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Volvo Ocean race-Life at the Extreme
Posted on 16 Dec 2008548 Views5 Comments
Born and bought up in the hills, nature has always enticed me. Be it the challenging mountains, alluring forests or the tantalizing ocean, I have always been and still remain to this day an advent nature lover. I could never say no to an opportunity to visit these amazing natural feats. So when I was asked by my editor, to visit Kochi to cover the Volvo Ocean race-India stopover, I was absolutely ecstatic to be able to get far far away from the chaos and madness of New Delhi and into the serenity of the seas.
I have visited beaches many times in my life, however, when I was told that all journalists would be taken to the middle of the ocean to see sailors sailing off to Singapore, via the Lankan Island, along with their 8 yachts competing not just with one another but also with mother nature, I became excited and nervous at the same time. Excited, because I have never travelled to the middle of the ocean and nervous because not being a strong swimmer, absurd thoughts crossed my mind like what if I fell down from the yacht or something!
However, the anticipation to meet these sailors grew stronger in me when I learnt that these sailors would be spending over nine months away from their friends and family. I really wanted to meet these sailors ask them how it felt when they prepared to leave their loved ones for so long?
On the afternoon of 12th of December, I along with seven other journalist friends arrived at the Kochi port to meet the sailors who were gearing up to leave the following day for their next destination. After lunch I had brief chat with some of the skippers and I must admit their perseverance and passion for the sea bowled me over. Also it was really great to experience the raw thrill of their neck-to-neck battle on the race course; the sailors were feeling immense pressure to prove that they could overcome all extreme conditions including really bad weather!
Upon asking them about their experiences on the voyage, one skipper told me, "Forget the myths about fiery infernos and scorching eternal damnation, you can see what hell is really like right here on this earth! " I realised that these guys go into battle, whatever the odds, and when they are not risking their lives they are equally happy being the real workhorses of their boats.
Talking to Torben Grael, the skipper of Ericsson Racing team and a five-time Olympics medalist, I asked him about the preparation he underwent for this race; Grael paused for a moment before he replied "The project is all you dream about when it comes to going around the world with the Volvo Ocean Race."Greal also told me that it took him more than six months to prepare for his dream project and this fact was quite visible in the passion that shone in his eyes while he talked about this project.
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paramjit singh
Its my dream to buy this bike
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subho
what is the on road price in kolkata
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narendra
An excillent machine must have in garage
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satya
Have you any dealer in Siliguri, west bengal
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lee
Wat's the mileage?
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