PGOR- Sanders-Perrin/Salvesen (UK) qualify Mowgli

by Brian Hancock on 17 Aug 2008 Wet, exhausted, but exhilarated at having taken on a challenge and prevailed. Those were the emotions running through Victoria Sanders-Perrin and Jeremy Salvesen when they finally made it back to land after 10 tough days out on the open ocean. Sanders-Perrin and Salvesen had just completed their mandatory 2,000 mile qualifying sail for the Portimão Global Ocean Race and jumped the last big hurdle standing between them and the start line on October 12th, 2008. It had not been an easy sail.

'We were hammered with very strong winds every day,' said Salvesen. 'Rarely below 25 knots and often as much as 40 knots. It was a real test in every sense and I am elated that we came through it without a scratch. Vicky and I are a terrific team and we worked together to make sure that we kept ourselves as warm as possible, as dry as possible, which was not easy, and most of all to keep our boat, Mowgli, in good working order.'

The duo set off from Portsmouth on August 4, originally with an eye toward circumnavigating Great Britain, but with a gnarly forecast and after some sage advice from veteran solo sailor Alex Thompson, they opted to sail out into the Atlantic a 1,000 miles. Race rules call for a qualifying sail of no less than 2,000 miles incorporating all points of sail including hard upwind. And some hard upwind sailing they did, finding the weather less than cooperative.

'We did have some hard upwind stuff,' said Sanders-Perrin. 'And it was not without it's trials. I must admit I did have a bit of a sense of humor failure at times but looking back on it, it was a thrilling experience and I am so happy that we came through it OK and now on to Portugal for the race start.'

Sanders-Perrin may have had a sense of humor failure at times, but in her emails from onboard she showed that she has what it takes to make it around the world and return sane; the canny ability to see the funny side of a less-than-funny situation.

'As I filled a bucket from the bilge below the nav station,' she emailed, 'I laid hand to a squidgy bit of what can only be described as flesh-feeling gunk. I hurled the bucket out of the companionway with said gunk and quickly washed my hands and shut my eyes. The woodcock. Dear god, had it got in and drowned in the bilge. No, it wasn't the cute little bird that sailed a bit with us last week, it was a rehydrated pork scratching. If you eat them, each one becomes the size of a large pork chop when soaked in water.'

While to some, a 2,000 mile offshore sail may not seem like a monumental challenge, but remember that just two short years ago neither Jeremy or Victoria had ever sailed. Both were inspired to do the Global Challenge, Sir Chay Blyth's now (sadly) bankrupt around-the-world race. They had reached a point in their personal and corporate lives where they discovered that there was something missing. It was time for new challenges.

With the Global Challenge opportunity gone they decided to team up and enter the Portimão Global Ocean Race. The pooled resources, bought a boat, took sailing and safety-at-sea lessons, and are now prepared and fully ready to race double-handed around the world. Seasoned sailors they are not, but sensible, ambitious and intrepid they are, and it's going to be fun to follow their exploits over the coming year, pork scratching and all.

www.portimaoglobaloceanrace.com/