15 minute read
IVICA KOSTELIĆ
Fotografije / Photos: Jean-Louis Carli / Alea Jean-Marie Liot / Alea Croatia Full of Life Transat Jacques Vabre
MOJ DNEVNIK S OCEANA MY OCEAN DIARY
Nakon 22 dana, 14 sati, 29 minuta i 51 sekundu Ivica Kostelić i Calliste Antoine na jedrilici Croatia Full of Life ušli su u cilj Transat Jacques Vabre kao 17. posada u Class 40. Za magazin ACI No 1. Ivica Kostelić napisao je dnevnik s regate After 22 days, 14 hours, 29 minutes and 51 seconds, Ivica Kostelić and Calliste Antoine, sailing on the Croatia Full of Life, crossed the finish line of the Transat Jacques Vabre as the 17th crew in Class 40. During the race, Ivica Kostelić kept a diary for ACI No. 1 magazine
Neću zamarati čitatelja predugim uvodom da bih mu potanko pričao o neposrednoj pripremi za Transat u luci Le Havre. Ukratko ću reći da je Transat Jacques Vabre velik sportski događaj koji privlači više stotina tisuća posjetitelja kroz race village u tjednu prije starta. Veliko je zadovoljstvo vidjeti elitu offshore jedrenja na okupu, a velika flota basnoslovno skupih jedrilica i trimarana na jednome mjestu privlači pozornost brojnih znatiželjnika. Tu su Class 40, Imoce, Ocean Fifty i Ultimi… ukupno 85 brodova. I won’t bore the reader with too long an introduction to describe in detail the preparation immediately preceding the Transat in the port of Le Havre. I’ll just briefly say that the Transat Jacques Vabre is a great sporting event attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors to the ‘race village’ in the week before the start. It’s a great pleasure to see the elite of offshore sailing brought together, while a large fleet of incredibly expensive sailing boats and trimarans in one place automatically attracts the attention of many interested spectators. There are the Class 40s, the IMOCAs, the Ocean Fifties and the Ultime... a total of 85 boats.
7. 11. 2021.
Dobro smo startali s 20 čvorova sjeverozapadnjaka te smo se borili uz vjetar do prve oznake, a zatim smo postavili Code 0 za nastavak do Etretata. Bilo je to ujedno moje prvo pravo kupanje na pramcu, ali smo napredovali šest pozicija prije nego što smo napravili okret kod Etretata.
9. 11. 2021.
Prošla noć nije bila za one tankih živaca. Vjetar je rijetko premašivao 3-4 čvora, a morska struja kod otoka Ouessant (vrh Bretanje) bila je 4-5 čvorova, i to protiv nas. Struja je manja što je more pliće. Oko nas sve vrvi od pličina, neke su hridi vidljive, a neke je prekrila visoka plima. Sve te opasnosti skrivene su od oka u mrkloj noći, posebno kad pada kiša, kao sinoć. Tko je hrabar (ili malo lud, kako se uzme), pokušat će slalomirati između hridi u pličinama i to je jedini način da se polagano probijaš prema naprijed. Zapravo, možda je dobro da je bila noć pa nisam morao gledati kroz kakve smo škripce prošli sinoć.
10. 11. 2021.
Izabrali smo riskantniju opciju i brzo preplovili plićak na izlazu iz kanala du Four, što nas je natjeralo da uhvatimo povoljnu struju kod Raz de Sein. Odatle smo imali vrlo lagane i promjenjive uvjete dok smo pokušavali probiti greben visokog tlaka. Budući da dolazim s Jadrana, svladao sam već školu laganih vjetrova i tu sam se osjećao kao na domaćem tlu. U jednom trenutku popeli smo se čak na 7 November 2021
We got off to a good start with 20 knots from the northwest and fought the wind to the first mark, then set a Code 0 to continue to Étretat. At the same time, I took my first real washing over on the bow; however, we successfully moved up six positions before making the turn at Étretat.
9 November 2021
Last night wasn’t for those of a nervous disposition. The wind rarely exceeded 3-4 knots, and the current off Ouessant Island (the westernmost point of Brittany) was 4-5 knots, against us at that. The shallower the sea, the less current. Everywhere around us are shallows, some rocks are visible, and some are covered by high tides. All these dangers are hidden from the eye on a pitch-black night, especially when it rains, like it did last night. Anyone brave enough (or a little crazy, if you will) will try to slalom between the rocks in the shallows and this is the only way to slowly push forward. Actually, it might have been a good thing it was nighttime, so I didn’t have to see the tight spots we went through last night...
