Yachting: One man and the sea

By GEOFF CUMMING

Solo sailor Graham Dalton tells schoolchildren a story about a child growing up in a small town, his life beginning "in the belly where it's dark". As the child grows he learns of a mountain outside the town and talks of climbing it.

"People laugh at you and jeer at you so you flee the town. You start to climb and you see other people climbing and some of them lose strength and fall down.

"But when you get tired you don't give up. And if you keep climbing you eventually climb right through the clouds and see that the opportunities are limitless."

Dalton, the older brother of round-the-world skipper Grant, is halfway to achieving a goal he set 35 years ago, when, at St Kentigern College in Auckland, he followed Sir Francis Chichester's solo circumnavigation in Gypsy Moth IV.

"Being a private school, many of the parents had yachts or launches. Their boys would talk about it in the playground and say, 'That's what I'm going to do - sail around the world'.

"I knew they wouldn't but I made a commitment - and every day since I knew that was my goal."

While his brother found fame skippering round-the-world yachts crewed by some of the best sailors in the world, the solo challenge is the ultimate test for Dalton. For years he has targeted the Around Alone race, whose 11 remaining competitors leave Tauranga tomorrow on the fourth leg to Salvador, Brazil.

With the eyes of the media and general public fixed on a certain other yachting contest closer to home, Dalton's quest has struggled for recognition outside Tauranga. Yet Around Alone can be regarded as the Everest of sailing - except, as race organiser Sir Robin Knox-Johnson puts it - "about 1200 people have climbed Mt Everest. Only 120 have been around the world on their own".

In his bid to become the first New Zealander to win yachting's toughest contest, Dalton has found a willing sponsor and is sailing the newest, and potentially fastest, boat in the glamour Open 60 section. These giant surfboards, broad-beamed and shallow-bottomed, career through the ocean at speeds of up to 35 knots. Their sail areas dwarf those of last year's Volvo round-the-world entrants. All that power in the hands of one sailor, in 10m seas and winds which can exceed 50 knots.

"You know you are going to get smashed - at some stage you are going to get absolutely rolled," Dalton says. "If you got assaulted that badly walking down the road they would lock the person up for a few years.

"You'd have to be mad to really enjoy it."

It takes considerable skill just to survive, and Dalton admires the skippers of the smaller second division yachts, some of which are only 12m long and look as if they should not venture beyond the Hauraki Gulf. Because they take longer to complete each leg, the skippers get less time in port to recuperate and repair their craft.

As the fleet heads for the Southern Ocean and an encounter with Cape Horn, Dalton may be forgiven for looking over his shoulder to see if an albatross is hovering. After three legs, he is in fourth place in the Open 60 class and has only fleetingly challenged race leaders Bernard Stamm, on Bobst Group-Armour Lux, and Thierry Dubois, on Solidaires.

Misfortune struck even before the race started in New York on September 15. His yacht, Hexagon, was dismasted on the qualifying voyage from London and copped a 61-hour time penalty for missing the scrutineering deadline.

"Having the mast drop out was not a good look - it was a very bad day at the office."

A few days after the start, Hexagon was vying for the lead when the mainsail fell down after the halyard splice failed. Later, the sail battens fell out, severely hampering his upwind performance.

He has been plagued by equipment problems, including autopilot failures which resulted in several capsizes. They have forced him to steer far more than is desirable, sapping energy and diverting him from other tasks.

Dalton felt so let down by the equipment mishaps that he sacked his shore crew at the end of the second leg in Cape Town. He says they were spending too much time chasing women.

"I was dark and dirty. There were things happening on the boat that were down to poor preparation. A lot of people have invested a lot of time and money into this. They deserve for the campaign to be run professionally."

The old man of the fleet at 50 has been battered, bruised and stricken with bronchitis in the freezing Southern Ocean, where he was left to fend for himself after watching his satellite communications dome disappear over the side.

On the Cape Town leg, he survived a huge storm off Spain only to be frustrated by dying winds. Yet the leading boats took less time to reach Cape Town than the fully crewed winning yacht in last year's Volvo race - and Dalton says he got there quicker than his brother.

The rogue wave that sheared his satellite communications system from its base left him without weather information or knowledge of his competitors' whereabouts for much of the leg to Tauranga.

"That's the nerve centre of the boat. Your wind instruments and your weather information are absolutely critical."

Dalton is happier with the boat's performance since New Zealander Richard Bearda took over the shore support in Cape Town. Trailing Swiss sailor Stamm and Frenchman Dubois around Cape Reinga on the way to Tauranga, Dalton took the blame. "Third is the second loser," he said. "I have failed."

Yet, as he tells the children monitoring his progress on the internet: "I have had a lot of knockbacks along the way but have learned from each one, picked myself up and tried again."

A lesser spirit might find every reason in the world to remain in port tomorrow, but Dalton cannot wait for the starting gun. His aim is to "kill" the opposition on the two remaining legs.

He bristles at the suggestion that he has no chance of winning. "I don't think this race is over, by any stretch of the imagination. In saying that, Bernard would have to fall over to lose."

That is far from impossible. Gear failure or damage to the boat can be irreparable in solo racing and Dalton says anything can happen through the Southern Ocean, around Cape Horn and up the South American coast.

He notes that the race leaders have begun to experience problems, including hull delamination on Bobst Group-Armour Lux, whereas he feels he's beginning to get the best out of Hexagon.

"At the end of the day you've still got to be there at the finish."

He says the main thing separating him and the leaders is that their skippers know their boats better. His boat was launched last March, and although he clocked up 5000 nautical miles before the race, he says it has been like learning to sail again.

