Sybarite
Well-known member
The following was an article I found on the net and gives useful background to recent discussions on the hardships of ocean racing. The article was some time ago and before Ellen's RTW.
(free translation)
<< Olivier is intractable with his team-members: "When racing I become frankly inhuman", but he never loses his calm, seldom wastes his saliva: the stormy explanations always take place later. "Even in a crisis situation, there is always a favorable moment to act"
He hates conversation during watches, which lead to inattention: the helmsman has orders not to speak, not to smoke, not to take coffee "a man cannot do two things well at the same time".
Safety is a constant preoccupation; the "least distraction on a boat can lead to a catastrophe" to such an extent that he forbids crew to wear gloves: ""Suppose that during a manoeuver you lose one of them. The hand, suddenly exposed to the cold, becomes stiff and unusable. Outside on a boat, it is necessary to have both hands working: one for the man, the other for the boat "... I am an order maniac, I do not accept shortcuts. They can be dangerous! "
For him errors are always human "someone who falls overboard means that his place was not on board", His overboard procedure is : "So somebody, is in the water. 1), throw him a rope, preferably not in his face. 2), as soon as he has grabbed it, he should be carefully brought alongside. 3) ask him – Where’s your cash? 4), as soon as he tells you, let the rope go - it would not be nice to leave him there without anything. 5), enter his name in the book of the punishments ".
OdK explains the use of inflatable rafts as follows: "When you are inside, it is a good life. You have all you need to survive: a Bible, a pot of rillettes, a signed photograph of Moitessier as a baby, a map of Pigalle and a cassette which repeats: hold on, hold on... "
To those which say to him "I think that..." he answers "You are not here to think"
In action, on deck, he hustles crew-members who do not act quickly enough, replaces them, works like a charging buffalo does not concede an inch, accomplishing a devilish workload; he has same wild courage as those pitiless owners who commanded the sailing ships in times past. On board there is only one master: him.
One day, perhaps the only one during his career, he offered a choice to his crew: "You will vote, either the first solution, or the second. Reflect, but quickly. I want the result of the poll in five minutes. Take advantage of it, it will be the only time where you will vote during this trip... Ah! I forgot a detail: it is not certain I will take account of the result! "(which is what happened).
A team-member who listened to a cassette of Vivaldi still remembers the intervention of the owner: "I don’t want to hear this guy any more, not Beethoven, not Mozart, not Stivell, chuck all that into the sea. I did not work all my life to have a boat transformed into house of culture or a caravan, and the ocean is not a campsite! "
He justifies his approach as follows: "On a boat, only an enlightened dictatorship gives positive results. If you do not understand that the race is a sprint of more than two months, if you do not understand that in racing, only the race counts, then that proves you do not merit your place on board "
Olivier de Kersauson is not ready to accept a woman on board but he does recognize the qualities of (some) of the better of them: "There are never women on my boats, it is a question of the ratio of muscle to mass: 15 women equal the weight of 11 men. I like women, much more than you undoubtedly can imagine. I do not want to add sexual undertones to all the other concerns on board. I would have a lot of problems sailing and having to keep my eye on the women"
"There are some women who are exceptional sailors: Florence Arthaud has true marine genius; there are not many guys able to do what she did. Karine Fauconnier in the upcoming generation has something extraordinary "
He knows how to share his love of the sea: "To watch the sea, it is to stroll through time, it is never monotonous. When I go up on deck, I have the feeling of being a shepherd who watches his herd of waves "
At sea, all is different, the rest of the world disappears, the concept of time is deformed, "At sea, loneliness is the surest partner of the navigator. It drives out the dreams, makes illusions fall and, magnifying all with a pitiless acuity, it draws you into a voyage within yourself - to one’s utmost limits which can be most revealing. When you spend a month at sea, you only realize that you have left when you return".
The sea is his life: “ I have always been ready to die for sailing. Others are content to live for it.”
(free translation)
<< Olivier is intractable with his team-members: "When racing I become frankly inhuman", but he never loses his calm, seldom wastes his saliva: the stormy explanations always take place later. "Even in a crisis situation, there is always a favorable moment to act"
He hates conversation during watches, which lead to inattention: the helmsman has orders not to speak, not to smoke, not to take coffee "a man cannot do two things well at the same time".
Safety is a constant preoccupation; the "least distraction on a boat can lead to a catastrophe" to such an extent that he forbids crew to wear gloves: ""Suppose that during a manoeuver you lose one of them. The hand, suddenly exposed to the cold, becomes stiff and unusable. Outside on a boat, it is necessary to have both hands working: one for the man, the other for the boat "... I am an order maniac, I do not accept shortcuts. They can be dangerous! "
For him errors are always human "someone who falls overboard means that his place was not on board", His overboard procedure is : "So somebody, is in the water. 1), throw him a rope, preferably not in his face. 2), as soon as he has grabbed it, he should be carefully brought alongside. 3) ask him – Where’s your cash? 4), as soon as he tells you, let the rope go - it would not be nice to leave him there without anything. 5), enter his name in the book of the punishments ".
OdK explains the use of inflatable rafts as follows: "When you are inside, it is a good life. You have all you need to survive: a Bible, a pot of rillettes, a signed photograph of Moitessier as a baby, a map of Pigalle and a cassette which repeats: hold on, hold on... "
To those which say to him "I think that..." he answers "You are not here to think"
In action, on deck, he hustles crew-members who do not act quickly enough, replaces them, works like a charging buffalo does not concede an inch, accomplishing a devilish workload; he has same wild courage as those pitiless owners who commanded the sailing ships in times past. On board there is only one master: him.
One day, perhaps the only one during his career, he offered a choice to his crew: "You will vote, either the first solution, or the second. Reflect, but quickly. I want the result of the poll in five minutes. Take advantage of it, it will be the only time where you will vote during this trip... Ah! I forgot a detail: it is not certain I will take account of the result! "(which is what happened).
A team-member who listened to a cassette of Vivaldi still remembers the intervention of the owner: "I don’t want to hear this guy any more, not Beethoven, not Mozart, not Stivell, chuck all that into the sea. I did not work all my life to have a boat transformed into house of culture or a caravan, and the ocean is not a campsite! "
He justifies his approach as follows: "On a boat, only an enlightened dictatorship gives positive results. If you do not understand that the race is a sprint of more than two months, if you do not understand that in racing, only the race counts, then that proves you do not merit your place on board "
Olivier de Kersauson is not ready to accept a woman on board but he does recognize the qualities of (some) of the better of them: "There are never women on my boats, it is a question of the ratio of muscle to mass: 15 women equal the weight of 11 men. I like women, much more than you undoubtedly can imagine. I do not want to add sexual undertones to all the other concerns on board. I would have a lot of problems sailing and having to keep my eye on the women"
"There are some women who are exceptional sailors: Florence Arthaud has true marine genius; there are not many guys able to do what she did. Karine Fauconnier in the upcoming generation has something extraordinary "
He knows how to share his love of the sea: "To watch the sea, it is to stroll through time, it is never monotonous. When I go up on deck, I have the feeling of being a shepherd who watches his herd of waves "
At sea, all is different, the rest of the world disappears, the concept of time is deformed, "At sea, loneliness is the surest partner of the navigator. It drives out the dreams, makes illusions fall and, magnifying all with a pitiless acuity, it draws you into a voyage within yourself - to one’s utmost limits which can be most revealing. When you spend a month at sea, you only realize that you have left when you return".
The sea is his life: “ I have always been ready to die for sailing. Others are content to live for it.”
