Ready for the off

Sat 11 October 2008

10:30 GMT, 12:30 local

The boats have gone. They will not touch land again for 6,500 nautical miles when they arrive in Cape Town, but for most the feelings of the poignant farewell will last long after the starter’s canon fires.

There were first tears from the children, then the wives and then, in several cases, the sailors. Even King Juan Carlos, who is onboard Telefonica Blue alongside the Infanta Doña Elena until the start, seemingly found the occasion rather emotional when the docklines were cast off.

At first several tried to say their farewells on the dock, both before and after the King walked down and shook the hand of each of the fleet’s 88 sailors. Then there were more once Bishop of Alicante-Orihuela blessed the fleet. Then, once all boarded their boats, there was a clamber for the guard rails for one last goodbye.

Team music followed and one-by-one they all departed. Some had special guests – like Telefonica Blue’s royal cargo and the Infanta Doña Cristina on Telefonica Black – but all are stacked to the bulkheads with ambition.

The purpose of all the dockside anxiety is to sail around the world in the fastest time and that race is about to begin.

09:30 GMT, 11:30 local

Now, there is no calm. What was a deserted pontoon is now rocking under the weight of families.

Bouwe Bekking is reassuring his two daughters, Ken Read is doing likewise. Simon Fisher, Bekking’s navigator onboard Telefonica Blue, receives a farewell hug from his mother. The scenes are replicated all the way down the pontoon.

There’s a fair share of tears and nervous laughs, but also a lot of excitement. “Let’s get the show on the road,” is Jerry Kirby’s typically cavalier call. “Almost there,” adds Anders Lewander of Ericsson 3.

There is also royalty in town, with King Juan Carlos due for a walkthrough meeting with all of the skippers. However, his heart is closest to the Telefonica twins – last night, in an unprecedented move, he presented the two boats with his own personal burgee.

There are also Volvo Ocean Race winners dotted around. Mike Sanderson, who won the last race so resoundingly as skipper of ABN AMRO ONE, is here and feeling nostalgic. “I can’t believe it’s been three years since the last one started,” he said. “It’s flown by. Will I do another race? Never say never. This event is so close to my heart, that yeah, I'd probably like another go at some point.”

What he does not envy is the weather. It’s picked up to close on 30 knots. “Not an easy start to the race,” he said. “But it’s not meant to be an easy race!”

The wind is expected to drop as the morning grows old, but that does not appear to be the case.

07:30 GMT, 09:30 local

It’s easy to talk about the calm before the storm when a round-the-world race is just hours from starting, but here and now there is a lot of both.

The docks, barring a few shore members and sailors, are bare. The flags, however, are rampant. It is estimated – by PUMA Ocean Racing’s Jonathan McKee – that some 25 knots of breeze are currently charging down from the north east and through the village.

“There is going to be no settling-in period out there,” McKee said. “We are going to be right in the rough from the start. At least we won’t be going upwind.”

For some, it has felt like one long upwind battle. Team Delta Lloyd only entered this race a little over a month ago and made it into her mooring just after 0800 this morning. Indeed, James Dadd and his measurers were still onboard at 0845 running the rule over her components.

For others, a two-year battle to get ready is nearly over. Telefonica Blue have a man up the mast checking rig. Ericsson 3 and 4 have a couple of deck hands out scrubbing. Green Dragon’s Neal McDonald is pacing along the pontoon, deep in his thoughts.

The tension has become noticeable in the last few days as a huge effort to get ready was outflanked by a greater desire to get going. As Magnus Olsson, smiling like always, put it this morning: “We want to go sailing and have a race.”