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9:55 PM Tue 14 Apr 2009 GMT
All highly-developed societies have governmental bodies to monitor and protect an employee's physical and mental wellbeing in the workplace.
These groups have an impact upon almost every facet of modern living whether you are driving in a car, visiting a supermarket or building an extension to your house. Without exception, all these groups - the Office of Health & safety (UK); the Department of Occupational Health & Safety (USA); L'Insitut National du Recherche et de Securite (France) or Bundesanstalt fur Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin (Germany) and so on - are criticised and ridiculed for overreaction and draconian and often unpractical and extremely expensive guidelines.
It could be imagined that offshore sailors are exempt from the dictates of these organisations as they roam the remote sea areas of the planet out of sight and far beyond the reach of beaurocracy and distant from the current climate of aggressive litigation culture. Certainly, cruising yachtsmen are - for the most part - unregulated and are free to sail across oceans unfettered by legislation. Offshore racing sailors, however, are strictly regulated by the individual race organisation running an event and by the class association whose boats are being raced.
In the Portim?o Global Ocean Race, the double-handed and single-handed teams have to comply with an enormous number of rules applying to their boat and to the team members personally. The design and construction of the boat is optimised to balance speed potential with safety and durability; vital safety equipment, extensive medical supplies and a stock of fresh water are mandatory; each competitor must undergo training in seamanship and must prove his competence in a qualifying voyage before officially entering the race.
This system of close monitoring is appropriately rich in acronyms. For example, all the boats must comply with ISAF OSR (Offshore Special Regulations) Category Zero and RCD (Recreational Craft Directive) Category A and should be built and designed to ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) 12215 parts 1-4 etc.
All this pre-race preparation is important, but once they have crossed the start line, the teams are predominantly self-regulating. Bad weather, injury and boat damage become a constant danger and physical and psychological wellbeing are key elements in racing effectively. In Leg 3 of the Portim?o Global Ocean Race, the four teams sailed 7,500 miles across the Pacific and South Atlantic Oceans taking 40 days to complete the course and encountering every type of weather and associated hardship from howling gales to flat calm. While recuperating in the stop over port on the Brazilian island of Ilhabela, the teams shared their thoughts on personal safety, the risk of injury, the importance of chocolate and how to overcome the isolation and extended solitude of a long offshore passage.
The most obvious threat facing the competitors in bad weather is being washed overboard. 'Like all boats, the foredeck is the danger zone as it moves around the most,' explains David Thomson, co-skipper of British Class 40 Team Mowgli. Visiting the foredeck to reduce or change sails in strong conditions is unavoidable and jackstays are fitted to the deck ensuring that the crew are always connected to the boat. 'We have to disconnect from the safety line to get around the genoa sheets, but we have a double attachment lifeline and it's fine,' continues Thomson. 'But if you keep one hand for the boat and one for yourself, you should be alright.' Conversely, Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme have a continuous jackstay on Beluga Racer, although Oehme admits that lifejackets are sometimes a struggle to deal with. 'It's really hard to wear a lifejacket sometimes,' he says. 'We have automatic and manual versions onboard but the automatic lifejacket is always going off as soon as you get caught by a wave.' Despite the restrictive nature of a life jacket and the occasional struggle to fit the gear over bulky foul weather clothing, the German duo are usually attached by a harness in rough weather. 'It depends on the conditions,' continues Oehme. 'If the wind is building, we're usually already in our survival suits and you can go from the winches at the back to the very front of the boat attached to the jackstay.' Even dressing and moving around in the neoprene, one piece suit can be difficult and exhausting but the precaution is wise.
The threat of injury and accident is constant, but - surprisingly - the only serious reports during Leg 3 came from Beluga Racer: 'I had a swollen elbow and it was very big and kept growing and was really painful and I couldn't grip anything,' explains Boris Herrmann while Oehme simultaneously sustained back strain. Shortly after the start, the fleet hit light airs and the German team were constantly trimming. 'I think it was over stressed,' says Herrmann. 'I hadn't slept for a long time early in the race in light winds.' Herrmann called the team's medical advisor in Germany and sent pictures of his elbow. The professional advice was to rest. 'I was just really excited and I then I took a long sleep and the swelling disappeared immediately.'
