Grant Wharington, Wild Indeed

Few yacties have become major players the way Grant Wharington has. With his planned VOR entry and disastrous Hobart race aboard his 98' Wild Thing, the timing to speak with Grant seemed perfect. Enjoy.

Damn sorry about Skandia/Wild Thing in the Hobart. Take us through what happened.

GW
Well, its abit of a long story but here goes with the main bits.

Whilst the beginning of our race seems so insignificant now, we had a great start and were delighted as we increased our lead progressing down the coast of NSW. Konica Minolta and Skandia were well matched and it looked as though the race was going to be a rematch of last years breathtaking match race. We were confident that we could achieve the same winning result.

At 08.25 on the 27th of December we had a lucky escape when our boat speed went from 12 knots to zero instantaneously. We had hit something, probably either a sunfish or a shark – we stopped so quickly that we even got a call on the radio from Konica checking to make sure we were OK as they sped past.

After a quick regroup we set off again, wondering whether the collision had hurt us, thinking that the rudder may have been damaged. But we were delighted when all seemed well and we surged forward once again, in an effort to regain the small lead that Konica now had on us following our collision.

As the day wore on and night fell, Will Oxley, our Navigator was proven right as sea conditions started to deteriorate. Wind speed was peaking at 40 knots, with confused seas and 4 metre waves - a real upwind slog.

Given the conditions and the fact that we were confident we could catch Konica having gained three miles on them in the previous hour we made the conservative decision to tack inshore - not the quickest way to Hobart but the safest.

When did you first know that you had a serious problem, and then at what point did you decide to get the crew off the boat?

At about 01.45 on the morning of the 28th, whilst on port tack we fell off a wave and we heard the loud and disturbing crack of carbon fibre and metal breaking coming from the keel area. From the sound alone it was immediately clear that our keel system had been damaged severely, and that our race was over. Some of our crew flew out of their bunks with the force of the fall as the keel jammed across to the opposing side.

Our immediate priority was to set about ensuring that the crew and boat were safe. We immediately dropped the sails, lowered the propeller and started the engine. We then turned “Skandia” around so that we were running with the waves, which was by far the safest way to travel. Once this had been completed we turned our attentions to finding out what had happened to the keel – and found that the keel rams had buckled and snapped, jamming the 14 tonne bulb end to starboard, with the top end embedded in the port bulkhead. It did not look good and I was convinced that the keel would eventually come loose and we would capsize.

At 01.55 we made a “Pan Pan” call on the radio- our intention was to try and make course for Lady Barren 72 nautical miles (144 kilometres) away to the NW, but with the sea state as it was and the keel in the position that it was, the best course we could make was a NNE direction, some 70 degrees away from where we wanted to go. We were safe for the moment but heading for Fiji. Not good.

At 02.15 we made a formal request for help from the police launch “Van Diemen” on station at the NE tip of Tasmania - we would require their assistance as the day progressed. They gave us an ETA of 09.15 - some 7 hours away. We arranged to contact the race office every 30 minutes to allow them to monitor our position and situation while we waited.

I should mention that through all of this all the crew were amazingly calm - there was not one raised voice, no panic – everyone just got on and did what they had to do. True teamwork in action.

At 07.30 the keel started to move from its stable condition and at about 08.00 the keel made a major jump and began to swing freely in the middle of the boat. We had been continuing to try and lash the keel over to one side but when the nine pieces of ten ton spectra snapped like rubber bands leaving the keel tearing the boat to pieces, I knew it was time to get off. This thing was bigger than we were and the keel was definitely going to dislodge itself.

Will Oxley immediately upgraded our “Pan Pan” to a “Mayday” and we deployed the first life raft containing half of our crew of 16.

By this time we had two choppers almost overhead and we had a visual on the yacht Yendys, which had come to assist.

At 08.30 I found myself joining my crew in deploying our second life raft. So, by 08.55 we were all safely on board the Van Diemen, bound for Flinders Island.

At 16.30 we took to the skies in search of “Skandia” – it didn’t take long before we spotted her, but it was heart breaking to see that the keel had gone, as predicted and she was upside down.

Once back on dry land I was asked why I had abandoned my yacht, and broken the golden rule of always stepping up into a life raft. When I saw the boat upside down like that I knew that we had made the right decision – I was sure that the keel was going to go, it was just a question of when, and it had. Better to have 16 crewmembers safely in life rafts, leaving the yacht in a controlled situation, than a capsized yacht, 16 crew in the water, tangled rigging around them – a truly uncontrollable and very dangerous situation.

Your thoughts now on supermaxi’s with canting keels?

