NICK MOLONEY

Nick Moloney is one of very few guys who get to do what many of us here at Anarchy would dearly love to do - sail at the highest level of the sport in some of the wildest boats going round. His sailing CV reads like the ultimate adventure story and includes: Two Americas Cups, winning a Sydney-Hobart, racing around the world with DC on Toshiba in a Whitbread, racing on the open 60 Kingfisher with the legendary Ellen Macarthur and with Sam Davies,setting records with Steve Fossett on PlayStation, winning the Route Du Rhum, windsurfing non-stop across notorious Bass Strait and sailing as the only non-Frenchman on Bruno Peyron's Orange maxi catamaran when she set the (still) current Jules Verne record for the fastest sailing circumnavigation.

Nick had set himself three major sailing goals some years ago - To race around the planet fully crewed and stopping off at the world's best sailing locations in a Whitbread Race, to race around the planet non stop and fully crewed in a giant multi-hull and finally to lap the globe non stop and single handed in the Vendee Globe race.

Nick has just received sponsorship from International long term savings company Skandia who are a major, world-wide sponsor of the sport of sailing, allowing him to fulfil his third and final dream of sailing once more around the planet; this time single handed in the fabled Vendee Globe race.

Nick has recently come to know of Sailing Anarchy through one of his Offshore Challenges colleagues in their UK offices and jumped at the offer of an "Innerview" when sailing with our own SPORTSCAR at Skandia Geelong Week in January 2004.

Briefly, how did you get into this line of work?

NM
I guess I first fell into this line of work by continual pursuit of a will to make a life within the sailing industry. I tried many different aspects of the marine industry...assisted in the construction of a few boats, worked at La Mer Spars making masts in Melbourne and also at North Sails. I opted to only work within the industry when there was a specific goal or project underway i.e. urgent need of a replacement mast for an event, development of new and interesting sails say for the Americas Cup or even a dinghy project. I found myself enjoying the sail loft more because the environment was kind to a young enthusiastic, often hung over, budding pro sailor. My main interests on board boats were generally trimming or further aft so I felt that the best place to be was working towards a better understanding of sail shapes and engineering. In 92 I worked with Rob Hook on the sail programme for Challenge Australia in the AC till round robin 3 then finished the cup with the Italians and Il Moro. I had a great time and it was hard work but such an awesome learning experience...through that period I sailed with the “B” Boat when it suited and I learned that life looked just that little bit sweeter on the sailing team and hey, that’s what we all really want to do. I continued to run with the contacts that I had developed from that period and basically just went back to sailing my ass off to gain a position in the sailing team for 95. From there I based myself in Newport RI (a place that I still really miss) I continued on the match racing circuit with Rod Davis and Gavin Brady. One of the best fun times I had was going through that teething period with Gav when he was progressing through the ranks. Never had so many crashes in my life...great stuff! Gav and I teamed up and I raced as his trimmer for the match race stuff, Mumm 36, Beau Geste etc. I also spent a good term on the ID48 scene.... great living, great people and great sailing. A few years of that sort of carry on and I teamed up with DC and Toshiba for the 97-98 WRTWR. I had found adventure and I just loved it. I had set my 3 goals and have been working towards them, somewhat through my own path, since then.

How long do you plan to continue this career? And what do you think you would do if you weren’t doing this?

NM
I hope that I will be a contributing member of the sailing fraternity for a while yet. I guess my offshore stint is coming to a bit of an end as I know that chicks don't really handle relationships where the guy 'boots' off for a few months here and there and I’m getting a bit weather beaten and probably should grab myself a bride in the next few years as the opportunities don’t come as frequently as they used to. I will always sail offshore; do a leg of the Volvo here and there, Hobart, Fastnet, TransAts etc. but a lot less than I do now. I have been chasing my offshore goals and have been so focused on that discipline for so long now that I am keen to go back to short course, higher intensity racing. I actually want to compete in the Olympics and I'm a pretty ordinary dinghy sailor so I guess I am going to be in the game for a while yet whilst I try to develop the necessary skills.