10 November 2021
We chose the riskier option and quickly sailed across the shallows at the exit of Chenal du Four, which let us catch a favourable current at Raz de Seine. From there, we had very light and variable conditions as we tried to break through a high-pressure ridge. Personally, since I come from the Adriatic, I have already mastered the
petu poziciju. Taj trenutak došao je kao nagrada mom timu jer sam, kao potpuni autsajder u financijskom i tehničkom smislu, pobijedio velike igrače barem na djelić sekunde. Always outnumbered, never outgunned!
14. 11. 2021.
Za razliku od jurnjave i vremenskih uvjeta bez milosti koje smo proživjeli uz obalu Portugala, od jučer ujutro na oceanu idilično je jedrenje s puno sunca i – napokon – more je plavo kao kod kuće na Jadranu. U kabini je ugodno toplo, valovi više ne plave palubu pa u kokpitu možemo osušiti odjeću, obuću i drugu opremu koja je bila mokra od prvog dana. Calliste spava skoro cijeli dan, ja sam se dobro naspavao već jučer. Trebalo nam je jer su dva dana uz Portugal bila teška.
19. 11. 2021.
Tehnički, tek sada počinjemo prelazak Atlantskog oceana, nakon što smo odjedrili više od 2200 milja za zagrijavanje. Prolazak kroz Zelenortske otoke znači i prelazak pola puta, a ako k tomu zauzimate šesto mjesto u floti, mala je proslava sasvim u redu. Callisteova djevojka Carline pripremila nam je paketić iznenađenja posebno za ovu school of light winds and I felt as if I was on home soil. At one point we even made it up to the fifth position. That moment came as a reward to my team because, as a complete outsider financially and technically, I had beaten the big players for at least a split second. Always outnumbered, never outgunned!
14 November 2021
Unlike the racing and the merciless weather conditions we experienced off the coast of Portugal, since yesterday morning the sailing on the ocean has been idyllic, with lots of sun; and the sea is – finally – as blue as it is at home on the Adriatic. It is pleasantly warm in the cabin, the waves are no longer washing over the deck, so now we can use the cockpit to dry our clothes, shoes and other equipment that have been wet from day one. Calliste’s been sleeping almost the whole day; I already had a good sleep yesterday. We needed it because the two days along the coast of Portugal were hard.
19 November 2021
Technically, we’re only now starting to cross the Atlantic Ocean, having sailed over 2,200 miles to warm up. Sailing through the Cape Verde islands means we are halfway through the voyage, and if, at the same time, you rank sixth, then a small celebration is in order. Cal-
prigodu, a sami sebe nagradili smo kompotom od kruške i s dva deci calvadosa. Nemamo više kruha, što je posebno frustrirajuće zato što se nalazimo pokraj pekara. Da, susjedni brod zove se La Boulangere (pekarnica).
20. 11. 2021.
Noćas smo se bili popeli do trećeg mjesta u redoslijedu. Kratko poslije starta regate poslao sam poruku prijatelju na kopno, a glasila je točno ovako: „Ako se ikada dogodi da budemo u prvih deset tijekom regate, molim te napravi screenshot”. Htio sam to imati za uspomenu. Zato volimo sport. Zato što je sport sfera ljudske kreacije, duha i volje; tajne koja leži onkraj mogućnosti ljudske spoznaje i dosega objašnjivog. Zato smijemo i trebamo sanjati, čak i potpuno nezamislive snove. Realisti mogu doći vrlo daleko, do granica ljudskih mogućnosti i spoznaje, ali sanjari su ti koji dolaze najdalje od svih. „Nitko ne dolazi tako daleko kao onaj koji ne zna kuda ide.”
23. 11. 2021.
Danas je moj rođendan! Kao dio kaubojske macho škole moga oca, prema kojoj su rođendanska slavlja namijenjena djeci i ženama, ni ja obično ne slavim liste’s girlfriend Carline prepared a surprise packet for us, specifically for the occasion, and we rewarded ourselves with a pear compote and a glass of Calvados. We’ve run out of bread, which is especially frustrating because we’re literally next to the baker’s. Yes, the closest boat is called La Boulangere (‘bakery’).