"The Open 60s are as different to normal ocean racers as a Formula One car is to a rally car. It takes a lot to sort these boats out."

Hexagon is an 18m racing machine and its lack of comforts reflects Dalton's determination. The tiny cabin has room only for the computerised navigation station and a bunk. The galley is a whistling kettle. Watertight forward compartments are used for ballast and sail storage.

The sides of the boat are painted with the faces of children of different nationalities, symbols of the Global Education Challenge, an internet learning programme for schoolchildren following the race.

Children can log on to the website provided by Dalton's sponsor, HSBC, to follow his progress and complete modules focusing on different challenges confronting the skippers, from weather systems and energy to wildlife and nutrition.

Dalton insisted that the campaign have a meaningful educative element and sought out HSBC after learning of the global banker's education activities. His commitment to helping young people through sport has included the launch of a magazine, Sports Action, which attracted a solid following of 13 to 17-year-olds and won a Qantas media award in its time.

He set up national sports awards for young people and ran an education programme involving journalism students in the America's Cup.

"I've seen with my kids the difference sport makes. It's difficult to find a child who's achieving in sport who's not achieving in the classroom.

"In sport you have built-in support networks, you've got a reason to get out of bed. I've yet to find a young person who's involved in team sport commit suicide."

Is there irony, then, in his determined pursuit of a go-it-alone challenge?

"I've always told my kids that the hardest person you have to compete against is yourself.

"People say 'who's your opposition?' They all are but I don't focus on them. The only person whose performance I can influence is myself."

That it has taken 35 years for Dalton to fulfil his playground ambition reflects the course that the professional sailmaker's life has taken. There were four children to raise and a campaign such as this requires considerable money and expertise.

He says it took time to realise that whatever ability he had in the sporting arena needed to be balanced with commercial and marketing savvy, and that he needed a team of top people around him.

It was "unbelievably difficult" to put the challenge together and Dalton has told insiders that had he failed this time he would have given his dream away. The turning point came two years ago, when HSBC bosses summoned him to London and he was flat broke.

A call to the Minister for Industry, Jim Anderton, eased the path to the crucial sponsorship meeting, which Dalton went into with his "non-negotiable" stance over education.

Now that he's in the race but not winning is obviously a disappointment but he's not beating himself up.

"You have to look at where you can improve. You have to be honest with yourself because, out there, you're fooling no one. You also need to be a hard bastard."

This week, Dalton says he has experienced "all the usual feelings" before leaving friends and family to battle the elements.

"I find it difficult going out to the start with the shore crew. When they get off you know you are going to be on your own for a month.

"But within a few days you shed your shore skin. You're in your environment, that's where you live."

Solo racing, he says, is far more personal than the man-against-the-elements challenge which weekend sailors enjoy.

"You develop more of a seventh sense. You can't get it if you've got people on the boat."

With onboard computers, the internet and satellite communications, he concedes he is not completely isolated. But when his satellite gear was out of action in the Southern Ocean, "I was genuinely on my own - it was great".

He says he could not do it without the understanding and support of his family - partner Robbie Harre, their daughter Katie, 8, and his adult children Carly and twins Nick and Tony.

Pitting himself against the ocean is the ultimate test of character, words that echo brother Grant's description of racing crewed yachts in seven round-the-world campaigns.

The brothers respect each other's efforts. "Grant has said he wouldn't do what I'm doing just as I wouldn't do what he is doing in terms of crewed boats.

"Everyone's different. I find I get the best results out of my doing them by myself. That's not to say I can't work in a team but, in terms of the sailing endeavour, I'm better by myself."


Extract from the skipper's log

Oct 21: When the wind started to increase I had immense problems trying to pull the mainsail down on my own. With the boat bucking beneath me and the continual soaking from the waves, it requires a super-human effort to do even the smallest of tasks. During the worst of the storm Hexagon was behaving more like a submarine than a boat. At one point a large gust put the top of the mast in the water and there was carnage down below. Amid all of this a speaker came flying off the wall and hit me on the shoulder, I am cut and bruised from head to toe. Still, as I have always said: "If you can't handle the bad bits, take up golf."

Oct 31: My autopilot malfunctioned again last night. This has made the past night and today a mammoth physical and mental challenge. In short, I'm exhausted. Without the autopilot I must hand-steer constantly. I must also concentrate on fixing it, which means leaving the helm for a fair amount of time. My body is ready to collapse and it is just sheer willpower that keeps me awake.

Nov 11: On Saturday, a relatively small section of the mast track, near the bottom, broke free from the mast. This kind of problem makes hoisting the sail near impossible. As a makeshift repair, I got my hacksaw out and some tape and managed to stick it all back together. It is all working properly again, but I will need to be careful as the damage limits quick work with the reefs.

Dec 17: I am now 40 degrees south and have officially entered the Southern Ocean. It welcomed me with 50 knots of wind and plenty of rain. The temperature has also plummeted, so I have had to resort to my thermal gear. I have been very concerned about my broken autopilot. I am finding it mentally very difficult in the current conditions.

I have not been well since leaving Cape Town and am still suffering with a chest infection. I am taking antibiotics and making sure I eat and drink plenty. It is vital that I keep my strength and energy up.

Dec 20: I am still sailing south and am closer to the Antarctic every day. I am piling the layers of thermal clothing on as the temperature drops. At night I have found it difficult to breathe because of my chest infection and the extreme cold. Last night I remedied this by continuously boiling the jug to create a steamy inhalation, which cleared my airways and allowed me some sleep.

The Around Alone Race

Global Education Challenge