Volvo Ocean Race- A bumpy, hard driving ride in the Southern Ocean

by Jonno Turner on 22 Nov 2014 'It’s a pretty bumpy, mixed up ride. It’s hard driving – it’s hard doing anything.'

Team Vestas Wind’s Rob Salthouse perches perilously on the edge of his bunk, eyes fixed on a well-earned freeze-dried feast, steam snaking up towards his nostrils.

He takes a deep, satisfied breath. 'It’s just so tiring, you know?' he smiles. 'But that’s the name of the game.'

'If it was easy and fun all the time, everyone would be doing it.'

Around him, the sides of the boat shake and shudder. Ferocious waves slap an upbeat rhythm on the boat.

'Tom’s in there now,' he gestures with his fork, floppy noodles dangling from the prongs. 'He’s trying to go to the loo, that’s the hardest mission of the day.'

He puts down his food and laughs. 'You know you’ve got to do it, but you don’t want to!'

Sounds familiar – in fact, it sounds a little bit like sailing through this Agulhas current.

It’s unpleasant, it’s uncomfortable, but ultimately, there’s no choice. It must be crossed.

'We’re in steep seas,' says Team Alvimedica’s Will Oxley, digital maps reflecting off his glasses.

He points towards the white glow of his laptop screen. 'As you can see, it’s quite extreme!'

No kidding. If these sailors are married to the ocean, then it’s moments like these that must test the strength of that love.

Time after time, gallons of ice cold, salty water pour on to the deck like buckets of white confetti.

Needless to say, the Cape Town honeymoon is over. It’s difficult to adjust back to offshore life after a fortnight soaking up the sights and sounds of the South African city.

There’s still plenty to soak up, but now, it soaks into their socks and underwear.

'The Indian Ocean spares no-one,' writes seasick Onboard Reporter Stefan Coppers, in a short and sharp blog from Team Brunel.

'Every 10 seconds, the boat drills into a tower high wave. Not only is the deck wet – in the hull it’s like an aquarium.'

Constantly splishing and sploshing around in ankle-high sea water, it’s impossible to get dry. In fact, it’s almost impossible to perform even the most basic and mundane tasks.

'It’s impossible to anticipate the movement of Dongfeng,' adds Onboard Reporter Yann Riou.

'I wanted to make myself something to eat – and at the precise moment I had poured the yoghurt powder into my bowl, the boat plowed into a wave.'

'I had to let the bowl go and hold on to whatever I could to avoid becoming part of the forward bulkhead.'

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Over on Azzam, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing bowman Justin Slattery is dressed for a fight - decked head to toe in wet weather gear - and taking a beating.

Wave after wave after wave slams into him, knocking him sideways as he grinds.

'We’re nearly through it,' he laughs, snatching a breath between watery punches. 'It’s one of those places that I’m always happy to get out of!'

If he had the luxury of being able to open his eyes for more than a few seconds, he might be able to see the opposition - just 3.5nm separated his fifth placed boat from second placed Mapfre this morning.

When you’re this close and compact, the work never stops, the chase never ceases, hope never dies.

There are no coffee breaks.

'We’ve just come off watch now - upstairs its pretty wet,' says an out of breath Rob Greenhalgh, in the dark of the Mapfre galley.

'Down here, it’s just a case of taking your gear off and getting into the bunk as quickly as possible.'

And for the Spanish boat, Rob believes that a few brighter days are on the horizon.

'We’re hanging in there,' he adds. 'It’s pretty breezy, a bit windier than forecast, everyone is pushing pretty hard as we’ve got five boats in sight.'

'It should lighten off a bit more – we’re hooked into the westerlies now, trying to make our way east.'

And the lightening of the conditions means that the teams will finally be able to focus on strategy rather than survival.

The next 24 hours will be key - as the teams decide when to head north. Will they all stay together, or will someone dare to be different, and break from the pack?