If I wasn’t doing this, I would be getting my butt kicked on the WCT of surfing and getting old quickly worrying about what to do next. I am quite sure of this...when I was 17 I was looking at getting into a few minor surf comps and I knew I was going to be either a pro sailor or pro surfer. I guess I look back now at the age of 35 and feel as though I made the right choice. I still surf a lot...but pretty badly!

Who are the best sailors that you’ve competed against/ with, and why?

NM
The best sailors.... hmmm.... I guess there have been heaps of them. I respect anyone that I have learned from but for me, to be a good sailor you must firstly be a good person! You can have all the skills in the world but if you are an arrogant kook, then to me you are a dork, even if you win the event. Life is a pretty important thing to me.... live by the rules, be kind, honest and all the rest, but mostly never think you are above someone else on a personality front...win the race but be cool in the beer tent...be friendly, life's too short.

I feel really in debt to my teammates, especially the boys onboard Toshiba and Orange...those journeys were pretty hard-core at time on both fronts, sailing and living. PlayStation was a laugh also. I believe that there are heaps of 'stand out' sailors of different ages in different classes. Adam Beashel is my best friend; he is great fun (hopeless when he drinks) and he provides good support and advice on a professional front. I rate him (and his brother Colin) as amongst the worlds best elite sailors but when we are hanging out we don’t talk boats, we surf/windsurf/mountain bike and rip the piss out of each other. He's a good laugh! And he's one of many guys that I rate as great friends/sailors that I hang out with all around the world.

What are your views on Francis Joyon’s recent awesome 73-day single-handed circumnavigation?

NM
Joyon's new record...AWESOME!!!!!! That guy is a legend...you need to know him a bit to really appreciate what that guy has done. I don’t have the typing skills to go through his list of achievements but the basics are that he appears to have emerged internationally from this. But he has been a world-beater for a long time and this story of, tight budget / great sailing skill / tough mental attitude is just one of many with this guy. The 2000 OSTAR was another great. He shies away from the Press but he's a unsung hero man. His 'shoe-string' budget has been the icing on the cake and with the speed average he maintained in such an old boat....just incredible!

You have written a book on the Bruno Peyron “Orange” Jules Verne record circumnavigation where you were the only non-French crewmember. That must have been an amazing experience. What is your book called and when will it be published?

NM
The book is called “Chasing the Dawn”. It is finished but seems to be taking forever to get out. I just hope it comes out before the record is broken again. I wrote the damn thing over a year ago. Its pretty basic...not too much text so its a pretty easy read. Yeah, it’s about my experience but I have worked hard on trying to include all the lads by using extracts from their logs and journals. It was originally written as a short paperback for that long flight or rainy weekend but we couldn’t pick from the amazing library of photo's we have of that trip so the book exploded...if you don’t like the read, I am sure you will like the photo's. I am not really stressed about someone else beating the record. I was ready for it to be beaten the day after we finished…that’s progress. The story is about that moment in time and every voyage is different.

The Vendee Globe is the third of your Big Three sailing projects: How do you plan to cope with the experience of weeks alone at sea?

NM
The Vendee...wow! Absolutely so excited...jumping out of my skin! I do, though, have one huge reservation and that is the solitude!!!! I don’t know how I am going to cope with 95 days of solitude. Does anyone really know before they do it???? I guess it’s really out of character for me as I am a bit of a 'have a chat' type of guy. This is going to be really tough! Send me some jokes during the race!!!!!

One cannot sail the V G without decent funding. You secured SKANDIA, a major coup. How did you manage to bring them on board?

NM
The sponsorship support from Skandia arrived 14 days before we were to wind up the project so there was quite a bit of phewww!! factor involved. I guess its fair to say that their support means everything to the project but it’s also a great relationship. It all began during Skandia Cowes Week last year where I spent a bit of time in a corporate support role with Skandia during that event. We developed a friendship throughout that time on a really honest basis. Skandia had already viewed and rejected another proposal on the Vendee Globe a few months prior but had opted to take on Sam Davies Figaro Campaign. As Sam and I are teammates we honour each other’s sponsors as if they were our own. The friendship lead to a Fastnet race sponsorship, Sam and I went on to the Double Handed TransAt and then I was given the opportunity to qualify for the V G on the return to Europe from Brazil after that event. This was vital for the V G project and us. A month later, Skandia were doing the Vendee! Awesome!!!!

