Please select your home edition
Edition

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
Allen SailingRooster 2025Henri-Lloyd Dynamic Range

Related Articles

2025 Lipton Cup at San Diego overall
Tight racing on final day leads to SDYC victory After an exciting weekend of tight racing in quintessential San Diego weather, the 110th Challenge for the Sir Thomas Lipton Cup concluded on Sunday, October 26.
Posted on 27 Oct
17th Transat Café L'or Day 2
Pitstop Challenges Pitstops lasting several hours have put two of the key favourites to win the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR on the backfoot less than 24 hours into the double handed race from Le Havre to Martinique.
Posted on 27 Oct
Missed the Tracking and Fleet Monitoring webinar?
Don't worry, you can still watch it! Last Wednesday's webinar on Tracking and Fleet Monitoring was enlightening, with Mark O'Connell - Globalstar GM for EMEA/APAC and Christophe Allan - Advanced Tracking CEO describing how the satellite-based system is helping clients around the world.
Posted on 27 Oct
2026 Antigua Bermuda Race returns
Drawing fleet to SailGP Bermuda After a two-year pause, the fifth edition of the Antigua Bermuda Race sets sail from Antigua on April 29, 2026.
Posted on 27 Oct
2027 Finn World Masters awarded to Forio d'Ischia
Ischia is a unique, very beautiful, and very mountainous island, with a 34 km long coastline The Finn Class is delighted to announce that an agreement has been made to host the 2027 Finn World Masters at Forio, on the island of Ischia, located off Naples in Italy.
Posted on 27 Oct
Get yourself into the draw for some great prizes
Sign up for the 2026 Fireball Worlds Expression of Interest The Expression of Interest for the 2026 Fireball Worlds closes this Friday. Pay £50 and you will be put into a draw to take place on 1st November 2025. The first non-UK boat drawn will receive a free entry to the UK Nationals and the Worlds.
Posted on 27 Oct
2025 Bermuda Gold Cup Overall
Swedish Sweep: Berntsson and Östling victorious in Bermuda There were wild scenes of Swedish celebrations in Bermuda on Sunday as Johnie Berntsson and his team of Björn Lundgren, Herman Andersson and Oscar Angervall made history with a Bermuda Gold Cup hat-trick.
Posted on 27 Oct
Banque Populaire make repairs in Transat Café L'OR
Working at their base in Lorient after detecting a rudder problem The members of Team Banque Populaire have been working tirelessly through the night. After detecting a rudder problem, Armel Le Cléac'h and Sébastien Josse, in consultation with the team, decided to stop at their base in Lorient.
Posted on 27 Oct
2025 Wingfoil Racing Youth & Masters Worlds Finals
World champions crowned in epic conditions The volcanic island of Terceira provided a breathtaking stage for the landmark event - a place where dramatic landscapes, abundant wildlife, and unpredictable weather combined to deliver a truly memorable competition.
Posted on 27 Oct
17th Transat Café L'or Start
Full speed into an uncertain night After tens of thousands of well-wishers and spectators gathered around Le Havre's Vauban docks to send off the skippers in perfect sunshine, the three divisions which started the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR Normandie Le Havre this afternoon were then released.
Posted on 26 Oct