Walker family affair at Alicante; light winds may make journey longer; jump start by Vestas Wind

Ian Walker has a family affair before pulling out to sea; light winds may make Leg 1 a little longer; Vestas Wind jumps the start.

Ian Walker, captain of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing's "Azzam", had many members of his family in Alicante, Spain, ahead of the start of the Volvo Ocean Race, including his daughter, Emmy. Ian Roman / Abu DhShow more

 Daddy free zone

Ian Walker, the skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam, had his parents, wife and two daughters in Alicante for the send-off. His younger daughter, Emmy, shadowed her father much of the morning and was asked about watching him sail over the horizon for the next three or four weeks. “It’s sad, but pretty soon it gets back to normal,” said Emmy, 11. As her father listened, she was asked what is considered normal around her house. “No dad,” she said. Her father feigned a knife wound to the heart, but it brought home the reality of familial absences in the endurance sailing world.

 Finding rhythm

The family of Phil Harmer, a member of the Azzam crew, did not make the trip to Alicante for the farewell ceremony, so he stood back and absorbed the emotional scene. “As soon as you leave the port, it becomes a bit more normal,” he said. “Then, there’s only the nine of you. Well, the nine of you and about 50 helicopters and boats buzzing around. But you get in your rhythm pretty quickly.”

 Stocking up

Because of light winds of about 11 knots, the fleet might need two days to travel the 300 nautical miles to escape the Mediterranean Sea and enter the Atlantic Ocean. Some crews expect the 21-day transit to Cape Town could be a 24-day journey. Azzam may be one of those expecting a longer leg; another day of foodstuffs was loaded into the boat yesterday.

 Camera man

The colourful Yang “Wolf” Jiru of China’s Dongfeng had an ingenious solution to hands-free documentation of the send-off. He used Velcro to affix a small GoPro camera to his forehead and filmed the departure scene.

 Zigs and zags

Once the fleet reaches the Atlantic, probably tomorrow, the battle of wits can be joined. Crews receive updates from Volvo officials every six hours regarding the location of their competitors and they will be able to see when their opponents change course in search of wind. Because of divergent strategies, boats travelling at the same speed can soon be hundreds of miles apart.

 False start

The first gaffe of the race was made by Vestas Wind skipper Chris Nicholson, who crossed the starting line early, had to turn around and completed the inshore intro to the race in last place.

 What race?

Unless winds pick up, the boats for a few days may look more like corks in a bathtub than €4.4 million (Dh20.5m) sailing torpedoes. Simon Fisher, Azzam’s navigator, said: “We might be trying to find the best place to float.”

* Steve Elling