What is the approximate budget for the entire race?

NM
Budget.... it’s no secret; it costs heaps to do this project. So I guess you can imagine how grateful I am for the chance...enough said about money...I just hope I can do the support justice.

How did you train for the event in terms of the physical aspect of this event? And the psychological or mental aspects?

NM
Physical and mental training is a massive part of this gig. Obviously its important to be strong and fit but if you are not then you can usually find a way around it. Mental is another story completely.... how do you break stress, fear and fatigue. I have been so tired at times and so stressed that I cannot sleep.... this is very, very dangerous. I am looking into heaps of different support systems like meditation etc. I have been working on sleep monitoring for many years and am not to bad with my management now, having previously been terrible. The stress and fear elements come from knowing yourself, your limits and your tools so I am working on obtaining a better understanding of these and for me that means time on the water.

Weather routing appears to be a very complex problem to solve. What are you using to figure it all out?

NM
Met studies are interesting...forecasting is usually someone’s best guess. I really think it is important to remember that and sail with what you have and anticipate a possible change based on the information that you have coming onto the boat. We use a variety of different sites to obtain information like wind flags, sat pictures etc but they are only available if you can get on-line which is not always easy at sea. I try to not get too wound up about it and leave my major decision making around how far to I need to stray from direct route and why...its hard to stray from favoured tack unless its a pretty clear system. Keep in mind that you don’t look for the same systems that you may in the Volvo...being alone, at some stage you need to sleep and put a lot of faith in a computer driven pilot which is bizarre thing to do when you are surfing in the high 20's.

You have secured Ellen’s Open 60 ex Kingfisher for the VG, a boat on which you have sailed many thousands of miles. What changes are you making to the boat to improve her performance or to suit your own sailing style?

NM
Kingfisher is the vehicle although she does not really resemble her right at the moment. No real major mods, the boat is good and can be better. We are less powerful than the new boats in hull form but we are increasing our sail areas to similar to Ecover. We are lighter due to stripping out furniture, I have been very aggressive on weight that is not structural...luxuries I guess, but the boat is now more practical. The increased sail area is probably our biggest mod along with the aspect ratio as well. We are also refining what we have in regards to hull and appendages - no new boards/ rudders / keel because the gain to cost did not balance and we will concentrate the money on really obvious gains, good coaching and advice and time on the water.

You seem to be pretty much just one of the guys here in Australia. How do you deal with your Rock Star-like status in Europe?

NM
I have a great balance right now. I am relatively unknown in OZ which is cool because that’s how I feel...I am just one of the lads. In France things get a little crazy at times.... these guys love the adventure sailing and the public really 'go off'. Even the shore teams are 'rock stars’... to give you an idea ...before the start of every major event, we allocate a full week to the media and the public. It’s amazing.... I was living in St Malo before the start of the Route du Rhum and my van has my web site on it, people were leaving cards in my letter box, stuffed toys and flowers in the windscreen wipers of my car.... a very different experience... very funny. While I was trying to rest and prepare for the event our shore team were living the rock star life at night so I think the deal works better for them. Lucky for me I won the race or I may never have been able to go home without total embarrassment.

Tell us about your ideas on getting kids into this sport, your youth training initiatives and what you see as necessary to grow the sport.

