Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Risk to Gain
    Risk to Gain
    Risk to Gain
    Ebook153 pages2 hours

    Risk to Gain

    By Mark Chisnell

    4.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Have you ever dreamed of sailing around the world?

    If so, it probably wasn’t like this...

    ‘Big pressure on you,’ yelled hoarsely.
    Then more urgently, ‘Big gust!’ A curse. ‘Thirty-eight knots, still building. Big pressure, look at the goddam speed! You wanna blow it!’
    ‘No, I’ve got it! I’ve got it. Ease! Ease!’
    The winch drum howled. The boat had shaken herself at a frequency that shouldn’t have been physically possible for something that size, and then taken off. The note of the whole boat changed, the pitch of the vibration clattering pencils and dividers out of the navigation station, rattling teeth and gums. I grabbed the edge of the bunk, tensing my legs against the bulkhead. I could feel the others doing the same. If we lost it at this speed it would be really messy.

    Stomach-churning storms, frustrating calms, broken gear, shattered hopes and stunning victories - Risk to Gain is the story of the men and women aboard two boats sailing around the world in the classic Whitbread Race. Travel with them on their voyage and gain a unique insight into their inspirational journey:

    Sweat more than you can possibly drink, battling to fix a broken water-maker in the tropics.

    Struggle to wrestle a ton of sails back out of the frozen wastes of the Southern Ocean.

    Cross the line in the Southern Ocean and learn that a man can pay the ultimate price.

    Break a mast thousands of miles from help, and you are a sitting duck for the next storm.

    Walk the line and sweep around Cape Horn with a race winning, three day lead.

    This brand new, text-only, eBook edition of the original, highly-illustrated Risk to Gain remains the classic account of Team EF's victory in sailing's 1997-98 Whitbread Race and is probably the most vivid written record of the world’s greatest ocean race ever produced. It’s the first of two accounts of round the world races written by Mark Chisnell, the second is ‘Spanish Castle to White Night.

    Reviews for Risk to Gain.

    ‘There are many accounts of man against the sea, and man against man at sea, but seldom has there been such a panoramic portrayal of life at its cramped, frenetic and frightening worst as this examination of the latest winning Whitbread Round the World Race campaign’
    Stuart Alexander, Independent, ‘Sports Book of the Week’.

    ‘What it does brilliantly is get under the skin of what it is like to live and breathe a Whitbread Race.’
    Tim Jeffery, The Daily Telegraph.

    ‘It’s the best book yet on this race. Great writing...’
    Yachts and Yachting.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMark Chisnell
    Release dateApr 11, 2011
    ISBN9781458108067
    Risk to Gain
    Author

    Mark Chisnell

    Mark Chisnell has written 16 books, they’ve been translated into five languages and topped sales and download charts in the USA, UK, Germany, Italy and Spain.Mark writes suspense and mystery thrillers, technical books on the art and science of racing sailboats, along with non-fiction books and journalism on travel, sport and technology for some of the world's leading magazines and newspapers, including Esquire and the Guardian.Mark began his writing with travel stories, while hitch-hiking around the world. He got a job sweeping up and making tea with the British America’s Cup team in Australia in 1987 to earn the money to get home. He worked his way onto the boat as navigator and has sailed and worked with six more America’s Cup teams since then. He’s also won three World Championships in sailing, and currently runs the Technical Innovation Group at Land Rover BAR, Sir Ben Ainslie’s British America’s Cup team.Mark now lives by a river in the UK with his wife, two young sons and a dog – whenever he gets a couple of minutes peace he can usually be found reading a Jack Reacher novel, or the latest from Michael Lewis or Malcolm Gladwell.

    Read more from Mark Chisnell

    Related authors

    Related to Risk to Gain

    Related ebooks

    Outdoors For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Finding Flow

      Sep 9, 2021

      Finding Flow
      8 min read

    • Article

      Story Time

      Nov 23, 2020

      Story Time
      5 min read

    • Article

      Back To The Rock

      Aug 8, 2019

      Back To The Rock
      9 min read

    • Article

      Bob Fisher OPINION

      Feb 14, 2020

      One should never be misled by opportunity – accept the best ones at the drop of a hat. Think positively. They do not, whatever you may be told, grow on trees. Life in sailing is not a bowl of cherries – despite the stories, you can be certain that th

      3 min read

    • Article

      Mamma Mea!

      Sep 23, 2022

      Mamma Mea!
      6 min read

    • Article

      Mamma Mea!

