So What was it Like?

My boss said, “Imagine if you had backstage passes to Woodstock…that’s how excited she is.” And, I’ve got to say; I think it’s true. My experience in Boston for the Volvo Ocean Race was unlike any other. I met tons of people, helped with some servicing (ok, I sanded carbon and put One Drop on it, but Telefonica will NOT have squeaky winch handles!), and had a fantastic time just hanging out and seeing what the life of a Volvo sailor is like (well, at least the life on shore). I think we all have a lot of preconceived notions about what these people will be like. I know I for one look at some other races happening, and prepare myself to meet some, perhaps not so nice people, hell, Key West Race Week, the NOOD’s any quazi big deal big boat race has yachtie assholes by the boat load, but this is NOT the case with the Volvo Ocean Race. Maybe it has something to do with the amount of time they spend together, or possibly with the fact that they are going offshore for a long time in what can be very dangerous conditions, whatever it is, it makes all these guys fabulous to be around. It’s like being at the best event you’ve ever sailed, only it’s the Volvo, it’s epic, everyone there realizes it, and absolutely no one takes it for granted.

I’ve been back for almost 2 weeks now, and I’ve been struggling to pin point what exactly I can say about the event and my time there. Words like, “stoked”, “epic”, and “sick” all come to mind, but I really don’t think they do my thoughts justice. So here is the deal; there is something special about the group of people involved in this race, and I get the feeling it’s like the mob, and once you’re in, it’s damn near impossible to ever be the same. It’s hard for me to describe, or do a description justice, because I feel that other authors have described this quality far better than I ever could, therefore provoking the perfect emotion to help you understand the feeling that I got in the midst of everything…


“As to just what this ineffable quality was . . . well, it obviously involved bravery. But it was not bravery in the simple sense of being willing to risk your life. … No, the idea here (in the all-enclosing fraternity) seemed to be that a man should have the ability to go up in a hurtling piece of machinery and put his hide on the line, and have the moxie, the reflexes, the experience, the coolness, to pull it back in the last yawning momentand then go up again the next day … and the idea was to prove at every foot of the way up that pyramid that you were one of the elected and anointed ones who had the right stuff….” – Tom Wolfe, The Right Stuff (p17-18).

Now, these guys are not flying into space, like the men described by Tom Wolfe, however the are hurtling around on carbon fiber rocket ships, pushing themselves against mother natures wall, you have to have something special, or be a little off, to get up and do that every day.

Boston vs. Baltimore

So I’ve been spending the last few days in Boston, MA for the Volvo Race. The one question that I have gotten a lot is, “How does Boston compare to Baltimore?” I have to say, the comparison is interesting, there are pluses and minuses to each stopover, I would love to say one was way better than the other, but I don’t think I can. Boston has a lot of things going for it that I enjoy. The haul out area and all the bases are right at Fan Pier, so everyone can see everything. While the general public is not allowed in this “wet area” they can still see in and see what is happening. There was nothing like this in Baltimore, in fact everything was quite a ways away, so the general public never really got to see, where the real action happens, in fact, they were no where near it, kind of a bummer for Baltimore and big points for Boston.
Baltimore did however have some strong points in my mind, the location was fantastic, it was right downtown, which allowed the public to see so much. This location was also really cool because you could go to any number of restaurants along the harbor and see boats zipping around, which also means a lot of people who just happened to be going out would stumble upon the VOR. In Boston, the waterfront area seemed not nearly as inviting, which was simply unfortunate. You really had to be aware that the circus was coming to town, and you had to want to go. That said, there certainly wasn’t any lack of excitement Saturday when boats left for the in-port race, or Sunday during the Pro-Am match racing that was right off the pier.
Finally, dock access. The distance between the dock and shore was about the same in both locations…very close. This is fantastic for all of us going there to look at sweet boats, there is no shortage of viewing at either venue, however, Boston has lacked one critical aspect…dock tours. In Baltimore, you could stand in line, and eventually be taken down to the dock in groups of 8 or so, to see the boats. I’ve seen none of this here in Boston, which is a real shame. Getting up close to these boats is certainly a highlight for many people. Now, granted in Baltimore, you were never allowed on the boats, they were still there, and you could still take nice up close and personal photographs, you really cannot do that in Boston, and I think this might be one of the larger shortfalls. For the general sailing public, this was the coolest part, and for the general non-sailing public, this was a great way to show them the sport, I was certainly sad to not see this in Boston.
More to come from Boston!