News

Team Turkey are new to the Nord Stream Race and as the only crew to consist of male and female sailors, we joined the ladies onboard Team Turkey to talk about their journey to the Nord Stream Race. After their intense training over the past five months they are raring to go and determined to win. Joining them dockside after a further training night sail, they told us about their training and the treats they will take onboard to keep them going for the 800 nautical miles.

Q: Tell me about your journey to the Nord Stream Race?

A: Well we were not sailors before this challenge, we began sailing about five months ago so this is a new and really great experience for all of us; the girls onboard are all new sailors. We have been training really hard back in Turkey but this will be the first time we have sailed in the Baltic Sea together, so the conditions may be different. This is actually the first time we have sailed onboard the Swan 60, as we were training on a smaller boat out in Turkey, so this is new to us also but it is exciting.

Q: How does the Swan 60 compare to your training boat?

A: This boat is longer and the technology is different and much better, so we have adjusted to this. We have practised for one week so far on the Swan 60 and we have got used to it; aspects such as the electrical winches mean we don’t need to use as much power in some areas; this is why all of the girls are the trimmers! We are getting used to the big boat and we are enjoying it.

Q: Has the training been tough?

A: It hasn’t been too bad and we are used to it now; we have been very dedicated to this, training every weekend and at every opportunity. I think we are now prepared for both the offshore race and the match races. We are very ambitious as a team, we have the attitude that we need to win. We are all tough, practical and confident, we will definitely put our all into this race.

Q: What treats are you taking onboard with you?

A: We are taking chocolate, lots of chocolate and haribo’s! We have arranged all of the food and we will take a mix of freeze dried foods and fresh foods for the first two days; we will have a lot of fresh fruit and pasta. We will also take makeup with us! This will be good for us when we arrive into Saint-Petersburg after a number of days and nights at sea.

Q: How was your training night-sail in Flensburg?

A: The night sail in Flensburg went well, we sailed all evening and it was good additional practice for the team. We got in at 5am in the morning, had a few hours’ sleep and then came back to the marina again to get out and do some more training, so now we are quite tired. We are looking forward to the social programme over the weekend and meeting some of the other crews.