Head in a bucket

Even Volvo Ocean Race crews get seasick

Racing in the Volvo Ocean Race, the world's premier ocean race, is tough at the best of times. It's hard to picture what it must be like to live on board a stripped out racing machine, which is what the VO60 class is, for weeks on end, in cramped conditions with 11 other people. It's either freezing cold or unbearably hot. It's wet and it's uncomfortable at best.

The six sleeping bags are constantly damp and are shared between the 12 crew. It's hard, no, almost impossible, to stand up when the boat is pitching through heavy seas. Your body is cold and exhausted and on top of that, you are feeling wretched.

Seasickness is one of the most debilitating illnesses and it can affect anyone, even the world's most professional racers, leaving you demotivated and afraid to move. Can you imagine what it must feel like for the Volvo Ocean Race crews who must press the boat hard, day and night, while suffering from seasickness?

Volvo Ocean Race first-timer, Chris Nicholson from Amer Sports One, explains how it feels, "You're falling asleep all the time on deck because you've already been sick and so you're through that stage and you're pretty much debilitated.

"It's like your worst hangover plus it affects the whole body - it's not just your mind or your stomach - it really does affect the whole body. When you're that sick you're trying so hard not to move around anywhere, you've got no energy and you've got no control over where you're moving so you just keep the body as still as possible. Usually in the foetal position - that is what the body does.

"These boats are undermanned and you've still got to sail. The guys would probably let you stay in your bunk, but you just can't, as you just have to get on and do your job.

"There's no eating because that just comes straight back up. But you still have to try and keep some fluids up, if you can, have a protein shake or something like that, but even that tends to come up as well. You just have to keep the liquids up and stop the food."

continued on page 2...