20 November 2021
Tonight, we were up to the third place in the rankings. Shortly after the race had started, I texted a friend on the mainland, writing these exact words: ‘If we ever happen to be in the top ten during the race, please take a screenshot’. I wanted to have it as a memento. That’s why we love sport. Because sport is an area of human creation, spirit and will; the realm of the secret that lies beyond the possibility of human understanding and the extent of what can be explained. That’s why we can and should dream, even those dreams that are completely unimaginable. Realists can get very far, reaching the limits of human possibilities and knowledge; but it’s the dreamers who come the furthest of all. ‘No one comes as far as the one who doesn’t know where he’s going.’
23 November 2021
It’s my birthday today! As part of my father’s cowboy/macho school, according to which birthday celebrations are for children and women, I don’t usually celebrate my birthdays; this time, however, we used it as an excuse for a celebration in order to break, for a brief period at least, the monotony of living on board. To celebrate, we sacrificed the last bar of chocolate, placing it between two pieces of rusk to act as a birthday cake. We also added pear compote, which we specifically saved for the occasion. Instead of a candle, we stuck a fork in the
rođendan, ali ovoga smo ga puta ipak iskoristili kao izliku za slavlje kako bi barem nakratko razbili monotoniju života na brodu. Za proslavu smo žrtvovali zadnju pločicu čokolade, koju smo smjestili između dva komada dvopeka da glumi rođendansku tortu. Pridodali smo kompot od kruške, koji smo posebno čuvali za ovu prigodu. U „tortu” smo umjesto svjećice zaboli vilicu, a na njezin vrh nataknuli komadić papira koji smo pripalili. Improvizacija je jedna od najvažnijih vještina u offshore jedrenju. Ta veselja što ih pružaju mala zadovoljstva, toliko karakteristična za život na divljim prostranstvima, bilo na moru ili snijegu, gotovo su se izgubila u civilizaciji. Čini mi se da je ovaj konflikt samo dio mnogo dublje agende sažete u poglavlju „imati ili biti” u sklopu priče o ljudskoj sreći.
26. 11. 2021.
Prošli smo kroz nekoliko velikih polja plutajuće morske trave / sargasa. Ta područja bila su duga nekoliko desetaka milja, a nakupine toliko prostrane da ih se nije moglo izbjeći. Njezino je uklanjanje sizifovski posao par excellence. Prestao sam brojiti nakon 63 čišćenja u roku od tri sata – koža mi se počela odljepljivati od dlanova. ‘cake’, placing a piece of paper on top of it, which we then lit. Improvising is one of the most important skills in offshore sailing. These joys brought about by small pleasures, so characteristic of life in the wild expanses, whether at sea or in the snow, have almost been lost in civilization. It seems to me that this conflict is only part of a much deeper agenda, summarized in the chapter ‘to have or to be’ of the story of human happiness.
26 November 2021
We passed through several large fields of floating seaweed/sargassum. Those areas were tens of miles long, and the clusters were so vast that they could not be avoided. The removal of sargassum is an uphill battle par excellence. I stopped counting after 63 cleanings within 3 hours – my skin began to peel off my palms. We had to stop the boat three times, and I had to dive once, in order to get the grass off the keel. By the way, the scourge of the sargassum grass is so well-known that an entire part of the Atlantic Ocean northeast of the Caribbean is called the Sargasso Sea. I suppose it was very difficult to clean the rudders and keels on old sailing ships, so I guess they were trapped for days, held in place by the heavy bulk of accumulat-
Tri puta morali smo zaustaviti brod, jednom sam i ronio, kako bismo skinuli travu s kobilice. Uzgred budi rečeno, pošast sargaške trave toliko je poznata da se cijeli jedan dio Atlantskog oceana sjeveroistočno od Kariba zove Sargaško more. Pretpostavljam da je na starim jedrenjacima bilo vrlo teško čistiti kormila i kobilice pa su valjda danima bili zarobljeni, okovani teškim teretom nakupljene trave. U kombinaciji s eventualnom bezvjetricom i ekvatorijalnim suncem to mora da je bio pakao.
28. 11. 2021.
