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12 October 2001, 03:28 pm

Our Private Race

Gurra Krantz

Volvo Ocean Race

Email from Gurra Krantz on board Team SEB.

Facts are that we have 293 miles to the next boat and 363 to the leader and that is of course a long distance. Have we given up? No, of course not. The only thing here is that we have a race on our hands with Amer Sports Too and djuice. That fight, plus the tremendous support from home that we hear about and that we could get a break on the front-runners, will keep us going.

Looking back a day or two things were a bit different. After getting locked by an eastern wave, then the northerly positioned doldrums and after that the south repositioned doldrums, we did not have much faith in what we were doing.

A lot of proposals came up. Marcel (Van Triest) was going to sell sausages on the beach on Mallorca. Matthew (Humphries) immediately applied for a position at the stand being in charge of mustard and ketchup. Dingo (David Rolfe) looked into becoming a fisherman. Magnus (Woxen) planned to go home and sit in the sauna and Tony (Mutter) thought of being Marcel's biggest customer on the beach.

It is tough mentally sitting with flopping sails for days. Occasional speed bursts raises the hope just to be taken away by another two-knots-of-wind-from-behind scenario. Position reports that you have to force yourselves to read are coming in. Why I write about this now? Sometimes one needs a bit of distance to reflect over what happened.

It is certainly different now. Three sail reaching in the trade winds and averaging 10.5 knots. Passed the equator this evening and King Neptune will be here tomorrow morning. Severe punishments for those three onboard that crossed the equator without permission is awaiting.

Gurra Krantz/New Editor