NY Marathon, November 02

My land based training schedule this year includes the NY Marathon. The NY marathon is one of the world's great road races, drawing more than 100,000 applicants.

The competition will be tought. The race attracts many world-class professional athletes, not only for the the prize money, but also for the chance to excel before two million cheering spectators and 315 million worldwide television viewers.

With 4 months to go ( out of which I will be training in Spain for 8 weeks). Im currently covering about 15km a day, thrice a week and 3 weekly sessions in the gym (with a day off, usually Sundays).

While there are many different ways to train for the NY marathon, I find a 12 hour session every two weeks has worked best for me.

The greatest challenge for a solo skipper is keeping the yacht moving even under daunting conditions. The ever present threat of Icebergs and running into whales, working on deck for more than 14 hrs a day for 200 days is quite a norm... its all about perspective as they say...

 

Round Gotland Race starts today

Crews from all over the world head to the waters off eastern Sweden and the island of Gotland for the annual Round Gotland Race. The race begins on the Swedish mainland and circumnavigates a course around Gotland which is in the middle of the Baltic Sea, 90km (56 miles) east of the Swedish mainland. Open to both seasoned pros and keen amateur crews, the event is famed as one of Sweden's largest sailing competitions.

Fighting fit to sail - Training for the ITU Triathlon, Rhodes, Greece

Triathlons are a three disciplined event, combining swimming, cycling and running over three main distances.

 

DISTANCE	SWIM	BIKE	RUN
SPRINT	750 METERS	20 KM	5 KM
OLYMPIC	1,500 METERS	40 KM	10 KM
IRONMAN	3,800 METERS	180 KM	42 KM

By breaking up the triathlon into its three key sports (swimming / cycling / running), will enable you to train harder and wiser than if you were to concentrate on just one of the above. By training in multi sports you will develop both all round muscle toning and high levels of CV (cardio vascular - heart and lung capabilities).

This is achieved by breaking down  training sessions to enable you to have a good workout, but not to be training over tired or sore muscles, as this will simple result in injury and poor performance.

With three different distances in triathlon, you will need to decide which event you wish to train for.

• Sprint distance, suitable for beginners wishing to experience their first triathlon.
• Olympic distance, the next stage up, the more common race distance, certainly among elite athletes.
• Ironman distance, for those that like to push their bodies and minds to the limit. (Brain Optional).'

SOME BASIC TIPS WHEN PLANNING YOUR TRAINING SESSIONS

• Specificity: Ensure that all your training is specific to the event you are training for, don't run mile after mile for a sprint triathlon, ensure that each session has an aim, i.e. endurance run / speed track session.
• Progression: The body is a marvelous piece of engineering design, as you train it becomes stronger. However if you maintain the same training level, your body will maintain the same level of improvement. In simple terms, avoid allowing your body to become use to its workouts.
• Overload: This must be done carefully, to avoid causing stress on any of your body systems. Listen to your body, if it feels tired let it rest, remember fit bodies are not built in the gym, they are built whilst resting. (This is my excuse for sleeping every afternoon, and I'm sticking to it).
• Reversibility: Keep your training regular, if you stop for two weeks, then a lot of the previous work will be lost, make time for training, but avoid letting it take over your life, triathlete's have a high divorce level.
• Tedium: One of the reasons a lot of good triathlete's come from a different sporting background. Keep your training interesting and varied to keep motivation high. Train with new partners, do different runs i.e. track sessions, hill sprints, fartleg, off road, sand dunes, treadmill - try spin classes anything that will keep your mind and body working.

Training for Americas Cup Team Alinghi

Inside an America's Cup team: Keeping Alinghi's crew fit

Just like in any other elite professional sport, physical fitness of the crew of an America's Cup team is a key factor in its success. Not only do crew have to be excellent sailors they also have to be physically fit and strong in order to carry out their physically demanding duties.

