Exhaustion hits sailors as The Ocean Race Europe prepares for final leg - ‘Like a six-week Le Mans’

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The Ocean Race Europe is coming to a head with teams heading off for the fifth, final and longest leg. Upon arrival in Montenegro, after a short coastal race, the winner of the overall 4,500 nautical-mile race will be announced. But between now and then, anything could happen… leaving the teams on edge, pushing hard and frankly, exhausted.

Maintaining fitness offshore: Behind the scenes with Allagrande Mapei Racing

Video credit: TNT Sports

There are seven teams in this edition of The Ocean Race Europe. Statistically three can still win, although it would take a lot to knock Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm off the top spot.

It is not impossible, and that is keeping the competition alive and kicking for Leg 5 from Genova, Italy to Boka Bay in Montenegro.

While four of the seven teams can no longer win, these are still some of the best offshore sailors in the world, and beating each other on the final leg is now a matter of pride.

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However, energy levels are not what they were when the race started four weeks ago in Kiel, Germany.

Unlike other sports, there are no nice hotels at the end of the work day, no freshly cooked meals and no re-connecting with friends and family.

This sport is 24/7 and normal life is considered a luxury. This is, of course, the path these sailors have chosen, and dreamed of for the best part of their lives - but that does not make the sleep deprivation, mental strain and physical degradation any easier to endure.

The IMOCA boat Paprec Arkea foils during Leg 4 of The Ocean Race Europe

Image credit: The Ocean Race

From life onboard, to life onshore - there is little rest to be had as crews juggle the tension of performance at sea with the non-stop strategy meetings, boat maintenance and media obligations on land.

As Pip Hare of Canada Ocean Racing said: "It’s like a six-week Le Mans."

'An assault to the senses'

For Pip Hare of Canada Ocean Racing, returning to shore after days at sea is almost disorienting.

"There’s a change in state, in psyche," Hare said. "When you’re on the boat you’re super focused, but when you’re in charge you always, always, sleep with one ear open. You never change your clothes, you never take your shoes off… just in case.

"And what’s bizarre is coming from that state, onto the shore, and in a way it’s an assault to the senses with the mass crowds, the arrival music, all the different stimuli coming at you.

"I feel this race is designed to be a test, and that’s not just for the sailors, it’s for everyone involved. In terms of intensity, I joke and say it’s like a six-week Le Mans. There’s nothing quite like it out there on the sporting calendar."

Pip Hare at the helm of the team Be Water Positive

Image credit: The Ocean Race

Italian sailor Francesca Clapcich, Italy’s first Ocean Race winner, highlighted another hidden challenge: the stopovers.

"Sometimes the stopover can be so intense with activity," Clapcich said. "If you don’t manage every minute of your time, you can get to the start of a leg and consider life offshore downtime.

"That’s when you know you might have overdone it slightly."

Francesca Clapcich caught mid-yawn by the Onboard Reporter of Team Malizia

Image credit: The Ocean Race

Coffee matters

Onboard, fuel comes in liquid form, and in very small pockets of sleep. Corentin Horeau of Team Paprec Arkea described how coffee, short naps, and teamwork help keep the crew alert.

"Coffee helps offshore, but you have to double and triple check yourself to make sure you’re not making any mistakes due to tiredness," Horeau said. "But it always happens, we check each other when we know a team-mate needs rest.

"Team atmosphere onboard is key; you have to check yourself when you start to get grumpy onboard. You have to have absolute trust in your team to manage the boat and do their best whilst you rest.

Corentin Horeau of Team Paprec Arkea

Image credit: The Ocean Race

"It’s the end of this leg that has me thinking, we’re going to be pushing hard, we want to give everything we’ve got for the win."

Even naps are carefully calibrated. "I prefer a 10-15 minute nap as not to fall into too much of a deep sleep," Horeau adds.

Deep sleep is the enemy

Sailors often function on just a few hours of sleep at a time. Will Harris, co-skipper of Team Malizia, described the toll on body and mind.

"Sleep in 24 hours depends on the leg and the day, it’s between 2-3 hours during an intense leg like Leg 4," Harris said.

"We need to manage sleep to concentrate and perform. Sleeping can be between 30 minutes and a maximum of 1 hour 30 minutes at one time, but no more than that.

"When you get woken up for a shift and your body settles, it’s okay, but for more than an hour you feel so groggy. Everyone has a technique to wake themselves up. Personally, I stare at a bright screen and eat Haribo.

Will Harris of Team Malizia

Image credit: The Ocean Race

"You use a lot of your back muscles during racing, and the build of the IMOCA boats is not accommodating for a human. It’s a combination of the way the boat is moving and shaking around, and the fact that you tense from the awkward position. Even though we do lots of training, the muscles still get sore after a while.

"You’re always in a slight state of exhaustion because the legs and the stops are so short. I think it will take twice as long as the race to recover. So, say this race is seven weeks - I would expect the sailors will still be recovering 14 weeks afterwards to be back to total normality.

"And it’s not just your sleep, it’s your muscle mass, your immune system, physical fitness, mental capacity, and concentration. All these things require you to be out of a stressful environment to thrive. This takes a long time to get back to 100%. After the race, everyone will have a big recovery."

Dutch skipper Rosalin Kuiper of Team Holcim PRB added that even the shortest legs push crews to their limits.

"That kind of racing makes you push every minute," Kuiper said. "Little sleep, little time for yourself, and full focus. I think Leg 3 was one of the most demanding legs I have sailed, even if it was only for three days.

"You count down the hours, push into the red zone of your energy, and then, once you step back on land, our routine looks like: recovery, a debrief on the previous leg, sleep, good food and nutrition, body monitoring and mobility training."

Rosalin Kuiper, Skipper of Team Holcim PRB naps onboard

Image credit: The Ocean Race

How to follow The Ocean Race Europe

LIVE LEG 5 START

Follow all the live streaming action as the teams gear up for the fifth and final leg from Genova to Boka Bay on the September 7 at 1:50pm streaming only on discovery+.

THE NEW ONBOARD UPDATE SHOW 

The ‘Onboard’ show is a premium documentary-style update show, giving fans access to behind the scenes during both stopovers and racing, showing the drama, tension, and human stories of the sailors.

All episodes are available to stream on discovery+, with new episodes on air every Tuesday and Friday at 7pm

ONBOARD LIVE 

The new ‘Onboard Live’ streams will use the 360° camera and audio systems aboard each team to offer fans access straight from the boats. This new approach, developed by The Ocean Race team, combines onboard cameras with drone and satellite technology to deliver an immersive feed managed from the race’s technology control room in Alicante, Spain.

At 4pm for seven days between Monday, September 8 and Saturday, September 13 (excluding Tuesday and Friday) viewers can access the brand new digital stream on discovery+.

LIVE ARRIVALS

The timing of arrivals is always fluid, depending on the progress of the fleet. The live streaming of the Boka Bay arrivals will go live 15 minutes before the first boat crosses the finish line. Available on discovery+.

FINAL RACE IN BOKA BAY, MONTENEGRO

On September 20, The Ocean Race Europe fleet will take part in a short coastal race in Boka Bay, Montenegro - the final points-scoring opportunity for the teams. This will be streamed on discovery+.

Coverage times:

Dock-out: 11:00 - 12:00pm
Live race: 1:00 - 2:30pm

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