Vedro noćno nebo krase ljepuškasti oblaci, kao nacrtani. Kreću se s istoka na zapad, a ispod većih oblaka uvijek pojača vjetar. Toplo je, ugodno toplo za razliku od dnevne vrućine. Vjetar je topao, čak i more koje te ponekad zapljusne dok sjediš na kormilu. Brod leti i uživam. Optimus prime iznad 12 čvorova brzine počinje ispuštati zvuk, neku rezonancu koju proizvode kormila. Što je brzina broda veća, to je ton zvuka viši i zvuk snažniji. Tako svatko na brodu i bez drugih osjetila može znati ubrzava li brod ili usporava. Kada se brod bliži maksimalnim brzinama, tuli kao da će netom eksplodirati. Polagano se osjeća miris cilja, sad počinje finiširanje, kao i u svakoj dobroj utrci, sad počinje gaženje bez milosti. ed grass. Combined with the possible lack of wind and equatorial sun, it must have been hell.
28 November 2021
Clear night sky is studded with beautiful clouds, pretty as a picture. They move from east to west, and under larger clouds the wind always picks up. It is warm, pleasantly warm as opposed to the daytime heat. The wind is warm and so is even the sea, which sometimes splashes over you as you sit at the helm. The boat is sailing smoothly and I’m enjoying it. The Optimus Prime starts making a sound at the speed above 12 knots, a resonance produced by the rudders. The higher the speed of the boat, the higher the tone of the sound and the more powerful the sound. So everyone on board can know if the boat is accelerating or slowing down without resorting to other senses. When the boat approaches maximum speeds, it starts blaring as if it were about to explode. Slowly, you can ‘smell’ the finish line. The finishing race is starting now, and, as in every good race, there is going to be a merciless ‘stampede’.
29 November 2021
Last night passed in an unprecedented racing action. As if the Atlantic was preparing a huge fireworks display for the finish, the conditions for setting records were perfect. The wind wasn’t that spectacular, 20-25 knots, but it happened that we had to sail relatively sharply
29. 11. 2021.
Protekla noć prošla je u dosad neviđenoj jurnjavi. Kao da je Atlantik pripremao velik vatromet za kraj, poklopili su se uvjeti za rekordne brojke. I nije bilo nekog spektakularnog vjetra, 20-25 čvorova, ali se pogodilo da smo morali jedriti relativno oštro pod kutom 125-130 od pravog vjetra, što je u kombinaciji s povoljnim stanjem mora rezultiralo cjelonoćnom jurnjavom s prosjekom brzine od oko 15 čvorova. Predstava se odvijala po noći (kod mene se najčešće rock'n'roll svira po noći) pa je mrak dodatno nabrusio sva osjetila. Divlja partija završila je mojim novim osobnim dosegom: 323 nautičke milje prevaljene u roku od 24 sata s prosjekom brzine od 13,2 čvora.
30. 11. 2021.
Dragi prijatelji! Preplovili smo ocean, ostavili smo dugu brazdu iza nas. Čovjekova je sudbina da ta brazda, kao i svaki drugi njegov trag, kratko traje. Valovi su već poklopili našu rutu i ostaje samo priča; ona nadživi naše tragove i učini ih vječnima. Svakog iole produhovljenog čovjeka prelazak oceana preplavi oceanom emocija, posebno kada je taj prelazak začinjen natjecateljskom strašću i naporom. Sada ću pustiti da me obuzme čar spokoja koji nastane kada se nakon 22 dana jurnjave odjednom zaustavite, kada grmljavinu krijeste zamijeni tišina sigurne luke, kada blagi noćni povjetarac šapne umornom mornaru: mirno spavaj. at a 125-130 true-wind angle, which, combined with the favourable sea conditions, resulted in an all-night racing at an average speed of about 15 knots. The show took place at night (at my place, rock ’n’ roll is most often played at night), so the darkness additionally sharpened all the senses. The wild game ended with my new personal record: 323 nautical miles covered within 24 hours with an average speed of 13.2 knots.
30 November 2021
My dear friends! We have sailed the ocean, creating a long wake behind us. It is man’s destiny that this wake, like any other trace of a human being, is short-lived. The waves have already covered our track and all that remains is a story; it outlives our tracks and makes them eternal. Travelling across the ocean, any even remotely sophisticated person is overwhelmed by an ocean of emotions, especially when the journey is spiced up with competitive passion and effort. Now, I will allow to be overcome by the allure of the calm that sets in when after 22 days of racing you suddenly stop; when the thunder of a wave crest is replaced by the silence of a safe harbour; when a gentle night breeze whispers to a tired sailor: sleep peacefully.