A usual day at Alinghi's base in Valencia would start at around 7:30am when the first sailors come to the gym to train but the bulk of the team trains at around 9am for approximately an hour and a half. Then all sailors will continue with the preparation of the boat for the day's training session, usually scheduled at 12pm. If sailing takes place earlier at 10am, there is no prior gym session. As we mentioned, physical training is shaped according to the team's sailing activities. The gym session doesn't radically differ from that of any other sports team and mainly consists of the typical weight lifting and more specialized training with the use of sophisticated Tecnogym machines.

Arenan Radio Finland - Med roddbåt över Atlanten

Bhavik Gandhi skämtade inte år 2007, när berättade att han tänkte ro från Kanarieöarna till Karibien. Ann-Sophie Sandström sökte upp honom efter den långa roddturen, för att ta reda på vad som riktigt är tjusningen med att tillbringa 106 dagar ensam i en roddbåt på Atlanten.

Click Here to Listen to the Radio Interview

After three failed attempts to leave on my Atlantic crossing from La Gomera, I decided to try leaving from the Island of El Heirro - the last of the Canary Islands, where the currents were easier to escape from. I met Ann-Sophie, from Finland on the Island of El Hierro on the pier, while I was preparing the boat for the Atlantic crossing.

We met up almost 8  months later in Stockholm where she interviewed me for her radio station in Finland. Dont we meet interesting people in strange places? :)

Think you can sail?

Broad reach or port tack or close hauled or starboard tack?
Its a lot harder than it seems, test yourself here

The training run for this week has been been 100 km. Stats on the left, courtesy of Nike+, one of our sponsors.

b

Prep & Training Update

Its been quite a hectic 5 months since the start of the year. They say getting to the starting point is the hardest part...and the end of the checklist remains elusive.

Sailing is a challenge balance between project management and maintaining top physical condition on land and training at sea.

Sailing in this part of the world (Asia) still largely an aspirational sport. Sailing events in Asia remain few and far between, yet judging from the response to the teams campaign, this may be just the reason for its appeal.

An involvement in sailing is good for business. Some companies, such as Hardy's, Volvo, Skandia, HSBC Private Bank and Rolex have recognized this, while many others are still to discover the benefits of an involvement in this sport.

André Oszmann, Skandia Group Marketing Director, sums up many of the attributes of sailing:

“ It's a clean and healthy sport, it has a great image and it's also very photogenic and a great way to display the visible part of your brand. And it's very inclusive. Sailors tend to be articulate, they are engaging and they are typically passionate about the sport and daily updates via satellite keep the public excited through out the challenge.

Solo skippers and their teams require technical skill, courage, determination and the flexibility to overcome every challenge nature can deliver and this in turn is associated with sponsors. ”

Training Schedule 2008-2009

--- Team Commentry

Ocean Based Training:
This will consist of sailing in heavy weather conditions in Argentina (the Southern Ocean), Scotland (North Atlantic) and India (Indian Ocean). The aim is to identify and prepare for equipment, design and performance challenges that he will encounter in the Southern Ocean.

Technical Training:
Thousands of miles from land, forces any skipper to be self reliant and capable of carrying out repairs on mission critical equipment such as the desalinator, power generator, sails and mast. The checklist of tasks includes, spares, backup and emergency procedures.

Land-based training:
This has been designed to optimize his physical condition so that Bhavik is in the best shape to withstand all the physical challenges.The program includes events such as the London & NY Marathons.

 

2008

30 Aug, Gotland Rund Yachting Cup, Sweden
01 Sep, Atlantic Training, Spain
01 Nov, NY Marathon, 42.2km, USA
05 Nov, Indian Ocean, Mumbai India
18 Nov, North Atlantic, Scotland
03 Dec, Volvo Ocean Race, Kochi, India

 

2009

12 Jan, Southern Ocean, Argentina
01 Mar, Vasaloppett Marathon, 90km, Sweden
15 Mar, Marathon DesSables, 254km, Morocco
05 Apr, Flora London Marathon, 42.2 km, London
01 May, Stockholm Marathon, 42.2 km, London
01 Jun, Rolex Fastnet Course, UK
18 Jun, 18,000 km sail, France to India via Cape Hope
01 Nov, Indian Ocean, Mumbai, India

Telefonica Open 70 Yacht Delivered

 

The huge Antonov 124 touched down safely at Alicante’s international airport carrying the hopes of the Spanish bid to win the Volvo Ocean Race for the first time.

fter a three-day odyssey from New Zealand, one of the world’s largest planes, with its very special cargo – the hull of Telefonica Black – was welcomed by a crowd of Spanish journalists, photographers and the Telefonica team’s shore and sailing crew.

