Smooth operators

The logistics of a round-the-world race can be a nightmare. ROBIN BAILEY reports.

Who would have thought a packet of beef stroganoff could cause such an international dilemma? As the Volvo Ocean Race juggernaut rolls around the world, the toughest job has not been the juggling of hundreds of tonnes of containers full of sailing gear, it has been convincing customs officials that the freeze-dried food the sailing crews eat during the race is not an illegal substance.

Chris Cooney, the logistics director of the race, made a special trip to Rio de Janeiro before Christmas with a couple of bags of freeze-dried dinners for the head honchos at Brazilian Customs to taste.

"Freeze-dried food is our biggest problem. We have to convince these people that it's food, but it's not yet food," New Zealander Cooney says.

"We've been battling with the Brazilians for months over this one. It sounds crazy, but it's got to be done."

Rio, the next stop for the Volvo fleet, is expected to provide plenty of challenges for the shore teams with complex customs clearances, and then the security of the containers once in the boat park.

Rio is not the only problem port. The logistics of this race on the ground can be a nightmare anywhere.

At every stopover, 500 tonnes of sea freight and 22 tonnes of air freight are sent for the eight race teams and the race organisation.

"The sailors are fairly oblivious to it, but they certainly appreciate having everything set up and ready when they arrive in port," Cooney says.

The last leg showed how things must be done. The boats left Sydney for Auckland on Boxing Day and the containers on a ship two days later. By New Year's Eve the gear had arrived in Auckland and containers were being set up on two of the empty America's Cup bases in the Viaduct Basin three hours later.

The only way to ensure that everything arrives on time is to have campaign containers leap-frogging around the globe so the race yachts don't beat the ships into port. The gear bound for Rio is travelling from the first stopover in Cape Town.

Each syndicate has from two to four 12m containers filled with vital equipment from tools and sewing machines to bikes and baby cots.

Volvo Logistics has a partnership with the Wallenius Wilhelmsen shipping line, which gives the syndicates free sea freight for the race. The Volvo company spends $US500 million a year with the shipping line, which helps.

"Free freight can save each syndicate £100,000 ($340,000) and that can be the cost of two or three new sails," says Cooney.

The official freight forwarder for the VOR is the British company Peters and May, which has worked on the last four round-the-world races. It is also working with two America's Cup syndicates and has set up an office in Auckland.

Cooney, who has a background in shipping and was Grant Dalton's shore manager for two previous Whitbread campaigns, has the experience to take care of problems before they happen.

"I've been around all the ports four times in three years to make sure we are not hampered by bureaucracy. It really pays off."

His pre-race work helps all the shore crew managers, who have plenty on their plates when the yachts reach port at the finish of a leg. Most syndicates have between six and eight specialists who prepare their boat for the next ocean crossing.

Some have first-hand experience of the race. Two New Zealanders in the role, Tyco's Ian Stewart and the only woman shore boss, Leah Fanstone of Team News Corp, have both sailed around the world twice.

Fanstone, married to News Corp skipper Jez Fanstone, understands the job better from being on the other side but still marvels at some requests she gets from her sailing crew, including booking rental cars for holidays ashore.

Stewart says the hardest part is that there is no down time. "It's a nine-month race and you don't get to step away from it all when you are responsible for handling the shore side of things. It doesn't compare with the highs and lows of sailing around the world, but it is still hands-on hard work."

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