More than R150-million worth of yacht has arrived in Cape Town in the past week
John Young
The Formula One of ocean racing decamped in Cape Town this week, but so far Capetonians have responded less with a buzz than with a purr. The arrival of the Illbruck, winner of the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race from Southampton, generated a good crowd and the organisers did well to find a mayor to give them an official welcome but ordinary citizens have barely twigged that a great international event is happening at the Waterfront.
The coffee shop at the end of Jetty 1 was deserted on Tuesday and proprietor Henriette Olckers was happy for some company. “Locals keep telling us they haven’t got dollars when they look at the sandwiches,” she said.
The British and Swedish shop assistants at the Musto Race shop said turnover was up (from what, they didn’t say) but most of their custom has been American and German.
The spectacular “Parade of Sail” could change things. The full fleet of eight 60-footers will sail on Saturday from the harbour to Clifton beach and back (2.30pm start). Viewing space on Signal Hill could be at a premium.
The winner of the first leg was separated from the runner-up (Amer Sport One) by just two hours but eighth-placed Amer Sport Too arrived almost a week after the winner. “Strange and difficult” winds made the 7350 nautical mile haul down the Atlantic even more eventful than usual.
Each of the competing yachts has $150000 worth of electronic gadetry on board but none of it is much use unless the winds behave. The weather expert quoted in the race brochure predicted an easy run into Cape Town but included a crucial rider: “All will be well if the high behaves as normal …”
As race director Michael Woods says: “The South Atlantic High is normally much further north; crews this time had to go through it.” The skipper of the all-girl team of Amer Sport Too, Lisa McDonald, spoke to me from the middle of the South Atlantic High.
“It’s quite entertaining actually,” she said of the combination of tall, steep waves and heavy rollers buffeting the carbon-fibre boat. “It’s a bit like being in a washing machine.” She seemed cheerful enough and laughed off the 800 miles they still had to cover to Cape Town at the time as “nothing!” Having sailed straight into the wind for more than 2000 miles, “getting into three digits is quite exciting”.
With each of the boats costing about R20-million, this has to be a corporate event. Jetty 1 is covered with tents showing off locks and banks and sporting goods. Volvo trucks and cars are parked incongruously outside Vaughn Johnson’s wine shop, but the gleaming marine engines are a reminder of the race (all the yachts are fitted with two: one for emergencies and one for water-making.)
Media director Mark Howell says that organising the race “is a bit like Nasa when you’ve got a mission to the moon”. Race headquarters in Southampton gets a position from each of the boats every 10 minutes with wave and temperature readings being logged around the clock. A four-man team keeps the race website up to date with a “virtual spectator” option at www.VolvoOceanRace.org.
A core of employees keeps the organisation ticking over between the four-yearly running of the race but most of the staff are contracted. Howell is contracted to three months after the race ends in Kiel, Germany, on June 9 next year. Then he’s off to work on the Manchester Commonwealth Games, having previously been with the British Olympic Association. It hasn’t always been sport though. “Prior to that I promoted pop groups like INXS and Bon Jovi.”
Woods came to the race via 10 years in the British Navy as a navigator on mine sweepers and helicopter pilot. Then he was “in the right place at the right time” to start working on what was then known as the Whitbread Round the World. This is his third race, and first as race director.
Woods explains that the points system being used this year will provide for better competition: “In previous races elapsed time was a factor which meant that some teams might never catch up. Now it is simply points for position, eight for first place, seven for second and so on.” The second leg to Sydney starts on November 11.
The race has chosen some nice spots to visit: Sydney, Rio, Miami. Woods says that he likes Cape Town “for the food … and the exchange rate”. Henrietta Olckers on Jetty 1 has noticed.
Bob Fisher reports that Roy Heiner, the Dutch skipper of Assa Abloy, which finished fifth on Sunday, has lodged a protest against the provisional winner Illbruck, captained by the American, John Kostecki.
Heiner claims Illbruck used an Internet website not known to its rivals. Race rules allow each crew to use, for meteorological and navigational purposes, 10 websites they have nominated. The protest claims a Spanish website Illbruck said it would be using, http://atmosfera.lma.fi.upm.es Illbruck’s navigator Juan Vila is from Spain offers no significant information unless the suffix /rsm is added.
Heiner says the suffix had not been stated; therefore the site had not been known to the other boats. Had it been, others would have been able to test it before the start.
A second protest against Illbruck was lodged by the race committee. It alleges use of non-standard equipment in the engine-mount area. The outcome was not known at the time of going to press.