Other than the strain injuries for the German team, the main personal injury was limited to cuts and bruises. 'We don't wear gloves at all for handling the lines,' says Jeremy Salvesen of Team Mowgli. 'Your hands are pretty trashed by the time you get in, but it doesn't take them very long to recover. In fact, a month long stopover is just long enough for your hands to become soft and lily-like just in time to go out and trash them again!' Co-skipper David Thomson agrees: 'I got a couple of cuts on my hands but they healed up before I got here so it's been a pretty good leg in that respect.' The medical supplies on Team Mowgli are extensive although, happily, the store has seldom been raided. 'Haven't needed any drugs,' confirms Salvesen. 'Although David had a few tooth problems on the first leg and we both had really bad colds, so we dipped into the antibiotics and have some very good oral health drugs on board like mouthwash in our enormous med kit.'
For the British team, health problems were usually of a more personal variety. 'On the first leg, we got a lot more 'bot rot' than we have subsequently,' admits the British skipper. 'We use a lot of creams and altered our underwear changing routine,' continues Salvesen frankly. 'Although our foul weather gear is really good, you will always get a damp bum and I think our major health concern has been looking after our posteriors.' The answer to the problem has been key part of general wellbeing on Team Mowgli. 'The whole baby wipe thing replaces showering, but we also use them for every conceivable thing on board,' explains Salvesen. 'Even the washing up; it's really wonderful gear and if only Johnson & Johnson knew, there would be a whole new market for these things!'
The monotony and consistency of food onboard during an extended voyage when freeze dried and irradiated food are the norm can lead to a depressing diet and an insufficient calorific intake. Despite the restrictions demanded by saving weight for optimum racing performance, some teams have chosen to supplement their diet. 'In this last leg I think we actually put on weight as we were carrying an excess of chocolate,' confirms Jeremy Salvesen of Team Mowgli who spent many years in the confectionary industry. 'It was a concern as we were light on chocolate in Leg 2 and lack of chocolate is a serious issue!' he continues. 'On the first leg we ate almost totally freeze dried food and we weren't eating particularly well and did lose weight, so we've progressively moved away from freeze dried although we do eat the stuff during bad storms when cooking anything else is impractical.'
Another important psychological component is motivation and input from outside the confined environment of a racing yacht in the middle of a deserted ocean. 'After we leave a stopover port there's a lot of stuff to talk about,' says Felix Oehme. 'But after about three weeks the conversation begins to dry up a bit. Watching a movie or getting emails gives you motivation and gives you something to talk about.' For the skipper of Beluga Racer, a lack of reading is clearly embarrassing. 'I don't read a lot which is bad as I'm not learning anything and my education doesn't advance,' says Boris Herrmann. 'However, we have a hard disk with maybe 300 movies and we downloaded a lot from Mowgli in Cape Town. So we can call them up or send an email and talk about the movies.'
Conversely, on Team Mowgli, the rate of reading is voracious. 'I read a lot,' says David Thomson. 'I think I've read more books on this race than I've ever read in my life. You end up not having a conversation and watching a film also gives you something to discuss afterwards.' For Thomson's co-skipper, it is vital that the duo spend down-time together and they always eat at the same time. However, personal time off is also vital: 'I read quite a lot on board and I'm trying to get out of just reading trash,' says Salvesen. 'Sometimes there are times when you just want to sit on deck and admire the stars or the ocean which can bring immense peace and it's an amazing and humbling feeling.'
So, without the guidance and advice of a health and safety executive, the yachtsmen in the Portim?o Global Ocean Race are coping extremely well with the demands of this unique round the world event.
www.portimaoglobaloceanrace.com
by Oliver Dewar
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Cape Nelson, VIC
Kitesurfing - Kites
Windsurfing - Sails
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