Text by Agathe Armand
“I’m not much of a talker.”
Jack Bouttell’s face is still sunburnt from the 24 days he just spent at sea with Dongfeng Race Team. The 24-year-old Australian sailor has spent the past seven years in the UK and in France, away from his family, focusing on training and racing solo.
He loves being on his own.
He sailed the French single-handed Solitaire du Figaro twice, joined Dongfeng last year as a member of their shore crew and then left to do some more solo sailing.
A month ago, he suddenly got a phone call asking him to sail the third Volvo Ocean Race leg from Abu Dhabi to Sanya.
“It was quite tricky, because everyone had been sailing the boat for a year or more and knew it very well. When I got the yes to go on the leg, I had done a week of sailing on the boat and had two or three days in Abu Dhabi to get ready. Quite a big learning curve… but it all turned out alright.”
Alright – that’s what he says. You could say brilliant, impressive or historical – Dongfeng’s leg victory in China was the first Volvo Ocean Race victory of a Chinese team. And Jack played his part in that success.
“He’s such a talented, brilliant sailor,” repeats navigator Pascal Bidégorry with a grin. “It was a big bet taking him onboard, knowing we didn’t sail much with him before. But he’s been amazing.”
And despite not knowing much about the boat, or about the crew sailing factor, a key one in this race, Jack loved it.
“This is the biggest team I’ve worked with, the biggest operation and everything.”
“It was a bit of a daunting affair. I found it quite hard at the start to get on with everyone. But once you know everyone well, it’s a real family.
“The solo sailing is an all-you sort of thing, while the team is really nice because you’ve got people to bounce off and everyone keeps each other motivated. It’s a really nice dynamic.
“I really enjoyed it.”
There are two Under-30 spots on every boat, but these are usually assigned to Chinese sailors on Dongfeng. Jack isn’t onboard for the next leg to Auckland, starting on Sunday, but he may come back on the red boat later on. Until then, he’s going sailing.
On his own. Training for his big dream – sailing around the world, non-stop and alone.
“Doing the Vendée Globe is my ultimate dream,” he smiles. “Besides this!”
Source: http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/8395_Jacks-in-the-pack.html