      Sep 23, 2022

      Mamma Mea!
      6 min read

    • Article

      Into The Wild

      Dec 1, 2023

      Into The Wild
      10 min read

    • Article

      Into The Wild

      Dec 1, 2023

      Into The Wild
      10 min read

    • Article

      A Day To Savour

      Aug 9, 2019

      A Day To Savour
      7 min read

    • Article

      Across The North Sea

      Mar 13, 2018

      Across The North Sea
      11 min read

    • Article

      No Stopping The Old Timers

      Mar 2, 2023

      No Stopping The Old Timers
      3 min read

    • Article

      Into Cold Air

      Feb 16, 2021

      Into Cold Air
      6 min read

    • Article

      Atlantic Crossing

      May 11, 2023

      Atlantic Crossing
      7 min read

    • Article

      Teenage Dream

      Dec 18, 2020

      Teenage Dream
      9 min read

    • Article

      Teenage Dream

      Dec 18, 2020

      Teenage Dream
      9 min read

    • Article

      Roll Up, Get Ready!

      Aug 14, 2020

      Roll Up, Get Ready!
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Wild Whisky Coast

      Dec 8, 2022

      The Wild Whisky Coast
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Sea Full of Stories

      Mar 12, 2024

      A Sea Full of Stories
      9 min read

    • Article

      Teenage Dream

      Dec 4, 2020

      Teenage Dream
      9 min read

    • Article

      Teenage Dream

      Dec 4, 2020

      Teenage Dream
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Kingdom Of Dal Riata

      Mar 2, 2023

      The Kingdom Of Dal Riata
      3 min read

    • Article

      Baltic Beauty

      Feb 21, 2020

      Lamp oil flickered on teak and wind shrieked in the rigging, punctuated by the occasional slap of a halyard. The smell of beef in red wine sauce suggested that supper was ready and that all was right in the world. We had celebrated our silver wedding

      7 min read

    • Article

      Your Say

      Dec 30, 2019

      Your Say
      3 min read

    • Article

      Tintin Treks North

      Feb 25, 2022

      Tintin Treks North
      6 min read

    • Article

      Tintin Treks North

      Feb 25, 2022

      Tintin Treks North
      6 min read

    • Article

      Learning The Ropes

      Nov 2, 2023

      Learning The Ropes
      10 min read

    • Article

      A Life Well Sailed

      Sep 10, 2020

      A Life Well Sailed
      5 min read

    • Article

      Back To The Whitbread Days

      Feb 27, 2020

      Barry Pickthall joined Tapio Lehtinen on Galiana’s delivery trip from the Hamble to Finland Pure nostalgia: the chance to sail on a 50-year-old Swan 55 with a group of young expectant faces and a fatherly owner at the start of a huge adventure, took

      2 min read

    • Article

      AROUND The Top Of Scotland

      Sep 4, 2020

      AROUND The Top Of Scotland
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Risk to Gain

    4.5/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Risk to Gain - Mark Chisnell

      Risk to Gain

      Racing and Winning Around the World

      Mark Chisnell

      Illustrated edition originally published by:

      Bokförlaget Max Ström

      Kyrkslingan 11

      111 49 Stockholm, Sweden

      The Story

      This is the story of the winning team in sailing’s 1997-98 Whitbread Around the World Race. A unique insight into Team EF’s two boats during their journey; stomach churning storms, frustrating calms, broken gear and remarkable details of life onboard are all here - as well as shattered hopes and stunning victories. The story is told through the eyes of two of the sailors; one aboard the all-women’s boat, EF Education, and one aboard the all-men’s entry, EF Language.

      Anna Drougge is a sailmaker and professional racing sailor. She was the first Swedish woman to have participated in the Whitbread Race, and completed this circumnavigation of the planet.

      Magnus Olsson is probably the best known racing sailor in Sweden. He has sailed full-time for the last three decades and competed in six Whitbread or Volvo Ocean Races.

      Other Titles by Mark Chisnell

      Non-Fiction

      Spanish Castle to White Night – The Race Around the World

      ‘I doubt I'll ever circle the globe in a racing boat, and I'm not sure I even want to, but Mark Chisnell has made the experience real. This is a marvellous book about a great adventure, and anyone fascinated by sailing should have it on their shelf.’

      Bernard Cornwell

      Fiction

      The Defector

      ‘This is a remarkable thriller – chillingly violent, full of tension and with a very original ending.’

      Publishing News

      The Wrecking Crew

      ‘A real ripping yarn... begging to be made into an all-action film.’