The hull emerged from its Antonov cocoon to be carefully lifted on to a truck for the nine km journey to the Telefonica base at the harbour in Alicante, host for the start of the 2008-09 race on 4 October.

The shore crew now plan to have the first of the two Spanish entries in the water by next week after finishing the rig and completing the commissioning.

The arrival in Spain of Telefonica Black marks the culmination of approximately 40,000 man hours of work by a team of 60 people – the boat builders, the Telefónica technical and design teams.

Open 60 rig development

Here is another note on the continued development of the Open 60 class boat. / B

Southern Spars - David Barnaby
Challenging a sailor’s every ounce of energy and adrenalin, the Open 60 is one of the fastest monohull classes in the world. Moreover this is a class that continues to evolve, explores new design innovations and technology and sets the standards for other classes. The development of the rig in this class is no exception. David Barnaby, a designer for Southern Spars, who resides in Europe, explores some of the advancements in rig design and technology.
Since the inception of the Open 60 class many rig geometries have been developed and presently there are three popular configurations. However several common factors are crucial to a rig’s success regardless of geometry; reliability, rig control, and weight.
Reliability – Crucial in any round the world race, but particularly in the Vendee as a single-handed masthead climb is not easy unless you are an octopus, and being a non-stop race, any unreliable equipment will likely be a handicap for 3 months. With any round the world race there is much talk prior regarding weight savings, and yet for the year after there are many grumblings about reliability.
Control – the key being that the skipper controls the rig and not vice versa. Stiffness without excess weight is crucial. Geometry is also an important factor for all sail configurations because if any of these combinations are compromised by a lack of rig stability, then the performance is less than optimum. In previous generations the rigs have been super light and consequently soft, which has been a function of the ‘no rule’ limit on mast weight. As a result, the yacht experienced poor upwind performance due in part to massive headstay sag. With the development of lighter rigging, stiffer boats, better rig geometries and centreboards, the class has started to attract more attention for its upwind capabilities. Being able to gybe with slackened runners is also a design prerequisite.
Weight – a function of the rule is that if all boats were identical apart from the rig then the boat with the lightest rig would theoretically have the greatest righting moment and therefore potentially be the fastest. This is unlike Volvo or Americas’ Cup where all rigs weigh the same and the only performance gain is drag. History has proven that if applied correctly, righting moment is king.
The Rig Geometries
1) Classic non-rotating rig geometry – 2, 3 or 4 fixed spreaders generally produce the lightest possible package. These rigs provide good control throughout the various sail configurations. Occasionally we see these spreaders able to rotate which eases the torque induced by the mainsail during a gybe.
2) Swinging spreader wing – this has been popularised by the Ecover style package, featuring one or more swinging spreaders, which gives the drag reduction of a wing but has the more ‘locked on’ control characteristics of a classic rig.
3) Deck spreader wing – this is a low drag option due to minimal rigging. The chainplates, being at the end of wide deck spreaders, allow wide shroud angles. This geometry is probably the heaviest option, however interestingly provides the lowest VCG and heeling moment as the deck spreaders are heavy but low down. This geometry has a tendency for instability fore and aft as it is not locked in with spreaders. The only way to stabilise this is by having a longer chord length mast which adds weight. A nice product of the deck spreader geometry is the ability to sheet the reaching sails off the deck struts. http://www.southernspars.com/

Meanwhile...back in London

raining...and cloudy...back in London from sunny stockholm--

--- www.bhavik.com --- Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless

Sergels torget, Stockholm

30 degrees in the city today...

F12, Stockholm

Summer Club F12
 

Skeppsholmen
 

The View from Skeppsholmen!