Volvo Ocean Race- Dave Swete - Alvimedica's race so far

by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com on 27 Feb 2015 The Volvo Ocean Race and its forerunner, the Whitbread Round the World Race, used to be dominated by Kiwi crews.

In the current edition, there are just three New Zealanders competing. Two of those are on Team Alvimedica, the US and Turkish flagged entry.

Dave Swete and Ryan Houston are both graduates of the Lion Foundation RNZYS Youth Program, which has been the nursery for the development of many match racing, Round the World and America’s Cup sailors.

Both sailed on Sanya, in the previous edition of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Sail-World caught up with the Kiwi pair just before the start of Leg 4 from Sanya, as they looked forward to arriving in their home port of Auckland, New Zealand.

Dave Swete was sanguine about the race – so far. 'They call it Life at the Extreme – it has been extremely hot and trying and boring at times,' he quipped

'It has been extremely hard in other ways. We came into the race thinking of the Roaring 40’s but so far there has been a lot of light airs sailing.

'It’s been a funny old race, for us so far - but we have been able to improve. And it could be different for us if we get some good wind.

'The strongest breeze we have had so far was coming out of Cape Town, where we got 40-44kts off Table Mountain. That was the most fun we have had too!'

The forecast before they left Sanya was for strong winds, which promised to give the fleet a workout for the first few days, and the team had been training with that forecast in mind. In the end the strong winds and boat breaking seas never eventuated with ferocity predicted.



Instead, the question of the first week was whether or not to head north, sailing around the outside of those in the fleet that opted for a more direct approach to the Solomon Islands. The tactic paid off handsomely for Ken Read and the crew of Puma Ocean Racing in the last Volvo. Puma got left in a hole in the wind soon after the start in the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race and was very soon an hour behind the rest of the fleet and getting different winds.

'It is looking like there is a percentage chance of the fleet heading north', said Swete. 'The joke last time was that Puma claimed to have found a new island up there, near Japan. But I am not too sure if going north was that intentional.

'It nearly came off for them – but now there is a 20% chance of going North. Four days out it is not looking like we will be going north.'

In the end two boats, Team Brunel and Team SCA made the break north, splitting away from the fleet and both made a very good gain, with Team Brunel leading for the first week or so of the race, before losing that advantage as the fleet neared the Doldrums.

This edition of the Volvo Ocean race is the first to be sailed in the new Volvo 65 class, which will be used again in the next edition of the race.

The change to the one design has turned the approach to the race, with many believing that the teams who got the first boats, gained an advantage in sailing time and are more on the pace than the later launched teams.

'So far there has definitely been a group of three boats which has shown the way,’ says Swete. 'We have been able to nip at their heels which is good.'

The change to one design has forced a change in tactics with the boats sailing in a very tight group and using the more conventional inshore covering tactic of staying between your competitor and the mark.

'Team SCA have always been out there, and being a little different in terms of their navigational options, and they could pull off a good move at some stage. We are always aware of that. From the outside, it looks like we are all covering each other, but it is a high risk to break away from the pack. You have to back your boat speed in the boat on boat stuff – which we are starting to do.'

'It is a high risk to break off and sail away from the fleet. We are not scared to do it. But often you see someone else breaking off and later coming back into the pack, when the move doesn’t quite work out. We call it the bungy-effect'.

The way the Bungy-effect works is that a boat can either break the Bungy, as Dongfeng has done on occasions and completely commit to a radical course option. Or, the move doesn’t pay off, and the Bungy will stretch and then pull you back into that group.

'The Bungy makes us look like we are all following each other. But at some stage a boat will break the Bungy and will win a leg because of that. There is more potential for that on Leg 4, than on the other three legs.'

Swete, who was awarded the Hans Horrevoets Trophy for the outstanding under 30-year old sailor in the last Volvo Ocean Race, says that Team Alvimedica are on a constant learning curve in the race.

'For sure we still have a lot to learn and we feel that. We are improving and hope the other guys plateau. It is all a matter of time, and some of the others have had that time that has allowed them to get off the boat and look at sails and things like that. It is just all time.

'We didn’t confirm our final crew until a couple of weeks before we turned up in Alicante. We were late in the game – but other teams were late into the game as well. We show our potential sometimes, but just need to do that more consistently.

'We have had 75 days of sailing so far, and will have close to 100 days when we get to New Zealand. We have still got a bit to learn. But we always finish each leg feeling that we have learned a lot – and that is a good feeling.

'The sort of thing we are learning is the crossover points on sails, and what the options are. When we look at the sail charts, there is a lot of crossovers, but every boat has a different theory on which is better and when. Sea state also comes into it. The sail charts don’t tell you which sail will be best in say 4.5 metre waves, and that is what we are testing the whole time

'We are getting it right 50% of the time while the other guys, have it down a lot more exactly.

'We know where we are at and where we want to be,' he remarks.

One of the questions of this race and the new boat will be how they perform compared to the bigger Volvo 70 which was used for the previous two editions of the race.

The more open design of the Volvo 70 lead to several outcomes that threatened the viability of the race. Teams spent a big portion of their budget on the design, and optimising that for expected wind on the various legs and regions of the course. The drive to minimise hull weight led to numerous breakdowns, with boats often being shipped to the next Stopover. At one point on Leg 5, there were only two of the six boats racing, with the rest having either pulled out or undergoing repairs in a remote part of South America.

Swete’s previous Volvo Ocean Race experience aboard Sanya, a recycled Volvo 70, was punctuated with mast and rig breakage, as well as hull punctures.

'Obviously my previous experience in the Volvo 70 wasn’t great,’ says Swete when asked to comment on the Volvo 65 compared to her predecessor. 'We were breaking a lot of stuff –off the coast of Vietnam last time we had a winch blow off and go overboard!'

'These boats are solid – it is quite refreshing to concentrate on sailing instead of constantly fixing breakages. The VO65 hasn’t had its chance downwind yet. As soon as we head downwind, they feel really, really good., and I think they are going to be good fun in the Southern Ocean, as soon as we get a bit of breeze.

'The VO65 may prove to be a little slower than the Volvo 70. They are less powerful and 5ft shorter, but they are also reliable and good fun. And we know that we have got the same boat as the other guys. I am enjoying it, the VO65 is a great concept!'

'I feel that we can push this boat harder than a VO70. We’ve got a lot more structure in the boat. They are much the same weight as a VO70, with plenty of ring frames and longitudinal structures in the hull. They are very strong boat bit still with plenty of get up and go. I think we can push them harder than the VO70’s.'

Dave Swete, now with a young daughter, is looking forward to sailing into the Hauraki Gulf, and the Leg 4 finish in the inner Waitemata Harbour off the Volvo Ocean Race Village.

'I can’t wait to sail into Auckland and see all my friends and family. I just love coming home.

'It was like that last time off the Three Kings when you see the first boats that have come out to catch some game fish. Then you see the people who have come out miles offshore in tin boats to see you sail by.

'Slowly you come down the coast past all the islands that you have cruised around when you were younger.

'I am hoping that we get a good reception with the two Kiwis on board. It’s going to be good fun!’