Let’s take a little detour away from my usual fashion based content to talk about girl power. And big ass yachts.
By now you might already know, I’m a little obsessed with yachts and all other kinds if boats – which is why I jumped at the chance to head to Gothenburg, Sweden to meet Team SCA, the all women’s team for the Volvo Ocean Race’s final stop.
I didn’t really have an preconceptions about what it would be like, heading to Gothenburg to learn about the race and meet the team. My experience with sailing is really limited to the couple times I took out a tiny boat in my teens, whilst I was a Navy Cadet. This was VERY different. Arriving on the boat and heading below deck, it kinda reminded me of what I imagine life on a space ship to be like – there was literally NO creature comforts whatsoever – this was very much a purpose built machine.
I was then invited to head up the mast… to the very top. It’s a rare opportunity to have a tour of the boats period, so being invited to be harnessed in for an aerial view was quite the honour. I couldn’t say no… though half way up I quickly realised I shouldn’t have been so quick to jump at saying yes – it was f*cking terrifying!!! About half way, the gravity of what I’d volunteered to do really sunk in – it was incredibly high. I felt my breath sharpening and had to calm myself down before continuing onwards to the top. The view was crazy (see pic!) and I was grateful I had made the choice, it was quite the unexpected adventure. Most of all, I had to give props to the ladies who worked the boat – having to head up the top of the sail to fix and make adjustments in rough seas, on a boat powering through waves, in the night… that must take real guts.
Only mildly terrified!
Fun Facts About the Volvo Ocean Race
- There are just 7 teams (aka 7 boats) and only one team with all women.
- Each team race the exact same boat.
- The race takes about 9 months to complete.
- Team SCA had over 250 applicants, with just 15 members chosen.
- Many of the team members have participated in the Olympics either in teams or part of the support.
- 3 of the team members are Mums!
- Onboard, the crew live on 4 freeze dried meals per day – and need to eat 5000-6000 calories a day to keep up!
- The crew rotate every 4-6 hours for ‘polyphasic sleep’ cycles.
- During rough seas, the crew angle their bunks and must be strapped in to prevent them falling out.
- The team trained for a year and a half together prior to the race to get in shape.
Gustav and I also had the opportunity to head out on the boat for the practise sail before the Pro-Am event. The Pro-Am is where they bring on amateur sailors to experience sailing the boat around the harbour in a mini race event – and only around 40-50 people at each of the stopovers get the chance to be involved. What I didn’t realise at the time, was that the practise sailing was where the real action is! Gustav and I hung at the back – while the boats whipped around the harbour (we had some great wind!) fighting for poll position. We weren’t allowed to get in the way and had to dash from side to side of the boat, sometimes at a 45 degree angle, whilst we tacked either direction. Hopefully the video shares with you exactly how intense the experience really was! It was an incredible thrill to see the women in action and gave me new found respect for how fierce it must be on the open seas, what living through that must be like.
While sailing thousands of miles isn’t for everyone – there’s something to be learnt about the commitment and tenacity these women have shown being part of this incredible race. Not only that, the camaraderie and sense of team unity and support is really admirable – we can all be bigger people and achieve more, if we work together.
Girl power indeed.
