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

by Amory Ross, Team Alvimedica on 2 Nov 2014 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.