Yachting: Sanderson living the dream

Yachtie Mike Sanderson knows all about going around the world the hard way.

The two-time veteran of Grant Dalton's global ocean racing ventures - whose seafaring CV also includes being the mainsheet trimmer on a couple of America's Cup campaigns - is the main man this time as skipper of the Dutch-built ABN Amro One which leads the Volvo Ocean Race.

Auckland-based Sanderson, who is regarded as one of the great guys in the yachting world, was brought up in tiny Maungatapere and first took to the water with the Onerahi Yacht and Whangarei Cruising Clubs.

He now heads a $40 million round-the-world operation that follows in the wake of a few of this country's most famous sailors.

Sanderson, who has a 20-point lead, sets sail again on Monday on the sixth leg of the race which is a quick jaunt from Annapolis to New York. Well, 400 nautical miles might not be a quick jaunt for you and me, but it is for ocean racing types.

So what else lies on the horizon? Hopefully, it will include a victorious arrival in Gothenburg next month.

But in between there are a few other matters to take care of including his May 27 marriage to British yachtie Emma Richards, who has been flying from stopover to stopover during the contest.

We caught up with 34-year-old Mike Sanderson in Baltimore to talk meals, marriage, mates and more.

Three weeks off - what a cruisy time
.
It's actually very hectic. We spend a few days debriefing, take the rest of that week off, then have a week to get ready for the in-port race, then straight into training for the next offshore leg. Still, it's lovely to get into a still bed, and eat some real food.

But it must be great out there on the ocean - fresh fish to catch, and gorgeous dinners while sailing into the sunset?

Ahhhh, no. The food is pretty rough. It's all freeze-dried and not exactly cordon bleu. It all tastes pretty similar and you've certainly had enough after a couple of weeks. They all have lovely names like turkey tetrazzini, chicken provencale and beef stroganoff but it takes a bit of imagination to work out which one is which.

Which one is the worst?

Chicken teriyaki. The box would be more tasty. "

Still, you are living the dream - food aside.

I've been fascinated by this since I was a kid. I started racing dinghies when I was 6. My family were into sailing but my dad's an orthopaedic surgeon and was pretty tied up with his work so he didn't compete at international level, or even a high club level. But we always went away on our 22-foot trailer sailer for Christmas cruises. Five of us on a 22-footer - I was used to living on boats in cramped spaces by the time I went professional sailing.

A 6-year-old dreaming of sailing around the world? Did you skip jungle gyms and just dream of skipping?

Maybe I wasn't 6 when I had that dream ... around 1981 when I was aged 10 Ceramco New Zealand came to the Whangarei Town Basin and I've dreamed about doing what was called the Whitbread from that moment. The public was allowed on the boats in those days. We paid $2 and a crew member took you around. Unfortunately times have changed - the boats are all locked up and it's all secretive.

A few celebs are allowed on board though, aren't they? Who have you taken for a sail?

At Cape Town we took out Gordon Ramsay, the TV chef from the programme Hell's Kitchen.

Hope you gave him some of that chicken teriyaki.

We did.

You're joking. You gave "Angry Ramsay" that muck? The guy kills for less.

He proceeded to spit it out and make one of his normal comments fitting in his normal amount of swear words.

You're lucky the boat is still afloat ... speaking of which, tell us about ABN Amro.

Our boat is orientated for a bit more wind which is due to a whole lot of research we did about the averages around the world. Most of the boats are designed by Bruce Farr but we're designed by an Argentinian, Juan Kouyoumdjian. If it's our conditions, there's a very good chance of coming first, but if it's not there's a very good chance of us coming last. On the longer legs there's more opportunity for things to average out in our favour. We need a 10-knot breeze to come into our own ... this short leg is pretty scary because it's got full points but we don't have so much runway to get back in the hunt if things don't go 100 per cent.

Apart from feeding Gordon Ramsay god-awful chicken teriyaki, what has been your scariest moment?

I had to throw the first pitch at a Baltimore Orioles baseball game in front of 20,000 people yesterday. I was more nervous than at the start of the Volvo Race. Apparently it is a great honour, but it was no honour to me. I would have paid not to do it.

Any others?

You're always pretty apprehensive taking a yacht which is basically a skiff on steroids down to the Southern Ocean. That's over and done with now ...

I'm feeling your anxiety. I get apprehensive just buying a ticket for the inter-island ferry.

These are extreme races and pretty tough on the body. I've been known to lose six or seven kilograms in three weeks. We've worked really hard to maintain our health during the stopovers, working with a nutritionist to keep the calorie intake up. When you lose body fat, your immune system goes down. The boats are also knocking us around - it's extremely quick and breaking all sorts of records, though, so it's pretty exciting. But you're wet for most of the three weeks, and if you're not too cold, then you're too hot. We're in extreme parts of the world. There are bruises, the odd injury - it's so physical when the boats are at high speed.

Best moment?

Winning leg one (Spain to South Africa) was huge. The boat that has won the first leg since the 1970s has gone on to win it.

Speaking of scary and best moments brings us to your wedding. Is it a first for the ocean race, a skipper getting married during a stopover?

It's a first for me. I know that.

Nice venue?

The Royal Yacht Squadron on the Isle of Wight. It will be lovely although I'm a bit sad my little sister Emily from Whangarei won't be able to be there because she's about to have a baby.

The crew will be looking forward to another decent feed.

The nine other guys on the crew will be my groomsmen. That gives you some indication of how tight we've become. We're good mates it would be fair to say.

Don't get too tight on the Isle of Wight Mike ... what is the plan from now on?

We've got to keep the boat in one piece and keep doing what we're doing.

You're living that childhood dream, aren't you?

That day as a kid, going on Ceramco, still sticks in my mind when I do this. There is so much history behind it all. Sir Peter Blake was very much an icon. It's amazing to be competing in the race as a skipper, and to be leading like this is too good to be true.