Volvo Ocean Race - Another perspective from Team SCA

by Sara Hastrieter, Team SCA on 23 Oct 2014 Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15, Onboard Team SCA. Today I would like to share another perspective with you. Given the kind messages from Team SCA followers that we have been receiving onboard (thank you!), it would seem daily reports from our onboard reporter Miss Halloran and our onshore media crew have been doing a wonderful job of sharing our journey thus far. However, today I would like to share another perspective with you, from a sailor, to our friends, family and followers.

We do not always have a chance to do this as we are either hard at work or trying to catch any rest possible. Unfortunately we were granted extra sleep last night through a loss of wind. The doldrums (the area just north of the equator we are currently in), has proved incredibly tricky. The night before was the antithesis of light. The darkness and ominous clouds created a scene only visible by dramatic flashes of lightning, displaying a minefield of monstrous clouds, each with the potential for strong breeze and torrential rain. Some brought both and with all hands on deck we changed through our entire range of headsails, just trying to maintain a forward momentum in a southerly direction.

We've been training for transition periods such as this for a long time. After a few squalls we learned what worked best for us as we tried to conserve sails and crew. There were several off watch periods (of four hours where you're meant to eat and sleep), where people got no rest. We were left shivering, smiling and smelling a bit better as we'd managed a few squirts of hand soap in our hair between clouds.

There are a lot of logistical things to work around, living on a 65' boat with 12 people for a month but those these things fill in the spaces of our time. The race, the competition, the speed and direction of the wind- these are our obsession. We passionately love sailing. This race encapsulates so many aspects of everything appealing about sailing as a sport and as an adventure. We love working under the stars at night and feeling like we're the only people in the world enjoying the last light of the sunset from where we skim through the water. However, our eyes do not linger for long as they again refocus on the numbers and trim of the sails, the indicating clouds on the horizon or the proper trim of the several hundred kilo stack below.

We are driven. We are competitive. We are determined. We are focused. We want to do well for our team goals and to also complement the hard work or our amazing shore crew, coaches and personnel at Team SCA. We hope that we can help our partners at SCA to inspire people all over the world to achieve beyond every day expectations. Your goals don't have to be sailing around the world, just realizing that often the only thing between us and our best potential may only be ourselves. While dreams are alive, chase them.

From a cowgirl from Wyoming who dared to dream to cross an Team SCA website