Adventure #1: The round-the-world sailor (who's never sailed before…)
Dhruv Boruagh isn't shy of adventure. He has it running through his veins….he's already travelled a third of the world driving an ambulance from Madrid to Mongola and now he's sailing the next part. In the last 24 hours Dhruv set sail in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race as part of Team GB's boat. He's racing in the first leg from London to Rio. A month at sea without setting foot on land!
This is a pretty tough challenge for the hardiest of sailors, but before signing up for the race Dhruv had never sailed before and he says he's not even a very strong swimmer.
He showed me round the boat he's going to become pretty familiar with over the next month and also told me how the biggest challenge would be spending a month in a very confined space.
DB: I saw the ad for this on the tube but I'd never sailed before. I've covered a third of the world on wheels when I drove an ambience from Madrid to Mongola and I was up for another adventure and this sounded just the one I was looking for. I was interviewed and accepted along with twenty one others from all walks of life, different ages…we'll all be living together on this 64 foot boat.
How did you learn to sail?
Well I’m not a strong swimmer at all but being in the water is the last place you want to be. We’ve all been training but in fact the hardest part is not the sailing it’s the people. You are living in exhausting conditions - eleven people on top of eleven constantly. During the day you’re in shifts six hours on, six hours off and at night it’s four hours per shift.
What do you eat on board, the kitchen looks tiny & who cooks?
We have a rota and we respect all religions so this is a Muslim boat, no ham on board until Rio. The cooking rota is one of the hardest – the galley is the worst place to be when the weather is bad and you’re suffering from seasickness. We have some fresh meat, a fridge and a rice cooker and bread maker.
Where do you sleep and shower?
There is no shower! We have baby wipes to freshen up but that’s it. And there’s not much privacy on board as you’re hot bunking between shifts.
You can follow the Team GB boat here and also on twitter
SA in London