Yachting: Around the world race endurance battle' for Cup king Tuke

Sydney Harbour. Photo / photosport.co.nz

In October, more than 80 sailors jumped on their yachts to begin a race that wouldn't finish for eight months.

The sailors, spread across seven crews will travel 83,340km before a team is crowned Volvo Ocean Race champions.

Since 1973, the race around the world has been held on a three-yearly basis, drawing sailors from across the globe in a test of skill and stamina.

The concept is simple: it's the ultimate ocean marathon, a round-the-clock pursuit pitting the sport's best against each other across the world's toughest waters.

A total of eight Kiwis are competing this year, including Olympic gold medallist and America's Cup winner Blair Tuke.

For Tuke, competing in the race had always been a dream but he was finding out it was a different beast to what he was used to.

"It's a lot more of an endurance battle," he told the Herald on Sunday. "It really takes it out of you. You're pretty fatigued at the end of each leg.

"It really is a relentless thing to be doing where you're just pushing yourself day in, day out, all around the world. In saying that, to make the boat go fast and put the boat in the right place is pretty similar to normal sailing, so a lot of the stuff transfers over."

Teams are awarded points for each leg of the race, with an in-port series running as well. The team with the most points by way of placings on each leg is named the winner. The in-port series does not count towards the final standings, but does act as a tiebreaker if necessary.

Tuke, aboard leading vessel MAPFRE, has a unique chance to claim sailing's triple crown after taking Olympic gold in 2016 and being part of the America's Cup-winning Team New Zealand in 2017.

Not that he was thinking about that, though. For the 28-year-old, it was about the opportunity.

"I've really been enjoying my experience in the Volvo. I'm with a great team and learning a lot from the guys around me."

The race takes competitors across four oceans, touching six continents and 12 landmark host cities.

And, as Tuke simplified it: "You go through the roughest conditions you can think of ... as well as very calm conditions — and everything in between."

Because of the risks involved in the race, two crew members aboard each vessel act as medics, trained to clear airways, apply dressing and plaster casts, perform skin suturing, insert intravenous fluids and in dentistry.

Among the other Kiwis competing is Tuke's America's Cup and Olympic team-mate Peter Burling, who was sailing aboard Team Brunel.

Being on opposing teams, there has been the odd spot of banter but Tuke said they were happy for one another to have the opportunity to compete in the pinnacle of open ocean racing.

"The experiences we're having and the skills we're learning, those will translate to other sailing we do in the future."

Having visited Alicante, Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne and Hong Kong, the seven 67-foot yachts set out for Guangzhou, China this week and will make a quick stop there before heading back to Hong Kong then, on Wednesday, departing for Auckland.

"Sailing down to New Zealand on this next leg, I wouldn't shy away from saying it's definitely going to be one of the highlights for me if not the highlight," Tuke admitted. "To sail down the Northland coast and into Auckland is going to be very, very special."

The teams will be in Auckland in

just under a month, with an estimated arrival being February 27. Tuke said he was hoping to see plenty of Kiwis at the event village while in Auckland.

"Kiwis have always had a pretty strong history in this race. For us to be doing it, and what we achieved last year in the America's Cup, hopefully that re-inspired people.

"We'd love to see as many Kiwis out supporting all the teams. There's a lot of Kiwis on all the boats, so you can take you pick of who you want to go for."