It’s cool to listen to what the skippers say after a long or challenging race but you hear them and then they are gone.
Something touched a chord when I heard Charles Caudrelier’s response to the VOR question. So much so I painstakingly copied it down and I think it is worth sharing with you, especially in the light of some of the inane comments that appeared in the past days.
It is as is, unedited and without comments but it is from someone IN the race, In the race today and gone through the conditions all the fleet have just experienced rather than viewed then from the comfort of their armchair.
VOR: What does this second place mean to you?
CC: It’s fantastic for us. Of course we are trim (sic) about the first one when we saw Brunel but Brunel did a fantastic leg and I think deserved this first place. He has been the leader in the south but it is a fantastic result for us, we managed to come back to Mapfre after a lot of frustration on the previous leg where each time we lost some point stupidly, this time we managed to keep them back and they are far away with Turn the Tide we have a chance to take the lead so for us it is amazing to finish this leg with all the team members on board and of course I am thinking about what happened to Scallywag.
This can happen to sailors, we know about that but we are all scared about that. It doesn’t happen very often but when it happens it is dramatic to loss (sic) life. In this condition I cannot of course right now my family is not here but most of the time when I arrive at the dock my family is here and I can’t (sigh) I mean it is difficult to imagine that my boat could arrive without me and my kids waiting and I am thinking to John Fisher and am so sad for his family and it’s so sad, I’m so sad for all the Scallywag team and David which is a fantastic funny guy which we have discovered during this race, always has a good joke, very funny, good spirit and that was a fantastic team and they lost one of them and a dramatic situation.
As I say it is part of our sport, it’s an extreme sport, sometimes it happens.
I compare it to mountain, I know, I did a lot of mountain and I lost a lot of friends in mountain, even the best climber, it happens. But that is why we are here – to push the limit, but we are looking for, to sail in this area, it happens, unfortunately it happens and it’s always too much but it’s like that.
So I think about John and maybe all the teams can give him some place to him and think about him and his family and ….there we are.
VOR: Thank you Charles. I know your comments reflect the wider feelings of all the sailors in the fleet and well done in this leg. I know as skipper always a proud moment for your crew.”
CC: As I said, not my words but those from someone who has gone through the Southern Ocean.
Easy to argue with others on the podium or write trash on the front page – anyone dare to argue with Charles?
SS