GW
Our keel problem was brought about by the specific failure of the hydraulic rams, and is not indicative of a larger issue regarding canting keel technology. We have been approached by numerous concerned designers, all of whom we have shared our experience with – it is important to get that across. I know that we have been criticized by your readers for suing the cylinder manufacturers. I can’t go into too much detail but I can say that the cylinders we purchased didn’t meet the load capacity that we requested.

We will be building another keel for the Skandia supermaxi, and it will be canting.

The boat is in bad shape, no rig, structural damage, etc. What will you do with the boat?

GW
We have started to rebuild, with a view to having the boat in Europe for Skandia Cowes Week in July 2005. Whilst the hull looks nasty, it is structurally sound with most of the damage being cosmetic.

No longer constrained by the CYCA IRC speed limit of 1.615 which was in place when we originally designed the yacht, we will now get the chance to update the yacht accordingly – as the design specification will now be to build the fastest 30 metre monohull possible.

There was almost nothing left inside – 15 of the 16 sails had fallen out, all the crew’s gear, safety equipment, the lot. It’s probably easier to say that there was one sail, two anchors and half a dozen shoes left when we got inside. The engine has been destroyed by the salt water, the mast was in four pieces, and all the technological equipment is gone or has been ruined - so we will use the hull and rebuild everything around that. O, the dunny was in perfect working order so we don’t need another one of those!

How cruel is the irony that the boat is sponsored by an insurance company, Skandia, yet you were unable to get insurance coverage for the boat?

GW
That’s quite a common misconception. Skandia is involved in long term savings and does not do marine insurance.

What would you say your monetary loss is from this loss?

GW
Well, the rebuild will cost us many millions of dollars – between 3 and 5 million at first guess - not to mention the headache and losses we have experienced through lost sponsorship and other things we had in the pipeline. The salvage alone cost us over $150,000 so it all adds up that’s for sure.

Do you see any way of rectifying these types of insurance problems?

GW
Not really, not sure what the answer is.

Let’s talk about the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race. How do you plan to prepare for the Volvo in 2005? Will you be onboard for the entire race or certain legs of that race?

GW
vIt’s no secret that we have been slowly but surely building up our team for the Volvo by recruiting into the Skandia Wild Thing campaign, so effectively we have been practicing for over a year now. We plan to launch the VO70 in June in Melbourne, test it for 6 weeks and then while we are at Skandia Cowes and the Fastnet with Skandia Wild Thing, the VO70 will be shipped to Spain. The team will then change back over to the VO70 when it gets to Spain in September, and sail that until the start in November. I’m not sure how many legs I will do – I would be surprised if I don’t miss a few. The first three legs are the toughest but it would be hard to imagine the boat going in and out of Melbourne and me not being on board….

We know that you announced a corporate sponsor ING. Who are they, how much are they contributing and what is your overall budget?

GW
ING Real Estate is a Dutch property development company, part of the ING Group which of course owns ING Bank. They have an impressive and developing business over here and are our “Official Build Sponsors”. By that I mean that their investment has allowed us to get on with the build, alleviating any financial concerns for this stage of the project.

Our overall minimum budget is $15 million AUD and we still have a long way to go, with Naming Rights still up for grabs. We are all working hard to get there, but we are not there yet.

Actually it’s quite frustrating as we are by far the least expensive syndicate for lots of reasons – the Aussie dollar, the cost of building out here, the guys we have who above all want to sail for Australia rather than be hired guns – but because we have cut all the fat out of our budget (believe me nobody is making money at that price) our ability to win is being questioned. It’s crazy, sometimes I wonder whether we would have more interest if we put the price up, and all made some serious money out of this.

Who are the leading sailors on the program?

GW
We have some great guys involved. The syndicate itself is made up of me, Barney Walker, Matt Allen and Bindy Lockhart. Matt Allen might do some in-port racing as he is a talented yachtsman – campaigning Ichi Ban Farr 40 and Farr 52, his team are Australian Offshore Champions – but predominantly he and Bindy run the business side of the syndicate.

As for the sailors, Barney has been around the world twice and is a fantastic Sailing Manager. He sails with us on the big boat as Tactician, and he and I work really well together. At this stage, he and I will be the two Watch Captains.

Other sailors we have so far include our Navigator Will Oxley (currently sailing in Oryx Cup on board Qatar), Andrew “Hendo” Henderson and Graeme Taylor.

There are other great guys in the pipeline, but none that I can tell you about quite yet.

Did the choice of Melbourne, Australia as a stopover for the Volvo inspire you to launch this campaign or has this been a lifelong dream?

