EMC & Unisys take a nautical challenge
EMC & Unisys take a nautical challenge
Feb 23, 2005: The simile that sailing is like standing in a cold shower ripping up one hundred dollar bills may not exactly apply to the crew of 'Imagine It. Done', one of the Global Challenge yachts jointly sponsored by Unisys and EMC, recently berthed in Sydney en-route to Cape Town, South Africa, the longest leg of this round-the-world yacht race.
For skipper Denise "Dee" Caffari and her crew of 17, they can be at ease that at least they'll be spending other people's money as they plough head-first into the notorious Southern Ocean, taking on the mountainous swells and gale-force winds in what's expected to be six weeks of serious sailing.
Caffari, 31, skippers one of 12 identical 72-foot yachts in the Global Challenge, a 10-month round-the-world race that has one very unique feature - it's in the wrong direction. Yes, the crews have to sail against the prevailing winds and currents in what's considered one of the toughest sporting races in the world. Further, the crews are largely made up of amateur sailors, as well as what are called "leggers", that is, three or four ring-ins who join the crews on each leg. Typically, the "leggers" come from one of the respective yacht's sponsoring companies.
The skipper, a professional sailor with a distinctive resume, said the biggest challenge for her was people management; the crew of 18 (15 men, three women) share berths, work in four-hour shifts and their belongings are restricted to two very small boxes. They're also allowed one phone call on the Iridium satellite phone per leg, but once per week they can be given a "mother shift", which means spending the day cooking and cleaning for the other crew, with the perk that they are allowed a full eight-hours in their tiny bunks, and a shower.
One crewman told IDM that Caffari was enormously respected by her largely male crew and her relaxed approach to the sail day gave an insight into how she could put relative novices at ease. "How about we put up some flappy bits," was her command to raise the mainsail once the yacht had finally caught some breeze in a late-morning Sydney Harbour, well before the arrival of the afternoon's nor'easter.
Leaping to the mainsail halyard was EMC's Emma Rogers, who quickly learned that over 1500 square foot of sail carries some weight, as does the yacht itself, displacing over 50 tonnes in the water. As Caffari explained, "it's not one of those rock-star carbon-fibre jobs", looking across at the recently-repaired Brindabella and other sleek stars of the Sydney-to-Hobart classic (yachts that can abandon once the wind really blows). Rather, the Global Challenge yachts are built to withstand brutal conditions and sailing the hard way, which puts a huge strain on every component.
Currently, 'Imagine It. Done' is sitting in a strong 12th position, out of the field of 12, as Caffari said a gamble on a weather condition on what's called the "director's leg" from Wellington, NZ, to Sydney, had cost them dearly when the wind failed to blow.
Despite the huge distances the fleet sails, they are rarely 120 nautical miles apart, and Caffari once had to call a competitor to starboard (meaning get out of the way) when they'd been at sea for weeks and over a thousand miles from land.
Despite the nature of the race, Caffari said they had four spinnakers on-board and they'd had occasion to set them, although it was the exception, rather than the rule. The next major challenge Caffari will take on - after she safely returns to Portsmouth - is to sail a long distance, but this time with the wind firmly at her back. After sailing against the wind, particularly through the Southern Ocean and also around Cape Horn, she feels she will have more than paid her dues.
As for the sponsors? They feel they embrace the same values as that of the sailors: competition, teamwork, strategy and technical innovation. Steve Redman, EMC's managing director said, "our joint sponsorship of a yacht in the most arduous sailing race in the world sends a positive message - we are incredibly proud of being associated with everyone aboard".
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