Please select your home edition
Edition
X-Yachts X4.0

Volvo Ocean Race -Team Alvimedica’s reflections on Tristan da Cunha

by Amory Ross, Team Alvimedica on 2 Nov 2014
A 6AM jibe east and an early build in windspeed keep Team Alvimedica on their toes with a week of hard sailing left until Cape Town. Charlie Enright (R) and Nick Dana (L) guide Alvimedica through the South Atlantic under full sail. Amory Ross / Team Alvimedica
Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15. There’s this island in the middle of the South Atlantic. It’s called Tristan da Cunha and it’s roughly halfway between Cape Town and Cape Horn. It’s the kind of place most people never hear of because factually it is the most remotely inhabited island in the world. Tristan is not on most maps, and I know this because I look for it every time. It’s out here in the middle of the ocean, no airport, a volcanic summit rising from the depths completely isolated, a population of 260 shut off from the world save for a few computers with dial-up internet, satellite phone, and the BBC.

I’ve been there once on a rig-less Volvo 70 during the 2011-2012 Volvo Ocean Race when we were dismasted on the way to Cape Town. It was an incredible week in an incredible place but I have to be honest: I left thinking I would never see it again. I probably shouldn’t have. Will’s latest routing has literally dissected Tristan, just 250 miles to our east. Looking at it on the chart brings back all kinds of memories, some good and some bad. It was essentially the end to PUMA Ocean Racing’s bid to win the race, but it was also the beginning to an amazing adventure. And in the years since that race I find myself talking more about my week in Tristan than our leg five and six wins in Brazil and Miami. Hard to believe it’s so close again.


Close as we are and nostalgic as I am—the goal is Cape Town and we’re making good progress in that direction. Our position to the south has its rewards, many of which will play out in the long run. So we have to be patient and not get flustered when a difficult weather scenario like this makes a mess of the position reports. There are some significant hurdles left on the course and the general consensus is that there are big opportunities for gains from behind, all the way to the finish line. It’s a theory we plan on putting to the test.

Wet and windy sailing onboard Alvimedica. ©  Amory Ross / Team Alvimedica
Wet and windy sailing onboard Alvimedica. © Amory Ross / Team
Team Alvimedica website
Rolly Tasker Sails 2023 FOOTERNorth Sails Loft 57 PodcastAllen Dynamic 40 Footer

Related Articles

Voiles de Saint-Tropez Day 3 Ingrid Abery Gallery
The impossibly beautiful classic yacht fleet continue to dazzle The impossibly beautiful classic yacht fleet sailing from Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez continue to dazzle, and Ingrid Abery was again out on the water to catch the best of the action.
Posted today at 9:03 am
Manly 16s Club Championship Heats 1 & 2
Women on the Move On and off the water, September 27, 2025, is not a date Georgia Clancy will easily forget.
Posted today at 8:51 am
Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez Day 3
An on-the-water celebration at Les Voiles The sunshine and the wind were in perfect harmony on Wednesday afternoon in the Gulf of St Tropez. At 2 pm all the Modern and Tradition fleets got some racing under their belts, revelling in their respective coastal courses.
Posted today at 7:44 am
HALF PRICE Profurl Nex Free Flying Furler
With any New Downwind Furling Sail from Sail Exchange When you order a New Build Furling Asymmetrical (Nylon) or Cruising Code 0 (Laminate) you'll receive a Profurl Nex Free Flying Furler at 50% off the Retail Price. Offer available until 7th Oct 2025.
Posted on 1 Oct
2025 Formula Kite Worlds Quartu Sant'Elena day 2
“Happy accident” boosts Whitehead to two race wins Breiana Whitehead was the star performer in the women's fleet on day two of the Formula Kite World Championships in Quartu Sant'Elena. The Australian was the only rider to score 2 wins from four races, moving Whitehead up to third in the overall rankings.
Posted on 1 Oct
Malcesine hosts the 2025 2.4mr World Championship
The event that celebrates sailing as a sport without barriers From October 7 to 12, 2025, Fraglia Vela Malcesine will host the Inclusive World Championship 2.4mr 2025, the World Championship that celebrates sailing as a sport without barriers.
Posted on 1 Oct
Zhik launches Daybreaker jacket and salopettes
Lightweight sustainable warmth and clean layering for offshore and coastal crews in cold conditions Lightweight sustainable warmth and clean layering for offshore and coastal crews in cold conditions.
Posted on 1 Oct
Multihull Regatta at Nedlands Yacht Club
It's Cat Summer in WA, and we're off and racing The club summer season is about to begin in Western Australia as sailing clubs around the state prepare for their annual Opening Day events.
Posted on 1 Oct
America's Cup: Luna Rossa sail two AC40s
Luna Rossa Youth and Womens team sail two AC40s marking the anniversary of their 2024 wins The Italian Challenger Luna Rossa has opened its account in the 2027 America's Cup, sailing two AC40s from the team's permanent base in Cagliari, Sardinia. The occasion was a celebration of their wins in the Youth and Womens America's Cups
Posted on 1 Oct
RS21 Worlds 2025 at Porto Rotondo, Sardinia overal
Fierce Racing, Fine Margins and a World-Class Show A sea of colour and competition lined the docks at Porto Rotondo Yacht Club, 24th - 27th September, as 49 RS21 keelboats assembled for the 2025 RS21 World Championship.
Posted on 1 Oct