Viivi Moisio Sailing

Ocean Globe Race – The Final Leg Is About to Begin I knew this leg would be long and tough, as we would once again face the doldrums, and the winds would be more often against us compared to the Southern Ocean legs. The first week was a straight upwind sail, which was a bit uncomfortable, but once the wind shifted, we made good progress with the downwind, and our route choice turned out to be very good. Some of the big boats were behind us, and we were leading the race. At that moment, we were in fourth place, which made all of us very proud. However, there was still a long way to go, and anything could happen. It didn’t take long before we got stuck in calm waters, spending 18 hours there. Those were the longest hours standing still. It was incredibly frustrating as most of the boats behind us managed to pass us on both sides. I was very disappointed since the weather reports didn’t indicate this at all. Well, that’s racing. Luckily, the tuna we caught for dinner lifted our spirits. T...

We spent an entire month in Auckland, and during that time, we managed to repair and service all parts of the boat. Now, it was ready for the third and most challenging leg from Auckland to Punta del Este, Uruguay. After spending a month on land, heading back to the sea felt difficult, and it was hard to adjust to the idea of spending long stretches of time at sea again.   The first two weeks went really well, and I focused a lot on interpreting the weather data. We had a New Zealander, Peter, who had promised to provide weather broadcasts on the radio every evening before the group buddy chat, where all the boats shared their locations and wind information. There are strict rules about what kind of weather information can be given. Most of the data consisted of the coordinates of high and low-pressure systems and the progression of fronts, so there was plenty to interpret. However, it kept me busy, and time passed quickly.   I also learned how to use a sextant The wind was on...

After a week on land, it was time to head back to sea. The next stop would be in New Zealand Aucland. Once again, the start day was very light wind, and unfortunately for us, it was upwinds. We had a good start, but despite that, the bigger boats quickly sped past us and disappeared over the horizon once more. In situations like these, I wished I were on a larger boat, as they always managed to reach the areas with favorable winds much faster. Boats on the starting line    After the difficult start, we finally got some really fun weather, allowing us to surf downwind for several days. The goal was to head south and catch the strong westerly winds. We also had three virtual waypoints that we had to round. Strong wind downwind The wind calmed again, and everyone’s spirits were a bit low, as it always felt like everyone else was moving except us. We sat in a calm for a few hours, moved a little, and then stopped again. We received a strong wind warning from race organizer Don Mc...

September 10th was the departure day of the Ocean Globe Race, which I and many others had been anticipating for the last three years. It felt surreal when the long-awaited day finally arrived. On the shore, we had a large group of friends from Finland watching the departure. Each boat left the dock in turn. We were the second to leave.   Tactics meeting The wind was very light, and light winds were expected for the entire following week. There were many spectator boats at the starting line, and we had to keep an eye on them constantly. When the start signal went off, we all headed downwind with spinnakers. The biger boats quickly disappeared over the horizon, but we still had a few boats in sight for quite a while. spinnakers were heavily used and would occasionally break, so we had to get them back in use as quickly as possible to maintain our speed at maximum all the time. Here, Alex Von Flitner and I are repairing a broken spinnaker. The wind continued to weaken, and eventually...

The Ocean Globe Race 2023 is officially over, and I want to share my experiences and personal journal entries from along the way. The race taught me many skills for the future and served as a great springboard for upcoming projects The preparation for the Ocean Globe Race started already in 2020 when the team was selected for the project. At that point, I couldn’t even imagine what I was getting into or what the competition would be like. Ahead of us was a massive renovation of the Galiana with secure, a Swan 55, where the boat was made durable and safe for circumnavigation. Despite many failures and long winter evenings, both Galiana and the team were ready for the summer of 2023. However, before the race start in September, we still had a busy summer ahead of us, testing the last components of the boat and equipment before it headed to England. I was working at WB-Sails, where all the sails for Galiana with secure were made. We fine-tuned the sails during the last weeks in Finland, a...