Once there were steaks, hamburgers and roast chicken. There was cold beer and good wine every day. How times have changed.
Credit : Gustav Morin/Ericsson 3/Volvo Ocean Race
There was freshly baked bread and other luxuries onboard Mexican 1973 winner Sayula II, and sailors on Grand Louis enjoyed French gourmet recipes. Sponsored by a famous champagne brand, which even produced 40,000 bottles bearing a photograph of the yacht's spectacular rounding of Cape Horn on the label, the crew of Kriter had bubbles to go with their food.
The British were a bit more frugal as Chay Blyth's crew ate freeze-dried food, which they wolfed down with the only spoon each one was allowed to take onboard.
Boats had galleys and the round-the-world sailors used to cook proper meals. Yes, times have changed, offshore racing has changed, boats and technology have changed, begging the simple question, ‘Are sailors and their hunger still the same after all these years?'
Both Guy Salter and Gabriele Olivo were Media Crew Members onboard Ericsson 4 and Telefonica Blue in 2008-09, and among their duties, cooking was one of the most appreciated by their travel companions.
"It was never a chore to cook; sometimes it was tricky whilst bashing upwind in high winds, but it is important to keep eating. I enjoyed cooking and often, when the conditions were light, most of the other boys onboard liked to do the odd meal here or there," says Salter.
"There isn't much cooking to do onboard as all our food was freeze-dried - so it was a matter of boiling water and stirring. But, after a while I got to know how much water each meal needed and if it needed extra time to rehydrate. I would often add something to a meal to give it that little bit extra," he said.
Gabriele's Italian style was greeted by his mates with joy, as were the specialties he added to the menu: "The real race winner was Parmigiano Reggiano, the 30-36 months' old Parmesan cheese, cut in small cubes that survived all weathers and climates.
"Every cube was an explosion of flavour in your mouth, you could close your eyes and dream about being on shore..." But to honour my Spanish fellow sailors we also had Jamon Iberico (Spanish cured ham) as a guest star!"
Olivo points out that the mostly Mediterranean composition of the team probably dictated the way they ate on Telefonica Blue. "It's enough to have some pasta, a spoonful of good olive oil and some grated cheese and everything changes. People from the north prefer rice or curries and add hot flavours to spice everything up. Just imagine: one of the guys onboard had his first pasta dish when he was 24, and it was dehydrated! Where do you guess he was from?"
Food is not just the fuel for such an energy-consuming activity like offshore sailing, but it is also a favourite topic of conversation. "On the race, everyday life becomes somewhat monotonous so menus and meal times are extremely important. It becomes a highlight of the day, a lot of time is spent talking about food - it certainly sparks some emotion if you get it right or wrong," says Salter.
Volvo Ocean Race sailors are big guys with big appetites and hunger is a sensation they are familiar with. "We often felt hungry" says Salter, "especially the first few days of the leg, as our meal times became spread out to every eight hours, which is a fair bit longer than we would go onshore, due to the fact we are awake at all hours. We did have to ration heavily on several legs as it was taking longer than we had anticipated and catered for."
It was the same for Ian Walker, skipper of Green Dragon. "I was hungry most of the time, but especially on the long leg, when we didn't take enough food for the cold weather and ran out four days from the end." He also recognises that it is a good way of "destroying spirit".
Almost everyone agrees that hunger can change the atmosphere completely and undermine the team spirit, as happened to Guy Salter. "On the Volvo Race in 2001, I was on a boat which ran out of food and this became a topic for many a heated discussion before we finished. Everyone gets a little emotional when they don't have much to eat and all you can think about is food, it ends up consuming all your thoughts."
That's why sometimes you have to use your imagination and skills. "We should have taken some fishing lines. We tried to spear some yellow fin tuna that were swimming under the boat as we were running out of food. I lost seven kilos on that leg," recalls Walker.
Undoubtedly, those who take part in the Volvo Ocean Race adventure have fond memories of surfing big waves, winning a leg or being welcomed by thousands of people, but will also recall other special moments. "I'll always remember the steak sandwiches we were given when we finished in Rio," Walker admits.
He also has a sort of Proust recollection from the race. "Whenever I eat salted peanuts I think of the race now, as we had those as treats every day."
And, there is something they miss. Nearly all the sailors agree that one of the most negative aspects of ‘ocean food' is not having to chew when eating and so at meal times, everyone had their own things to think of.
"I dreamed of fresh baked bread, steak and ice cold beer," says Ian Walker, echoed by Gabriele who wanted more texture and flavour, and by Guy, who says, "freeze dried food is nice, but it is a little like baby food or a thick soup. We had plenty of snacks on board but too much of one thing gets a bit dull, yes even chocolate! So variety and choice are also missing onboard."
To make meals interesting, the basic food was often supplemented by local delicacies, with mixed results. "The worst food we had onboard was some of the snacks we bought in China," according to Salter. "The eastern palate is not the same as the western and some of the meat snacks we had were definitely not what we expected - especially with our imaginations running wild!"
And then there is another kind of craving, the hunger for victory, but that's a different story.
From Volvo Ocean Race
