What It's Like to Ride on a Volvo 65
Keith Burhans answers: “Amazing, incredible, and awesome.”
August 24, 2014
When the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) starts in October, seven professional crews will race identical boats with idential sail inventories around the world. Nine months and 39,000 miles later, someone will be declared the winner. It promises to be a true test of crew work, navigation, weather analysis, and risk management.
Keith Burhans sailed on Abu Dhabi's Azzam around the Isle of Wight as part of the crew for the Artemis Challenge Race.
This summer I had the very rare opportunity to race with one of these professional teams as they prepared for the VOR. Team Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing ran a Facebook popularity contest and gave away one slot on the boat for the Artemis Challenge Race. I went all in to win it, and after weeks of begging for votes, my mission was accomplished. I won and received an invitation to join the team on their raceboat Azzam.
My daughter Allie went with me to Cowes, England, where Cowes Week 2014 was already in full swing. It was amazing to see all of the racing activity right at the harbor entrance. There were hundreds of boats and plenty of on-the-water chaos.
Keith Burhans
We received a warm welcome at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club by Abu Dhabi Tourism, Azzam’s title sponsor. After a delicious lunch and a few presentations, skipper Ian Walker introduced his racing team—the guys I would sail with the next day. What really struck me was the experience level on this very international team; Olympics, America’s Cups, and VOR’s are on nearly every resume. Very impressive.
Allie then went off to explore Cowes and I did some interviews before enjoying a few cold ones with Azzam’s shore team. They were waiting for high tide so that the boat could be brought to shore for an official flag raising ceremony and tours.
The next morning Allie and I were picked up at 0600 for our car ride to Gosport to meet the boat. We were going to deliver it back to Cowes for the Artemis Challenge Race, a big celebrity and charity event. At 0700 there was a very light and spotty northwest breeze on the Solent, so our sailing delivery quickly became just a boat ride. It did provide an opportunity to meet and talk with several members of the team, and we enjoyed an in-depth tour of the barebones living arrangements. We arrived at Cowes about 0830.
The tender arrived with the rest of the crew, and the shore delivery team and Allie hopped off the boat. Next was a weather briefing and review of the race course. Everything was very matter of fact, including a discussion about prepping the anchor for possible deployment at The Needles if the sea breeze did not materialize by the time we arrived there. Our start was scheduled for 1000.
As we finished our briefing, the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (ADOR) tender delivered our celebrities, Yasmin and Simon LeBon. ADOR had chosen “Toes in the Water” as their charity. It is a program similar to our Wounded Warrior program here in the US.
Yup, those are carbon legs. Keith lost his originals in a boating accident, but it hasn't stopped him from adventures like racing on Azzam. Photo: Ian Roman
This race was the very first time that Azzam competed against two other VO65s, Dongfeng and SCA, so in addition to supporting a charity it was game on for the racing. The breeze was a light northwester, but it was a spectacular day with bright blue sky and a few high wispy cirrus clouds.
The starting line was between a virtual mark offshore and a light range on shore. The current was ebbing and strong, pushing us west toward the line as well as toward “the Needles.” Two practice passes were made to evaluate the current before the afterguard decided to set up to leeward and ahead of Dongfeng and SCA. A perfectly timed start launched Azzam to a nice early lead, in control of their upwind strategy. Then the thoroughbred found her pace and stretched her lead.
One thing that surprised me was the armada of spectator and photography boats following the race. Sailboat racing attracts a lot more attention in the UK than in Rochester, NY.
As predicted, the northwest wind was dying as we approached the The Needles and western exit from the Solent. We could see the southwest sea breeze starting to build outside, but it wasn’t going to make it into the channel with any punch. Trying to take advantage of every small puff, we’d already tacked about twenty times up to this point.
To tack these machines, all three of the double pedestals are synced so that six crew can completely furl the headsail before the bow goes through the wind. Then the crew immediately grind like hell to unfurl the sail on the other tack. This is the drill for every tack and every gybe.
Every tack requires a full team on the coffee grinders, and Keith was spun off by the "young bucks" three times.
I take pride in staying strong and fit, but the young bucks spun me off the handles three times. The only consolation was that by this point, they were sucking wind almost as much as Simon and I were.
The sea breeze did arrive before we arrived at The Needles so we tacked one last time, then reached off around the southernmost point on the Isle of Wight. Simon was given the opportunity to drive on this leg and I could tell from his smile that he was enjoying the return to his maxi-boat element. We stretched our lead on the reach at first, but made a headsail change that seemed to be rather costly—until we turned the southern corner and the other boats made their sail changes too.
Jibing down the southeast shoreline was really fun and tactical. Staying near shore and out of the current was very important, and the ADOR team’s local experience paid some nice dividends.
The RC radioed that due to no wind in the lee of the island, they were shortening course at the easternmost mark. So Ian invited me to take the helm for the last eight miles. After a few minutes of trying to steer to the numbers that he’d suggested (a 10.5-11 knot target in 9 knots of breeze), Chuny (the main trimmer) said, “You are a sailor, forget the instruments, just sail by feel.”
Once freed from looking at the instruments I found that if I turned the wheel the width of my hand for a 30 second speed build and then back for a 30 second burn, the boat flew along—and we were hitting Ian’s numbers. It quickly became clear just how well-balanced and behaved these boats are. And I had the pleasure of finishing the race at the helm, as Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing earned the first of what I believe will be many victories for this team.
As I check this one off my “bucket list,” I have to ask: do any skippers out there need a seasoned VO65 crew for the Transpac, Bermuda, St. Barths Bucket Regatta, and/or the Sydney-Hobart races? If so, let me know...
For more detail about ADOR, visit the Abu Dhabi team page on the VOR site.
Editor's Note: Read more about Keith on the boats blog: Sunday Sailing: Volvo 65 Racing. All photos courtesy Ian Roman.