NM
I have very strong views about getting kids or indeed anyone into this sport / activity. It’s clean, healthy and gives people responsibility, freedom, enjoyment, fulfilment etc. Sailing has given me a life with goals and focus and now days I see too many kids causing trouble or just hanging out in the streets with nothing to do...this is madness! It’s a really tough scene though. If you pay a coach or someone to run the programme then it becomes expensive for some families. The youth sailing projects need support and I feel as though that needs to come mostly from parents or friends. These projects need to very pro-active and they are time consuming. Fund raisers for boats and equipment...the whole lot...this may not be the case in the US but in Australia there is no real funding for such a thing as entry level sailing. Guys like Simon Grosser from SP Systems in Australia have kicked of a programme in Sydney that I am very proud to be associated with. The kids are great and the parents / friends are very actively involved...the whole scene is really social and its a winner.

What does life hold for Nick Moloney after the V G?

NM
After the VG I’m going to have a bit more of a life without the stresses of project financing. I want to do a bit more windsurfing, surfing and hanging out with my friends. I have been very busy and distant throughout my campaign trails and I know that I am going to resent that at about day 35 of the V G with 60 still to go. I am happy, I have had a great life and I just want to sit back for a moment and say...hey, these 3 goals have been massive, lots of hard work. The road has been long and has had its difficulties but I think I am the luckiest person alive. My sailing career has been deliberately backwards. I opted to travel, get paid and compete in the long offshore stuff whilst I was young and single. I know that the commitment of sailing an Olympic class is heavy but the distance is less, I am off the water by dark generally and the risk or danger element has more than halved. Even if I am still busy with the boat and project, I can enjoy my family’s presence around the project and be home for dinner, sleeping in a dry bed. This could also include the AC and its not the lure of the money, its the learning environment with the techniques and the technology.... but first I MUST finish this Vendee!

Tell us a little about your involvement as Patron of Sail 4 Cancer

NM
I am a very proud patron for the sail4cancer charity. I am also in pretty close contact with disabled sailing. These gigs humble me; they make me really appreciate how easy my life is. I get stressed because I put a lot of pressure on myself but contact with these guys is my pressure release....I have heaps of sailing friends that think they are pretty hard core but we are soft compared to those fighting disease and disability. When I am wet and cold I always think...'grunt up, you had the choice to come out here or to stay at home'. I guess because these people have not chosen to have sickness or restrictions on their body functions makes me appreciate that I have a choice as to how I want to live. Their courage and strength is absolutely inspiring.

From my observation when you sailed with us on Sportscar -Skandia Creativity in the recent Skandia Geelong Week, you are a very composed and focused sailor out there. However, I’m sure there are times when even you’ve gone ballistic. What really upsets you?

NM
What upsets me??? Not much really...I try to stay relaxed when sailing.... if I yell, it’s generally because I am trying to push through the apparent wind or there is a real emphasis on urgency or safety. The big cats will often create reasons for raised voices. One thing that really winds me up is lazy people...and stupid mistakes...give me both and I will 'go off'

Finally Nick, there has been a recent forum thread on S.A. about who is the hottest woman in sailing. Your colleagues and stable mates from Offshore Challenges, Ellen Macarthur and Sam Davies, were both popular contenders. For the benefit of all those Forum contributors, tell us about the experience of spending all that time at sea with Ellen and Sam.

NM
Ellen and Sam-hot chicks? Well, you should see them after 10 days upwind on an open 60...not too flash!.... just joking! I think they are both real Glamours! They are really great girls and great sailors as well as great on the eye. Both are very different, Ellen is happier to be one of the boys where as Sam is all woman and she likes to look flash. It’s really bizarre. Those two girls can be out all dolled up one day and the next, they’re soaking wet, hair all over the place, wrestling a headsail to the deck.... they are both very happy to make the transition and they are both really, really tough. I guess that what strikes me the most is their determination, skill and toughness. I am really lucky to be teamed up with them both. Sam and I share the same sponsor in Skandia, which also works great.

Thanks Nick for being so generous with your time; for this Innerview and for all the other things you do in support of sailing. I am sure that many of us who frequent Sailing Anarchy will be eagerly following your efforts in the forthcoming lead up events and in the Vendee Globe. Good luck and safe, fast sailing.

You can follow Nicks adventures in the single handed TransAt Race later this month and the single handed Vendee Globe starting in November 2004 via his personal website: www.nickmoloney.com