Before Marsh and the Groupama crew left Auckland for the Brazilian port of Itajai via the Southern Ocean last weekend, the Northern Advocate caught up with the sole Kiwi onboard the French boat during the crews' week long stopover in the City of Sails.
When we spoke to him, he was chowing down a large meal at Auckland Race Village's canteen, refuelling ahead of leg five.
"I've been eating non-stop since we arrived into port," he said.
The fourth leg was the longest stage in days and it took a physical and mental toll on everyone in the race," Marsh said.
"All our food ran out two days before we finished - and you can't get any outside help to restock. My body is very sensitive to food, so I lost a lot of weight (6kg) pretty quickly."
Crews were using the seven day Auckland stopover to recover from the mental exertion of the last three weeks, and to prepare for leg five.
"The next leg is the longest in miles, and we are sailing in an isolated part of the world, dodging ice, as we are only 400 miles from Antarctica. There is a limit as to how close we can go to the ice, however."
Marsh, who has sailed since he was a young child, said he felt apprehensive ahead of the journey.
"It's the last big challenge of the race really. We've crossed the equator, and the Atlantic, we've been around the Cape of Good Hope, across the Indian Ocean."
After finishing first in Auckland, Groupama are now second overall in the fleet, in front of Camper with Emirates Team NZ in third spot, while Spanish boat Team Telefonica are first.
"Until now the focus has been on catching and passing Camper. As a team, we have a forward looking approach, and in leg five we will be moving towards Telefonica. We are only half way through the nine-leg race on points."
Reflecting on his sailing career and everything he has accomplished during the past 12 months was surreal, Marsh said.
"Looking back at what I've been through is unreal. I feel it is a reward for what I have done to get here, and that I'm not an overnight fly-by."
It has taken years of hard toil and dedication for Marsh to secure his place in the Groupama crew, skippered by accomplished French sailor Frank Cammas.
Marsh admitted there was no other lifestyle quite like oceanracing, with the amount of money invested into regattas. Groupama, a French Insurance and Banking company, sponsors the crew. The cost to compete in the 2011-2012 Volvo Ocean Race was €30 million-€40 million ($48 million-$65 million). . The Juan Louyoumdjian designed yacht base was worth €5 million and then there were two sets of containers, filled with gear worth millions.
Marsh was born in Whangarei and has family there, including his grandmother, Northland golf stalwart Diana Marsh, who "was the proudest nana in the country" when Marsh sailed into Auckland on the winning boat.
Sailing is very much in his blood. His parents Peter and Jenny Marsh are keen sailors, and held various positions at Onerahi Yacht Club when Brad was younger. They now live in Omaha.
Marsh started sailing at Onerahi and went on to keel boats when his family moved to Buckland's Beach, Auckland, when he was six. After finishing school, Marsh got involved in the NZ Yacht Squadron elite sailing programme.
"We sailed in a three-man team every Saturday and Sunday from 9am till 6pm, and it was very strict and disciplined. There I learnt the basic elements of working in a team and what we do now."
Soon after completing the development programme, Marsh received a phone call from Team NZ asking him to join their shore crew for the next two years, with a focus on the mast and rigging.
"It was perfect timing. I had just finished my Bachelor of Business and Information. I shifted to Valencia for the America's Cup in 2007. It was the start of a long time away from home. The day after I finished with Team NZ, I joined the Ericsson boat shore crew in Stockholm. During that time I did a lot of sailing as a spare crew member and built up confidence and exposure."'
In 2010, Groupama purchased the Ericsson boat, with the intention of competing in the Volvo Ocean Race. "And with the boat came me," Marsh quipped.
He committed to Groupama for 18 months as a sailor, in charge of the rig, and during that time he has picked up some basic French. However, he and the four other non-French crew members got by with their own code language, he quipped. Before Groupama left Alicante on leg one of the Volvo Ocean Race in October, 2011, Marsh decided to have his appendix removed.
"It started playing up in 2008 but I was fine. It has always been a dream to do the Volvo race, so I decided to get it out in case it ruptured when I was at sea," he said.
Although it has always been his dream, Marsh had to make sacrifices to take part in the Volvo Ocean Race.
"After being out there with a group of men for so long, I miss my girlfriend. She works for Team Sanya's shore crew so when I'm on holiday she's too busy to talk to. I feel guilty spending so much time away from my family and if anyone is sick or anything, you very quickly feel isolated out there," he said.
But the thrill and challenge of ocean racing and the team camaraderie definitely outweighed the bad, and Marsh would not swap his experience for anything.
He had words of encouragement for the growing contingent of young successful Northland sailors wanting to step up to the challenging world of ocean racing.
"You have to be prepared to go it alone. If you believe it's what you want to do, then be prepared to take some risks and do some travel. Unfortunately the Mike Sanderson's (Team Sanya skipper) of this world won't walk to the dock in Onerahi and say 'come with me'."
Sailors had to take the lows with highs, Marsh said. "You need to have faith in yourself that it can work out."
In four months' time, when the Ocean Race concludes, he will be unemployed. "I would like to do another campaign, or maybe I will come back to New Zealand and enjoy my house, car and boat... we'll see."