      Qantas in-flight magazine

      ‘My fave books on this race [Barcelona World Race 2011] have been ‘The Millennium Trilogy’ by Stieg Larsson and Mark Chisnell's 'The Defector' and 'The Wrecking Crew' – all brilliant.’

      Dee Caffari

      Contents

      Prologue

      The Watermaker

      The Schedule

      The Sail Stack

      Over the Line

      The Tightest Finish

      The Clock Keeper

      The Mast

      The Crown Passes

      Another Day at the Office

      The Weather Briefing

      The Sail Repair

      Winning

      Finishing

      The Crews

      The Fleet

      Appendix

      Prologue

      Sweden, September 1995: Magnus Olsson hung up the phone and slowly sat back in the chair. He had known Johan Salen for a long while, and perhaps Johan had a point. Perhaps he wasn’t quite ready to retire to the quiet of Stockholm’s waters. The conversation was supposed to have been about financing a Whitbread 60 as a sponsorship vehicle and for corporate team-building events. But somehow they had ended up talking about doing another Whitbread Race. Johan was keen and his enthusiasm was infectious. Magnus picked up the coffee on his desk and blew gently across the top before sipping thoughtfully. Another Whitbread...

      The best and worst of times. He could remember the twenty-hour days to get Drum rebuilt after the keel fell off on the Fastnet Race, so close to the start of his first Whitbread in 1985/86. But the rock star welcomes around the world, with Simon Le Bon aboard, had made every minute worth it. In the 1989/90 Race they had collided with a spectator boat and ripped the mizzen mast out of The Card at the Auckland restart, then sailed four thousand miles through the Southern Ocean with no chance of winning. Soaring highs and crashing lows, but none quite like 1993/94, when, as watch captain aboard Intrum Justitia, he had managed the building of the boat in England, and helped sail her to stunning wins in both the Southern Ocean legs. Then in Leg Five, Tokio’s mast had come tumbling down off Brazil, handing Intrum Justitia the lead just before she entered the Doldrums. But by the time she came out the other side Yamaha had slipped past and built a margin that was impossible to break down. Within a few days they had grasped victory, only to watch it turn to water and slip back through their fingers.

      He could taste that feeling, breathe that short experience again now. So what would it be like to enter the Solent knowing that in just a few more miles you had won the greatest ocean race in the world? A little shiver shook him; the coffee slopped out of the cup, but Magnus barely noticed the spreading stain on the carpet at his feet. He was far away: so many miles, so many good friends and so much raw experience. And the prize at the end, the greatest rush of all? Winning, which had eluded him in three laps of the planet. But leaving Margareta and the children, Niklas and Joakim, to go back into the Southern Ocean? Should he take those risks? He and Johan had learnt a lot though, together and apart; they could do it right this time. Johan had some ideas for the main sponsor, a company called EF Language. The chairman, a man by the name of Bertil Hult, was interested in talking to them. Magnus licked some coffee off his fingers absent-mindedly. There was no harm in talking, was there? If they could do it right...

      Vilamoura, Portugal, February 1997: Anna Drougge shifted uncomfortably in the leather sofa and tried to stifle a yawn. She needed a shower and something to drink. It had been a long day. Another long day in an endless sequence of long days. Anna had been with Team EF for over a year, through a spring and summer of trialling and sailing in Sweden, then on to their warm-water Portuguese winter-training camp. It had been good to leave behind the frozen seas of Sweden, good to be so close to the open ocean of the North Atlantic. But there had been so many days of practice; endless repetitions of every possible manoeuvre and eventuality, of preparing and refining the boats and equipment, testing and developing everything from the meals through the computer software to the sails.

      But it would all be worth it if she could realise her dream to race the Whitbread. And Team EF, with their resources and equipment, could not only make that possible, but with the added expertise of the men they had a real chance of success. Anna glanced around the girls with her: Leah Newbold, Marleen Cleyndert, Bridget Suckling, Keryn McMaster, Katie Pettibone, Christine Guillou and finally, Mikaela von Koskull. They all looked as tired as she felt. ‘Maybe we could get some Cokes while we’re waiting,’ she suggested to no one in particular. Mikaela, the leader of the group, agreed with a smile, and the drinks were quickly ordered.

