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7:17 AM Thu 19 Feb 2009 GMT
With the countdown to the start of Portim?o Global Ocean Race Leg 3 from New Zealand to Ilhabela, Brazil, beginning to bite for the four teams, final preparation for the 7,500 mile race through the Pacific and South Atlantic Oceans are advancing rapidly.
During Leg 2 from Cape Town, South Africa, to Wellington, New Zealand, the British duo of Jeremy Salvesen and David Thomson on Class 40 Team Mowgli took the full force of gales throughout Christmas and New Year, sustaining severe damage including a broken pushpit, a split boom and further damage to the bowsprit in early January. With the start of Leg 3 scheduled for this Saturday at 14:15 local time (01:15 GMT), the race to complete repairs before setting off on a potential 35 day stretch of hard racing is nearing completion. 'On Tuesday, we had over 19 people working on Team Mowgli at one time or another,' reports Piers Williams, Chairman of Ambition Racing and head of the Team Mowgli logistics crew. 'It really was a huge day and the new boom arrived from Auckland,' he continues. 'It looks fantastic and given that it took ten days from ordering the boom to delivery, this says a huge amount about Hall Spars who really pulled out the stops for Team Mowgli.'
The division of labour is currently split between the skipper and co-skipper, with Thomson's expertise in sails and rigging proving invaluable: 'We started fitting all the new bits and pieces of electronic equipment onto the new metal work at the stern, while David worked on the new battens and batten boxes, reattached the Solent headsail and is generally getting on with matters above deck.' Below deck has become Salvesen's preparation territory, explains Williams: 'Jeremy sorted out computers, some complex wiring and attached our new wind generator to the new frame built by Hakes Marine. There is still plenty to do, but the back of the work-list has been broken!'
As repairs and pre-race checks to the boat continue, Williams opted to co-ordinate vital supplies for the team. 'We still have to do a bit more shopping, but as ever the Team Mowgli shopping trip to the local supermarket raised some very inquisitive eyebrows,' admits Williams before listing a revealing, but important, inventory: '30 packets of wet wipes; 42 large bars of chocolate; 300 small bars of mixed chocolate; 180 muesli bars; 22 cans of sausages and beans, tins of stew, cook in sauces, sweet corn, rice pudding and packet after packet of pasta and boil in the bag rice with 90 packets of 2-minute noodles.' With an emphasis on carbohydrates and a high-calorie intake to sustain Salvesen and Thomson throughout 5,000 miles of Southern Ocean, avoiding any 'Healthy Option' brands is understandable. 'There were two huge trolleys absolutely full,' confirms Williams, 'and we still have more to buy.'
With official Portim?o Global Ocean Race appointments to attend before the start, juggling shore based commitments with a shakedown sail is providing a tight schedule. 'We have the skippers briefing on Thursday morning and the Leg 2 prize giving at the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club in the evening,' explains Williams. 'We will sail on Thursday and early Friday, then lift Team Mowgli for a scrub on Friday afternoon, ready for the start on Saturday afternoon.'
by Oliver Dewar (translation - Ana Lima)
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