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How to become a successful in the Whitbread around the World Race
The human race has always wanted to cross the mighty oceans. That is what makes the
Whitbread around the World Race so interesting. The Race is probably the toughest sailing
competition in the world. It's called the "Mt. Everest of sailing" because of the though
conditions, the endless miles the sailors have to cover. The competion is held every
third year. The competition starts in Southampton in England. The teams pass all the
continents, it usually takes about nine months for the teams to finally reach their goal.
The goal is back in Southampton where it all started almost a year before. The pressure
on the sailors is enormous because of the conditions and the long time at sea. This
demands a lot of preparations both physical and psychological. The tough conditions also
demand outstanding equipment, a lot of knowledge and skill. These figures are the key to
become a successful in the toughest sailing competion in the world.
The training starts a long time before the actual race starts. An important part of the
training is weight lifting and running. The sailors need to build up an enormous strength
and stamina because of the hard strain the body will be abused of during the nine months
at sea. If the sailors don't have the proper physical training they will be more liable
to catch an injury. It's also very important to learn to eat the right things. During the
race the food supplies will be limited because of the low weight the boat must have to
win. The food the sailors will be eating is going to be vacuum packed and only the most
necessary ingredients will include. One part of training that is necessary is spending a
lot of time with your teammates. This is important so that the team will learn how to
work as a team during the race. The sailors will spend nine months on 60 feet long boat.
EF language the boat that won the last competition. Their skipper Paul Cayard said,
"During the race, we were all living within a 60-foot shoebox"( )
To become a wining team the sailors have to be equipped with the right equipment. The
clothes the sailors need to wear must tolerate the hard climate and the constant
exposition of water. The clothes must also keep the sailors warm and protect them from
cuts. The boat must also be build by the right materials. The boat has to be as light as
possible but it must still stand the enormous pressure that the different and hard
weather conditions will demand. The best materials to build a strong and light boat are
glass fiber and plastic. If not the boat is build with the right materials it is very
easy that the wind destroys the boat. This can result in that the boat will not be able
to have maximum speed. This happened to the Swedish Match team, during the last Whitbread
competition. Their mast broke and they had to repair it during the race. Gunnar Krantz
the skipper of Swedish Match, he said "We made repairs to the mast and it is sufficient
for the existing breeze of 15 knots, much more and we have to back off a little"( )
The weight of the boat and the crew is crucial because this is the difference between a
winning team and a loosing team. The importance of weight can sometimes make a whole crew
starve. The technological equipment the sailors need is a well-developed computer system.
The system must be able to calculate the streams as well as stand the boat course. The
boat must also be equipped with cameras so that the rest of the world can be able to
follow the race.
The most important thing how to become successful, is the knowledge and skills the crew
must posses. The sailors must have knowledge about how streams and winds work. To gain
this knowledge the sailors must practice sailing a lot because experience is the best way
to obtain knowledge and skills. These skills and knowledge is often seen as a gift that
just some sailors posses. It's very important that the sailors are these ones that posses
this great knowledge, if they want to win. The most important person in a crew is the
skipper. He is the person that is in charge of the whole boat. The skipper is the person
making all the major decisions at sea. He controls the rudder and because of his
importance at the boat it's very crucial that he is competent. He also needs to have a
lot of experience and leadership, if the team want to become successful. The best result
will be accomplished if there is a good mix of sailors at the boat. To become a wining
team each of the sailors must specialize on a specific skill. The special skills that is
needed are for example, medical skills, skills in the technological equipment, skills in
cooking etc. 
To summarize, to have a chance to win in this prestigious competition the sailors need to
train a lot. They need to build up a physical strength, a great stamina. The sailors must
learn to eat the right food and to be able to work as a team. The equipment, which
includes the boat, the clothes and the technological material, must be the best. The
sailors need to have a lot of experience and knowledge about winds and streams. The
skipper who's the one that makes the most important decisions needs to be competent and
be a good leader. The best result will be accomplished if there is a good mix of sailors
in the team. If the team can obtain all these points they will be very hard to stop.