      The hotel was quiet. It was the off-season and the EF crews were almost the only guests. But there was no sign of Fredde Anderson, at that time the Chief Executive Officer of Team EF. The Cokes arrived; Anna took a long drink. The waiting was beginning to get them down. The only one amongst them who knew the reason for the meeting was Mikaela. A veteran of the last two Whitbread Round the World Races, she had been hired by EF to select a crew of women sailors, though she would not eventually sail with Education. There had been hundreds of applicants since it was first announced that Team EF would enter both an all-men’s and an all-women’s boat in the forthcoming Whitbread. Many of those who applied had come and gone, although some had stayed longer than others. But this little group of seven had coalesced into the core sailing team over the summer, autumn and winter. What they didn’t have was confirmation of that from the Team EF management. Perhaps this was the meeting when they would get it.

      But Anna didn’t want to let herself think like that - she’d been there too often before. In fact, in every meeting with Fredde since November, she’d hoped that he would confirm her place on the women’s crew. It had been a frustrating time - worse for Anna than the others, since she had been with the project for the longest. When EF had bought Intrum Justitia as a training boat sixteen months earlier, Anna was already working aboard. Magnus had been running Intrum at that time, and it had been natural that the newly formed Team EF should buy the Whitbread 60 that was in his charge as a training boat. Anna had met Magnus in Auckland during the previous Whitbread. She had been there on holiday, partly to see the finish and the restart of the race. She shared a background with Magnus in offshore yacht racing in Sweden, and they got on well.

      So Anna was pleased - if a little surprised that he had remembered her - when Magnus asked her to help him deliver Intrum Justitia from Stockholm to Gothenburg the following summer. One thing led to another, as it so often does when a job is well done, and Anna was soon working on the boat full time. There was a season of racing in Sweden with Sony as the sponsor, and a winter of looking after the boat in Stockholm. And in that time Team EF had grown and developed around her. Magnus was now a senior member of Team EF - sailing director and a watch captain aboard EF Language for his fourth Whitbread Race. But Anna was still on the rack of uncertainty. She sipped at the Coke, and tried not to think about it.

      There was a click of heels on the stone floor behind them. All the girls looked up. It was Anderson, his manner brisk, his smile bright. ‘Sorry I’m late, but I’ve got some good news,’ he said. He paused, and the leather seats creaked as the seven girls sat up a little straighter. ‘You’re all to be offered a place on the crew of EF Education.’ Anna smiled, but only briefly. It had been a long wait. The overwhelming emotion was relief, rather than triumph. She had finally been given the opportunity to join that rare band of sailors who had raced a Whitbread. Now they could really get on with the job, and show what they could do.

      The Watermaker

      The first and longest leg of the 1997/98 Whitbread Race, 7,350 nautical miles from Southampton to Cape Town, and things were not going well for the women aboard EF Education. They had stayed too far from the coast of France on the first morning of the race. A sea breeze developed inshore, and seven of the fleet had slipped away to a commanding lead. So far there hadn’t been an opportunity to get back into contention. The weather patterns continued to favour the leaders, and they trailed the fleet towards the Equator. The only consolation was that their team-mates aboard EF Language were part of the breakaway group, and held third position. Anna:

      We were all thirsty. With the temperature well into the thirties, it was hot, fry-an-egg-on-the-deck-hot. The boat was thrashing along with a number two headsail, just far enough off the wind to edge up the speed. The heat was relieved on deck by the breeze, but down below it was stifling. Lying motionless in a bunk was enough to work up a sweat, minerals pouring through the skin in a constant metabolic flush. The air lay heavy, with a warm, sticky saltiness. In those conditions being thirsty is par for the course. There were no ice-cold Cokes on this boat, they’re too heavy. Trouble was, there was very little water left either.

      Leah heard it first, the ominous rattle from under the floorboards. It was about four in the afternoon on October 6. The noise was coming from the generator and its accompanying drive shaft. Leah was convinced that it was the water ballast pump. That’s powered by the generator, and it moves the water between the boat’s six ballast tanks. At least that was easy to access and check - you just pull up a couple of floorboards. Leah gave Lisa a hand to dismantle the ballast pump and put it back together. But there was nothing obviously wrong with it, and when they restarted the generator the noise was still there. It was as loud as ever and more forbidding, because the only other thing connected to that drive shaft was the watermaker pump. All the water on a Whitbread 60 is made by a desalinator. A highly complex series of chemical membranes and filters, it takes in pressurised salt water from a through-hull fitting, and spews out fresh drinking water. The water is forced through the desalinator by the pump, driven from the boat’s generator.

      They checked the desalinator unit and, sure enough, there was no drinking water spouting from the outlet. But by then it was too dark for any more work. Lisa called off the repair efforts until dawn. As a precaution, Christine introduced water rationing:

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1