Thu, 15 Jun 2006 14:30:00
Timo Malinen had the patience for his chosen profession, as a Chiropractor, but he is also the Medical Coordinator for the race. Andy Robertson says Ahhh!
The end is in sight. Six hundred miles up the coast the finish line beckons. The talk on the Veerhaven dockside often slipped to 'this time next week it'll all be over', looking ahead to the next job, the next challenge or even just not having the Volvo Ocean Race dominating the entire thought process 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Most of the sailors are running on empty. For some the fact that the last leg was more of a mental challenge than the hard physical grind it was expected to be took the sting from the end of this race, but with only two pairs of final positions to be decided and the race won, there are plenty of sailors for whom the finish now can't come soon enough.
As the Volvo Ocean Race's main front line medic, Timo Malinen has lived through the highs and the lows with the teams. He is one of the first people to see the sailors at the end of each leg and through each of the stopovers there is a steady stream of sailors seeking his advice and opinion.
Along with the rest of the medical team Malinen puts together all of the pre-race medical planning and ensures the delivery is executed to a high standard by appropriate healthcare providers in each stopover port, as well as the 24/7 on-call service and emergency delivery while the boats are at sea from Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital’s Accident and Emergency department.
The duty of care extends beyond the sailors. This time more families have travelled the world with the race. More sponsors, more media - rules advisors, jury members, event officials. Caring for the well-being of the whole Volvo Ocean Race community is an enormous undertaking.
This race has seen another step up in the level of professionalism and attention to detail in the quest to win. It is ironic that the team which visibly paid most attention to sports science, movistar, no longer has a boat to sail. Their team members might have been the fittest for the purpose, but their boat wasn’t.
Malinen affirms that he saw movistar’s team members less. "They were older, but fitter than ever. I only saw them for second opinions.
“I think that in general now even the hard headed old school sailors are starting to recognise the benefits of servicing the body as well as the boat.”
Malinen believes that next race every team needs to have a sports science professional with responsibility for their team, looking at the needs of the individuals in the crew and how they work and fit together.
"I was talking with Seb Josse the other day and he was explaining what happens with the Figaro (solo class) training (at the specialist school in Port La Foret) where you learn about your individual nutritional requirements and you go and study your sleep patterns. That is one extreme, but that is what sport is about and you have to do the best job that you can."
Many of the injuries and illnesses have been the same as on previous races, back problems, skin problems, traumatic injuries, “"Back problems were the most common last time. I haven't done the numbers, but I do know that people have suffered from back pain, though it would be wrong for me to guess, but I do have a feeling there has been slightly less this time.
“The sails are bigger, but they are changing less often. It may be because there has been less stacking less often."
In this area, prevention is very definitely better than cure, and learning about and developing sailing-specific fitness should be part of the programme. Timo sees the race demanding sports scientists with a background and knowledge of offshore sailing, "What you have to remember is that it is not about having a physique like Arnold Schwarzenegger. There is no point in having huge arms and biceps when 60 percent of upper limb strength comes from the control of your torso. It doesn't matter how strong your arms are if you have no control over your torso."
Timo is a firm believer that the last leg was a blessing in terms of limiting physical exhaustion. "We have a couple of people carrying old injuries, a couple of operations lurking around the corner, but these guys are tough. They are sailing, but they have injured themselves during the race.
"I think what actually happened is stressful, but the physical exhaustion is much less than I expected. Maybe they didn't do as many sail changes this leg.
“Barney (Ericsson's Ian Walker) said this last leg they had the biggest headsail up, the Code Zero up, twice, the biggest spinnaker and the staysail up once, and it was not that hard really. The hardest bit was continuous trimming and staying awake. In my opinion, yes, the last leg was a blessing.
"I would say, though, that people are very, very exhausted, and it takes time to recover, to get back to normal food."
Weight loss is another issue and while some teams seem to have been on top of this, observers close to the race look at some of the skippers and navigators as suffering most noticeably - Paul Cayard and Stan Honey being two noticeable examples. "Again, scientifically we don't have data on it, but historically and by experience it does seem to be those who carry the most stress, like the skippers and the navigators, who lose most weight, whether that is because of lack of eating or through lack of sleep and high stress levels.
"We have had the same skin problems, the same back problems, the same sporting type overuse injuries like epcondylitis (tennis elbow).
“The obvious trauma has been more. Blunt trauma, being washed along the deck, we have more. The traumatic injuries are more in numbers and slightly more severe. We have always had broken bones, we have always had cuts and abrasions and all that kind of thing."
Compared with the Volvo Open 60's this new generation of boats has produced one set of very different injuries, something that Timo says he has not seen for years. Every stopover he maintains he has seen at least a couple of sailors suffering from olceranon bursitis which is a very specific swelling on the tip of the elbow caused by traumatic damage to the bursa, which is the little sack of fluid which helps the movement smooth of joints which stick out.
He believes this injury is caused by the very different and less predictable, more pronounced and jerky pitching motion of the boat caused by the canting keel.
This time there has been less in the way or carpal tunnel, or sports related overuse injuries, "We get them less. More of the injuries this time have been traumatic rather than repetitive." One helmsman on the last race reached Sydney and could no longer close his hands, simply because of the way he gripped the wheel.
Malinen and the medical team have had an influence on the Volvo Open 70 detailing, not least the hand holds below, the requirement to have no open holes in the cabin sole - any hole needs a cover - and that the main medical kit is now sealed in the emergency locker - that the toilet has a door, that there is a separate sink in the toilet away from the cooking facilities, that there is a minimum height in the nav station, that the bunks are longer. "These are the things that we are changing as we learn from our experiences."
He believes that sailors are evolving, but he would still like to see the sailors monitored and helped recuperate more as they finish a long leg, "In Aussie Rules football you have to pass large amounts of clear fluids before you are allowed have a beer. That is what I'd like to do with these boys. In any case you need to fully re-hydrate yourself.
“The most common cause of headaches is dehydration. What they need when they come in is fruit salad, or a big chunk of melon. Don't come and ask me for headache pills. Drink a litre and a half of water and then come back.
“But these sailors are better than they have ever before and they need to get some credit for it. Their medics are better than they have ever been before, Derriford is better than it has ever been before. We have learned a lot but there is still a lot to go."
Malinen believes that the use of helmets will become more widespread, "I wouldn't be surprised. One thing I was talking about was wearing helmets and they go: 'but I need my peripheral vision'. Bullshit, man. Your helmet can be cut away like American football. American football is based on movement sideways so I was encouraging sailors to wear helmets.
“I know one sailor who did not come on deck without wearing a helmet, no matter what the wind was. Most bowmen started wearing a helmet, and some when they went to the mast.
“I wouldn't be surprised if we see elbow pads built into their clothing. If you look at bowmen you sometimes see them wearing kneepads. I wouldn't be surprised to see them built into clothing. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more padding built into the clothing."
He is convinced that someone will come up with a solution to the exposed daggerboard problem – something that Gerd Jan Portmann might have liked before he hit the board on ABN AMRO TWO.
He also believes the lifeline system needs to be thought about, "Do we have to start having nets around the boat instead of three lifelines. Do we need to start having more attachment points."
Timo's opinions are his own personal views and are not yet the result of first hand experience sailing the Volvo Open 70s, though he sailed the 60s often, and he is looking forward to the invitation.
He also has a very nice Jaguar for sale.