Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2009 | Page 60

life

ON THE WATER

Salter brothers face cold and
dangerous waters
Jules and Guy Salter, from Gurnard, are a
quarter of the way through the Volvo Ocean
Race, racing onboard Ericsson 4, and still
leading the way by 5.5 points, but ahead
they face one the hardest legs of the race
when they race to Qingdao in China, the
sailing venue for the 2008 Beijing Olympic
Games. On Sunday 18 January, they set
sail again after nearly a month of rest in
Singapore.
“It will be great arriving in China and
although the stopover is very short, we
are looking forward to it,” Guy Salter said
speaking from Singapore before the start,
where temperatures were 30 degrees every
day. “I heard that the Island has had a
very cold, but dry winter so far, and I’m
missing that - especially here in Singapore.

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There is nothing finer than a still clear crisp
winter’s morning, especially walking through
Parkhurst Forest or any rural area,” he said.
This is the first time the Volvo Ocean Race
has visited Southeast Asia. In the previous
nine races, the most challenging legs had
been those that took the fleet through
the Southern Ocean to Australia and
New Zealand. Although huge waves and
icebergs were normal, the crews sailed with
the prevailing winds and were able to surf
downwind at high speed.
The race to China will be an uphill slog all
the way in heavy wind, something that will
not suit the boats or the crews. Although,
at 2,500 nautical miles, the leg is relatively
short, Jules and Guy are expecting difficult
conditions, freezing temperatures and

boat-breaking sea-states caused by strong
winds battling fierce currents.
“I’m looking forward to racing to China,
going through a piece of water I have sailed
through many times before,” explained Guy
who had a seven-year stint living and sailing
in Hong Kong.
“But I’m not looking forward to going
upwind in heavy air for two weeks, nor am
I am looking forward to the extremely cold
conditions. When doing a Southern Ocean
leg it gets cold, but you are usually going
downwind, so the wind-chill isn’t too bad.
“On this leg the sub zero temperatures and
the fact we will be going upwind will mean
that we will be having a wind-chill factor
even lower than the Island has had this

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