The Volvo 70 experience

Simon Fisher, the world's fastest monohull navigator, describes life in the Southern Ocean fast lane

I wasn’t sure I was going to be best qualified to write about the extremities of the Southern Ocean as we were plodding along at 42degN chasing a cold front but having put that behind us now and got into some big downwind conditions I kind of feel I have come a little bit closer to living the dream…

Certainly this race we haven’t been as far south as previous Volvo races due to our ice waypoints but it is important to note that had we been given our own choice on where to go it would have had been unlikely that we would be as far south as the 60s had gone or even the good old IOR maxis when frost in your moustache would have been a daily occurrence. These machines we have now are plenty powered up in 30 knots as we are discovering, our average speed climbs a little higher each sched - surprising us all at how fast these 70s will go. I’m sure you would have to be more than a little bit mad and possibly slightly insane to go hunting for 45-50 knots in the big westerlies of the lower latitudes in these boats. Having to dodge ice on top of this would be no fun at all!!

Currently we are blasting along in 25-35 knots, one reef in the main, big reacher and the staysail up. We are averaging 23.5 knots of boat speed but at times the speed climbs into the 30s as the big gusts come through or we fly down the back of the bigger waves. We are riding the front of a low pressure ahead of the cold front so the seas are not enormous but big and messy enough to toss you around a bit. There is constant spray being thrown back at the driver who is sheltering behind the big visor of the French fire fighting helmet we use to drive with in these conditions. Every now and then the bow will bury and hundreds of gallons of white water will come pummelling down the deck, you have to hang on, even harder than the rest if you are driving and try and anticipate which way the boat will try and go as you re-surface. The force of the waves at times is not dissimilar to standing in the shore break at the beach on a big wave day. Every now and then we’ll send it down hard and the whole cockpit will fill with water. When I’m sitting in the Nav station I’ll see nothing but green water out of the windows for 25-30 seconds while it all slowly drains out.



The water temperature is not as cold as it has been this leg but its dropping again all the time – the icy blue colour of the rooster tail out the back is an indicator that it’s on the decline again. Now 10degC is a lot more pleasant than 5 that you experience at 50degS but certainly cold enough when you are getting it in the face the whole time. Trimming and grinding the boys are in wetsuit gloves, balaclavas and motocross goggles in order to get a bit of protection from the elements. The sun hasn’t been seen for over a week due to thick cloud cover and there has been rain or thick fog nearly all of the time.

Downstairs is wet too, there is condensation everywhere on the hull as the black inner skin of the carbon hull has been chilled down by the rushing water outside. Despite having every hatch on the boat sealed down the water still seems to be getting in and the bilges have to be bailed out every 30 minutes or so to keep it under control. Being dry is now something of the past, despite the best gear money can buy you exist in a permanently damp state. We can see our breath again too, reminding us as we push further south again that it gets colder and colder.

However, I would hate everyone to think that we are miserable down here, for right now we are doing some of the best sailing of our lives, every hour spent on the wheel makes you forget all the dampness and cold and hunger and makes it all worth while. Not least because right now we are going faster than any monohull has gone in 24 hours, our latest mileage is up to 563 and the boys are ecstatic - we can start to laugh a little at the nose dives and the big waves that come back down the deck. However you never lose the respect for the ocean and the power it holds. There is always a little fear mixed in with all the testosterone and adrenaline. I wonder some times for how many days we will be able to keep this pace up for and always in the back of your mind you are praying you don’t mess up and the boat will hold together to see us safely out of the south.

It’s incredible yachting and an awesome race!!