Looking ahead

The Volvo Ocean Race skippers give their thoughts on the forthcoming leg to Auckland via Hobart

Q (to Grant): How is your rehabilitation going?
GD: I've got something that was built by a doctor in Manley. It's an injury that is quite common with ice hockey players when they get smacked against the wall, and they fracture the little bones that come off your vertebrae; fast bowlers also get it a lot. So it's an injury they're used to treating here, they make a plastic thing that sticks around you and keeps you in column, so you can't get out of column.

Q: How do you feel to be part of the Sydney-Hobart as a tradition?
GD: Well, it's certainly got a lot of tradition, its only Aussies that would go South for the Christmas holidays! There is a hell of a lot of tradition and everyone, even the Europeans, know about this race. We're starting in front of it so I'm not sure if we're recognisable in the Hobart result, but that would be good. I've done about as many as Kevin, half a dozen or so, and its never nice though! But normally you get to stop for a scallop pie and a cascade at the end of it and we don't get to do that this time!

Q (to Jez): I understand Ross has injured ribs too?
JF: Ross popped some ribs off his spine, he has been taking treatment, he has got some good drugs and he is a tough guy who will tough it out. That really marries what this whole race is about - the race is a mental thing as well as a physical thing and everybody in the race is physically strong - maybe not as strong as when they started… but it is the mind that gets you through the good and the bad times out there. Ross has a strong mind, he's a tough guy, and he'll be fine.

Q: What significance will the Hobart play in the big picture of the Volvo?
GK: As it goes for the Sydney-Hobart I think I am better off than most of these guys here, as I have never done it. Its like going to the dentist, as Grant said the other day, I don't know how it's going to be! So I just have an open mind and I look forward to it. I think that Volvo is a big enough event to stand on its own legs, and the Sydney-Hobart has a lot of tradition, therefore it is a very good combination. We have to remember that it's a hard race to Hobart then a long way to Auckland, and we should focus on that. The one major issue on our boat is that we hope to keep the navigator on until the finish this time that will make it a lot easier for us!

KS: It's obviously a big leg for us, especially after the disappointment of the last leg - so we need to have a blinder basically. We're not looking at it so much as an eight or nine day leg, but rather a three-day leg to start with, and putting a lot of focus and effort into trying to get into Hobart in reasonable shape.

JK: Weather-wise it's looking like it's going to be a traditional tough race up to Hobart and we're fortunate enough to have experienced it last year - it's looking relatively similar so we're hoping to have learnt from the mistakes we made last year and apply them to this time. We're hoping we'll have a nice run down to Auckland and not be beating against the wind like we are going down to Hobart.

LM: It'll be interesting for us as it's completely different from anything we have raced in before, in that it's a relatively short sprint distance wise. We're looking forward to the fleet hopefully staying close together and getting into Hobart in reasonable shape, before ultimately crossing the Tasman Sea.

KF: The only concern that I have is that half the times I have done the Sydney-Hobart we were drifting up the river into Hobart, so I hope at least that we will not be doing that this time. It is an interesting part of the race to have a pit stop because you can risk sitting there waiting for a long time.
JF: As the Australian entry representing the CYCA we are looking forward to it. It is a great tradition that we're very proud to be doing for Australia and the CYCA. In the long term, as everyone says, it's a race to Auckland and that's our goal in the end, but you have to have a small goal first and that's to get in to Hobart first.

NM: I'm unfortunate enough to have done several Sydney-Hobarts, so I'm certain it's going to be a tough start to the overall leg to Auckland. I think it will be a big challenge for us, in a very different situation, to finish a tough sprint-type race and then have to sit on the boat for three hours. I'm not sure how we'll deal with it, it'll be something that's new to us all, and we’ll see how it goes.