As for all of the skippers in the fleet the Vendee Arctique should take Clapcich further north than she has ever been before. She is still a solo IMOCA rookie, entering just her second ever singlehanded IMOCA race after finishing fifth in Spring’s 1000 Race.
Success, she believes, will be about achieving a balance between having a definitive, detailed strategy – such as she and Will Harris prepared last Autumn which contributed significantly to their second place on the two handed Transatlantic – but always remaining flexible and dynamic, adapting early to the fast moving, changing weather and sea conditions that this course north of the Arctic Circle will bring.
“You especially need a plan for the first 36 hours where you can really focus on boat speed, just pushing the boat and not worrying too much because you already have it all in your mind. It will be really dynamic out there. Whilst I like a plan, I'm not super rigid, I'm quite flexible.” Clapcich reflects.
Staying dynamic
The difference on this course, compared to a Transatlantic, is that the low pressures track faster and the course cuts across them, the time between each transition is shorter because the further north you go the curve of the globe is more pronounced. So it is hard to model, to prepare a fixed, more long term route.
“What worries me is really how you manage these really fast, low pressures.” She explains, “They come really, really quick. The more north you go there's less distance that they need to cover and so they happen really, really quick. But they also go away pretty quickly. These boats now are sailing fast. So sometimes we are able to stay in front of these systems and kind of get a push with some nice wind and waves. But you always need to maximise your awareness and set the right sails. If you have to reef, you reef ahead of time. You need to just not get caught in something that can damage the boat. That’s game over. You just don't want to be sailing upwind in 40 knots, going against low pressure. So there is a lot of thinking on where you go in the end.”
Clapcich loves speed and power and is not afraid of risk or to make her own decisions, “I'm definitely not risk averse in anything that I do. You know, in the mountains, in the ocean. I think we only live once. And it's my way to live is that I want to live fully. I am at 100% all the time. And that doesn't mean I get out of the house and drive fast, no, no, no. But you can see the risk. And if you don’t take it on, you will never do what we are doing. It is the same as if I would never go backcountry skiing. Or I will never ski those crazy powder days. Because what if I get caught in an avalanche? Or what if I get lost at sea? In the end, it's also what keeps me alive. You are only here once. I know it's really selfish too I know that. But then I also know that you have a responsibility for people that care about you, that loves you and want you to come back home. So at the end, what we're doing is also quite selfish. Because of course, this gives me joy and adrenaline and happiness. It is making me happy in life. But it makes other people in my life quite worried about it. Again it's a balance, right?”
Solo expresso.......
Being Italian coffee is non-negotiable. At sea it is Clapcich’s elixir. And when racing solo there there is no time for the ritual of a jetboiled Mocha pot. Instead an electronic machine packed with coffee from the sailing mad town where she grew up, Trieste.
“I have a machine, an electrical coffee machine. It’s my little luxury.” She smiles, “ That's my treat. I like espresso coffee, no sugar, no milk. I actually have the brand from my hometown, Trieste, Illy Coffee, I think it's quite famous. I know the family and the owner. So I got that coffee. It's really, really good.”
