BBC SPORT | SAILING | Moloney still on a high

Nick Moloney is having trouble adjusting to life on the land after 64 days spent sailing non-stop around the world.

The Australian sailor was the only non-Frenchman aboard the 110ft catamaran Orange when it shattered the round-the-world record.

Helmed by Bruno Peyron, Orange circumnavigated the world in just 64 days 8 hrs 37 mins to break the previous record for the Jules Verne Trophy by seven days.

But after a little over a week on dry land, the 34-year-old Moloney is still struggling to cope.

"For 64 days the only faces I saw were the other 12 members of the crew and it's tough getting used to having more people around.

The finish line was a welcome sight after 64 days
"The noise of the city takes some getting used to. At night I wake up and I'm half expecting to hear the water lapping against the hull.

"It's a sub-conscious thing. When you're on the boat you become used to certain sounds and you're always only half-asleep in case anything happens," he told BBC Sport Online.

Orange's initial attempt to break the record started disastrously with the mast snapping only 35 minutes after leaving port.

That experience, said Moloney, left the crew on tenterhooks for the duration of their voyage.

"For two-and-a-half weeks from the finish we were petrified that our mast was going to fall down.

"We had a problem at the bottom of the mast and I think it was just hope and prayers that got us to the finish."

Moloney has a fondness for Kingfisher
After braving the Southern Ocean, with Peyron walking a tight line between the needs for speed and self preservation, the quest almost came undone two days from their destination.

"We almost flipped over that night, and it was just amazing how fast everyone was to get out of bed - we were all waiting for something to happen."

The experience sailing round the world in a speed machine like Orange was vastly different to his Whitbread experience aboard Toshiba.

"With the monohull we just pushed so hard and I've never experienced anything like it.

"Everyone in the race is just going for it. In the Southern Ocean you're out of control 90% of the time and just on the limit, but you can recover.

I'd much rather behind the wheel of a boat that a car. I'm the worst driver in the world

Nick Moloney

"With the multi-hull the consequence of pushing too hard is wrecking the boat and the only way out is by ship or helicopter."

After 64 days of frayed nerves, Moloney is preparing himself for a comparatively short journey when he takes the helm of Ellen MacArthur's Kingfisher for the second leg of the Regata de Rubicon.

The 1,465-mile leg from Lanzarote to Santa Margherita Ligure in Italy gives Moloney a chance to get reacquainted with a boat he has a lot of time for.

"I wanted to be part of the first leg, but people told me it was a little bit too much to expect after just coming off Orange.

"But I can't wait to get behind the helm, especially as I hope to tackle the Vendee Globe race in 2004."

The Vendee Globe is the missing part of a trio of sailing challenges he has set himself, and the sooner he is back on the water the better as far as he is concerned.

"I'm 100% more comfortable on water than on land. I'd much rather behind the wheel of a boat that a car. I'm the worst driver in the world.

"I like to keep life simple. On the ocean you have to contend with Mother Nature, the wind and water and so far I've been able to have a measure of control over it."


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