GW
Launching an all Australian syndicate has been a lifelong dream – made even more desirable by the fact that the race will stop in my home town of Melbourne this time around. There have been a few attempts at getting and Australian syndicate together for this race – and I am really excited about being a part of this one.

Can you compare the experience of a Volvo race to any other race you have done? Is it more intense, more highly competitive?

GW
I guess it is rather like the Melbourne Osaka that I did in 1995 with Scottie Gilbert. (Wharington and Gilbert are current record holders of this race still) Obviously there are many differences – it was a two-handed race, and only a month long, but that type of racing is really intense and you just cannot allow yourself to stop racing for one minute. It’s a relentless task, pretty full on, day after day. The thing with Volvo is that you have to push really hard, all the time. With only 9 guys it will be tough going.

Your personal sailing accomplishments are remarkable in that you are a former Olympic dinghy sailor and have competed and won some of the toughest blue water classics of our day. What is the difference to you? Which gives you more of a sense of achievement … winning the ocean races or the races around the buoys?

GW
One complements the other in many ways – and it is difficult for me to say. I love the excitement of round the cans – Etchells are great with the whole sailor vs sailor thing – nothing else to distinguish between the winner and loser except their talent on the day. I guess I consider myself to be an ocean racer first and foremost – I just love getting out there amongst it and toughing it out.

What is your ultimate goal to reach in sailing by age 50. A Vendee? Head of an Australian America’s Cup syndicate?

GW
I suppose the ultimate would to be able to launch a successful all Australian America’s Cup campaign, as this event is considered by many to be the ultimate series. But I have been watching the maxi cat scene carefully for a while now and it looks like really good fun – I have never been one to go anywhere slowly – and they pick up some serious speed. I suspect that will be our next project, after VOR and the super-maxi.

You have been instrumental in putting Australia – or better yet Victoria – on the international map in sailing. How do you see the sport of sailing growing in Australia, compared to other countries?

GW
I’m not sure of the official figures but we should be up there – we have the perfect climate for it – lots of space, lots of beaches and great weather. I try and get my kids out on the water as much as I can and really want to get more people involved – it’s such a great sport. Corporate sailing days are often great fun for that reason – getting people who ordinarily would never consider sailing out on the water – they all love it. I seriously hope that what we do encourages people to give it a go, but I have no idea whether it does!

You have been sailing a lot of races in Asia and the Pacific. Have you considered European ocean racing classics, Newport to Bermuda races, Caribbean regattas. Do these events dull in comparison to the racing experience and caliber of competitors you get in Australia and Asia?

GW
No, not at all but it’s all a question of time. For the last 16 years I have been fixed on doing the Sydney Hobart race which creates it’s own limitations on where you can be, and when. We did the Fastnet a few years ago on the green Wild Thing and are looking forward to doing it again much better on Skandia in 2005. We have had many fantastic times in Hawaii over the years at the Kenwood Cup Regatta’s. That was a great regatta – it’s a shame it disappeared. I am sure I am not alone in considering that to be the best ocean racing regatta ever held.

Can you give us any insight into your research/development plans for your Volvo entry? Will you be building more than one boat? Designer? What in your mind are the best advancements to date in the Volvo 70s over the Volvo 60…canting keels over water ballast, faster, heavier and taller boats?

GW: Our Chief Designer is Don Jones, and there is no doubt that the VO70 will be a very fast boat. We will only be building one boat – that’s the rule now. One boat for one syndicate. The VO60 is a pretty old deign now so it was time that the design was brought into line with current design philosophy and parameters. There is little doubt that this new VO70 yacht will test the limits of the sailors even more than before.

What about the safety of having fewer crew (from 12 in the Volvo 60 to nine in the Volvo 70) and in some cases 60 percent more sail area? Is this manageable or pushing the envelope?

GW
It makes it harder that’s for sure. At the end of the day it’s a matter of coming up with a sensible handling approach for the deployment and retrieval of sails.

When do you expect to go sailing with the new 70?

GW
We are looking to launch on 1 June 2005 in Melbourne at the Waterfron City in the Docklands (ING Real Estates facility here in Melbourne) and get sailing ASAP. We are in a great position to go down South from here and give the boat a really good test, before shipping it to Europe in July.

Thanks Grant and we look forward to following your progress.

GW
Thanks very much Scot and thanks for your interest in what we are doing.

FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE SKANDIA – WILD THING CAMPAIGN AND THE PREMIER CHALLENGE FOR THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE 2005 – 2006
PLEASE CONTACT:
Bindy Lockhart
www.wildthingyachting.com.au