Megabytes of info roll aboard like waves, try to send a quick e-mail in between

Each boat is connected to receive a constant stream of race-related information every day. To avoid unfair advantages, crucial weather reports are sent to the fleet simultaneously. But despite the high-tech connections, personal exchanges are few due to the relentless pressure.

When you really need to call…anywhere

Satellite phones are what you pick up first when you have to call home or headquarters. Voice connections are dependable on the Iridium system, even in the middle of vast ocean expanses. However, there is a significant delay due to the bouncing of signals off the system’s constellation of geosynchronous satellites. Sat comms have steadily out-paced the older alternatives like shortwave radio, since miniaturization and mass-market demand made them more compact, affordable and reliable. To handle bit-heavy multi-media transmissions two additional systems are used on the Ericsson boats. The Inmarsat Fleet system is preferred for fast data connections and Satcom C carries text data such as weather alerts and can be used for emergency transmissions.

‘Old reliable’ for longer distances

Short-wave radios, also known as ‘single sideband’ are based on the lower frequencies that amateur and professional radio operators have used since the 1930s. These units are less essential today, due to the efficacy of satellite phones. However, short-wave radios are dependable and work over long distances, including boat-to-boat in heavy weather. As a result they have helped save many lives over the years, while also being a conduit for all sorts of idle chatter and socializing across cultures and distances.

When you’re in close, use boat-to-boat

VHF radio is a quick, easy and reliable line-of-sight system for communications between vessels, usually in close proximity to one another. Maximum VHF range is rarely more than 40 nautical miles as the high-frequency signal heads straight over the horizon. Aboard sailing vessels the antennas are mounted on the masthead for greater reach.

All safe? Who’s leading?

Tracking the fleet is essential for both safety as well competitor performance up-dates. Once again, this task will be handled by the Inmarsat satellite system. This system accurately fixes the position of each vessel at 15-minute intervals and reports the latest results to the Volvo Ocean Race website where the public can see them. Despite the sharp competition between boats there is a real sense of camaraderie and a will to look out for each other. Each day, one boat serves as the ‘duty boat’ to which the other teams report their position. “Hopefully we’re only separated by a few hundred miles,” Aksel jokes. This activity is important, “because if a problem arises, it will probably be one of the other competitors that will come and pick you up.” This happened in the last race when Movistar’s crew was rescued by ABN Amro Two when Movistar began flooding on the final leg due to a failure in the keel-to-hull sector.

We’re here, but that’s all we’re saying

GPS units perform the primary navigation tasks. “The arrival of GPS changed the navigator’s traditional role, “ says Aksel. “It’s not about having to know where you are anymore.” Today’s navigators use pin-point positioning to better exploit weather patterns and local currents. Several GPS units are aboard, for back up and to handle different tasks. Weather data and boat performance can be entered into sophisticated software programs to improve tactical decisions and calculate optimal routes. Otherwise, there is little such information exchanged between competitors – for obvious strategic reasons.

What to do about the weather?

Every six hours a new weather report is simultaneously sent by Volvo to all the boats. “This influences my schedule, “ says Aksel, “which is about five hours on watch and one hour of sleep. I take the data and look at it in different softwares. Satellite images are allowed and these can be directly down loaded in real time to show various weather systems around us. This is also valuable for areas where weather models and coverage are not as precise, like the Southern Ocean.”