WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Simon Fisher proved his versatility in the 2008-09 race. Starting out as navigator on Telefonica Blue, he performed in various roles during the team's incident-filled campaign. Since the end of the race, he has competed in various offshore races and tackled a multitude of tasks.
He has won the Rolex Middle Sea Race as watch leader on board the maxi Alegre, he was weather guru for his colleague Pepe RIbes, Navigator for the Fastnet on Pindar and for the Copa del Rey onboard the TP52 Bribon. He reflects on the trials and tribulations of 2008-09 and looks ahead to his next major event - the Sydney-Hobart.
Q: What has this Volvo Ocean Race meant for you, from a sailing point of view?
A: Simply put, competing in the Volvo Ocean Race is some of the very best sailing you can do. It is the very best of fully-crewed offshore racing and on fantastic boats too. This last Volvo was a tough race, much tougher than it was in 2005-06.
The racing was incredibly close from start to finish, the course we sailed was harder, both on the boats and the crew and there was little in the way of down time in between offshore legs. By the end, I was happy with what we had achieved but completely worn out. We had our ups and downs but really came together as a team and I think we can be proud of where we finished up.
For me competing in the Volvo is an experience unlike anything else and something very special indeed. It has been a great learning experience, something that is very important to me and I can honestly say I learned a lot from the last race and in lots of different areas.
Q: What have you done since the race finished?
A: The first priority after the race finished was to take a bit of a break and recharge the batteries. After two years of hard work I was ready to relax for a while. That said I have also had the opportunity to do some really nice sailing, on a variety of boats and in a variety of positions. I stepped in for Marcel van Triest for part of the Copa del Rey on board the TP52 Bribon while he was breaking records in the North Atlantic.
For the Fastnet, I navigated onboard the Pindar Open 60 sailing alongside some good friends from ABN AMRO, finishing a fairly respectable fourth place in a tough fleet in conditions that didn't necessarily suit us.
I competed in the Maxi Worlds as a grinder on board Alegre and then joined them as a watch leader/helmsman for the Middle Sea Race, where we were very happy to win the race on corrected time.
I am now down in Hobart preparing for the Sydney to Hobart Race as navigator on board the RP63 Limit. It has been a fun and varied season in which I have been lucky to be involved with some great teams and good people.
I have also been doing some work with Telefonica team mate Pepe Ribes and his co-skipper Alex Pella helping them out with their Open 60 campaign for the Barcelona World Race. On top of all this I have been spending as much time riding my bike as possible and learning to sail my 'Mach 2' Moth in the hope I might be able to do a couple of big regattas with it next year.
Q: What are your next projects and are you thinking about the next race?
A: Looking forward to next year I'm hoping to be able to continue to sail on a variety of boats and I will try to continue to work with the Open 60 programme in the lead up to the Barcelona Race.
I am looking to do some more TP52 sailing once again. That really is fleet racing at its best. It will also be nice to continue to be involved in the mini maxi scene. They are a nice size boat and it is becoming a very competitive class. I have some business projects in the pipeline too. However, I guess my mind is also starting to look towards the next Volvo too. It is definitely a race which is close to my heart and I'm sure I'll want to be there come start time in 2011.
Interview: Helena de la Gandara
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