, trimming, cooking or sleeping. If you got to sit on the rail it was bliss".

To go faster in the Atlantic they have recently changed to a four watch system. "We have a rolling system where two groups of three alternate every four hours and half way through each watch two groups of two alternate. So every two hours there is a watch change." The result is more people - usually 9-10 - on deck and because handling the sails is such hard work they often leave it until there is a watch change.

One of the problems Moloney has encountered on the trip is one of language. "My French is coming on, but on a sailing trip it is really hard. When it gets very stressed and a bit hard, no one wants to make an effort to speak a foreign language. It was a lonely existence for me for a few days. I tried speaking French, but it frustrated everyone and it was easier for them to speak English.

"For me it has been the hardest thing - if something breaks and decisions are made I often don't understand what the game plan is. I worry I will injure someone because I don't understand something. It's been very very difficult. If I get into the thick of things for example if someone is out at the end of the boom and wants something and I don't understand what he wants."

He praises Orange's skipper Bruno Peyron. "It is great that he let an Australian come on board. It is fantastic to sail with a guy who definitely knows his way around these boats. He's very conservative but I knew that before I left. He's not greedy and doesn't want to smash the record - he just wants to beat it. When he feels like we can go, we go, otherwise he puts the breaks on. He's a bit of a dreamer and a real sea lover".

If Moloney's predictions are right about Orange's time, it will see them cross the Ouessant finish line on Monday, 6 May. With any luck if Mark Turner's negotiations are successful then in a year's time Moloney may be going around again, this time with Ellen MacArthur on a boat where the first language is English.

Nick Moloney raced Ellen MacArthur's Open 60 two handed in last year's two handed Transat Jacques Vabre and is aiming to win the next Vendee Globe. He is part of Ellen and Mark Turner's Offshore Challenge Racing Team.