{"id":2529,"date":"2023-11-19T23:58:19","date_gmt":"2023-11-19T23:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/?p=2529"},"modified":"2023-11-20T04:30:33","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T04:30:33","slug":"the-other-half","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/the-other-half\/","title":{"rendered":"The other half"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The yacht was an Oyster 885 \u2013 essentially 90ft long – so it was a bit of a step up from the pontoon.<\/p>\n

Actually, at the end of the automatic, electrically-operated passerelle with LED lighting and folding handrail was one of those little collapsible step ladders you keep in the broom cupboard so you can reach the top shelf in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

It looked somewhat out of place on the big boat pontoon at the ARC, but the crew were having trouble connecting the passerelle app to the ship\u2019s wi-fi, and besides, a tiny design flaw meant the miniature hatch in the transom got in the way.<\/p>\n

I know all of this because my cousin Sophie is the cook aboard Babiana<\/em> and invited me aboard to see how the other half lives.<\/p>\n

The other half have it hard, I can tell you: They also had to contend with a glitch in the app for the sparking water system: \u00a0It came pouring out of its designated tap without any bubbles. Never mind, they can always drink champagne. They\u2019re carrying 250 bottles of wine from the owner\u2019s award-winning Vondeling vineyard near Cape Town (It\u2019s a hobby bought with money from the hedge fund he founded with money made from buying enough cocoa futures to give everyone in the country 83 Mars Bars each).<\/p>\n

The Financial Times calls him \u201cChocfinger\u201d, but in fact, he\u2019s a surprisingly modest guy called Anthony Ward who was even then on his way with his wife Sophie (1) and determined to win the ARC’s racing division. It would have been better if the crew hadn\u2019t returned the night before from pizza ashore to find the freezer on the blink.<\/p>\n

Sophie (the one in the galley) had spent two days preparing and freezing ten meals for the 12-strong ship\u2019s company. She\u2019s catering for a 14-day crossing, so had another day over the stove to look forward to.<\/p>\n

The skipper \u2013 that\u2019s her partner James – as calm as a man can afford to be when he has retractable bow and stern thrusters, asked whether they might leave the freezer until the morning.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need to know the details of Sophie\u2019s response.<\/p>\n

But sure enough, by the time the owners arrived, Babiana <\/em>had bubbles, the freezer was back at -18\u00b0C (they disconnected one of the fridges – they\u2019ve got five of them) and we were ready to go out and try the whompa.<\/p>\n

You need a whompa if you\u2019re going to win the ARC. It\u2019s the biggest sail you can get on a 120ft mast \u2013 which means it is 639sq\/m (or, if you like big numbers 6,878sq ft).<\/p>\n

We put up the whompa and sailed faster than the wind. Then, we put up the A3 and sailed faster than the wind. There is something curiously pedestrian about putting up big sails when the only effort involved is in keeping your toe on the button for the electric winch.<\/p>\n

The helmsman has buttons too \u2013 different buttons for port and starboard steering positions. \u00a0Of course, it all takes a lot of electricity, which is why they have a starboard generator and a port generator \u2013 although why nobody can make a washing machine that works at a 30\u00b0 angle of heel is a mystery.<\/p>\n

By the time you read this, they will be over the horizon, deciding whether to go north and sail deliberately into a gale or south and risk being becalmed.<\/p>\n

Anyway, just in case, they topped up the fuel tanks. It took the best part of an hour. An Oyster 885 carries three tonnes of fuel.<\/p>\n

Oh, it\u2019s not for motoring through the calms (they\u2019ve got the whompa, don\u2019t forget). But what if the generator stopped \u2013 port or starboard \u2013 with five fridges and the washing machine to run?<\/p>\n

Not to mention having to cross the Atlantic without bubbles\u2026.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

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The Whompa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Port steering controls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Starboard steering controls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The engine room – with port and starboard generators.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The owners – Sophie and Anthony Ward<\/p>\n

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Skipper James<\/p>\n

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Cousins: The old man and Sophie the cook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The yacht was an Oyster 885 \u2013 essentially 90ft long – so it was a bit of a step up from the pontoon. Actually, at the end of the automatic, electrically-operated passerelle with LED lighting and folding handrail was one of those little collapsible step ladders you keep in the broom cupboard so you … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2529"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2545,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529\/revisions\/2545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}