As the countdown to the start of the Vendée Globe 2024 continues, the preparations are beginning to intensify.
Over the past few months, the focus has been on the technical preparation of the boat. Just as important, is how Ollie will maintain himself during the 90 days he will be at sea, completing the 45,000km circumnavigation.
Fuelling the Skipper
Offshore sailing is incredibly demanding physically and mentally and nutrition plays a vital role in ensuring Ollie is able to perform at his best ;
Physical exertion – Ollie frequently needs to hoist, drop and reposition sails weighing around 100kg, and needs to maintain energy for safety checks and repairs. Food needs to be high in calories, ideally combining protein, fat and carbohydrate to keep him fuelled for longer.
Mental exertion - Ollie needs to remain alert, despite reduced or interrupted sleep, to ensure he can keep the boat on course and make the best decisions. Food needs to be simple and quick to prepare, and easy to eat whilst on a moving boat.
Temperature Control – during the Vendée Globe Ollie will sail across the equator and around the South Pole, experiencing extremes of temperature which can drain his energy and leave him de-hydrated. Ollie’s will need (and crave) different types of food in these different environments.
Typically, Ollie will consume between 4,500 – 6,000 kcal per day. Over the 90 days of racing, this is approximately 472,500 kcal, and he will probably still lose weight!
Of course, it is crucial for Ollie to have the right food with him; once the race starts there is no option to stop and ‘top-up’ supplies.
Limited facilities
On board, Ollie has extremely limited cooking facilities and no refrigeration. After the first few days he is dependent on freeze-dried meals and pre-packed snacks which provide a high energy content combined with essential nutrients.
Ollie’s entire “kitchen’ consists of a single jet-boil, a thermos mug and a long-handled spoon! He uses the gas-powered “jet-boil” to heat water which is used to make hot drinks and reconstitute the freeze-dried meals.
Food Planning and Packing
Planning and packing the food is a surprisingly complex topic. Before the race, Ollie’s team carefully plan the number of meals he will need, and make adjustments for the various climates – with additional high-calorie hot meals for the cold North Atlantic and polar regions and lighter meals and more electrolytes for the hot equator period.
Over the past year, the team have experimented with packing food in different ways – by meal type (eg all the breakfasts together and Ollie chooses the flavour he fancies) or pre-allocated into 2-day bags or 1-week bags.
For the Vendée Globe, the team have decided to pack each day’s food into a ziplock bag, then pack 14 bags into a stack bag, i.e. two weeks worth of food. In addition, each stack bag contains a ‘Bonus Bag’ with extra meals or electrolytes and Ollie’s favourite treats.
The contents of each 2-week stack bag are adjusted to reflect where we expect Ollie to be in the race at that time, so each stack-bag is numbered and should be used in order to ensure that Ollie has the right food for the climate he is in.
As Ollie moves the stack-bags around whilst sailing to optimise the weight load within the boat, he has to try not to bury the next meal bag at the bottom of the pile!
What’s in a bag? A typical Menu du Jour!
Breakfast: (600-800kcal)
Instant coffee or tea. Like on land, Ollie’s day always starts with a coffee!
Freeze-dried porridge with nuts and dried fruit. Sometimes Ollie will add extra honey for sweetness and variety
Mid-Morning Snack: (300-500 kcal)
Granola or Protein bar. Rich in protein to aid muscle repair and provide slow-release energy
Dried fruit and nuts
Lunch: (900-1000 kcal)
Freeze-dried pasta meal – Ollie’s favourite is the pasta Bolognese, delicious!
Fresh fruit whilst it lasts, or a sweet treat such as Haribo
Vitamin pack 1 containing zinc, Vitamin C, and Sport, Brain PS and Immunovital complexes.
Afternoon Snack: (300-500kcal)
Chocolate or other high-energy snack - especially Swiss Milk Chocolate!
Dinner: (800-1000 kcal)
Freeze-dried meal. The all-time favourite is Thai chicken curry – often with a little added spicy sauce!
Dessert – The options include chocolate mousse, apple crumble and custard, and the favourite; Space Ice-Cream!
Vitamin pack 2 containing more vitamin C as well as Lysine
Pocket Snacks: Easy to grab for an energy boost
Nuts and dried fruit
Haribo!
Chocolate, protein or granola bars
Vitamins – Vital for staying fit and well
Since Ollie began taking vitamins on a regular basis he comments “It’s hard to prove it, but I just feel better; I never seem to get ill anymore, I don’t get cramps, I have fewer cold-sores and I feel that I recover from physical exertion quicker.”
For the Vendée Globe, Ollie has worked with Burgerstein Vitamine to pre-plan the ideal vitamin strategy. A pre-determined selection of vitamins will be packed in each days’ food bag, with additional vitamin C included for the cold periods.
Mood-Boosting Treats
Beyond nutrition, food plays a vital role in our emotional lives. Part of Ollie’s mental health strategy is to have a mood-boosting food treat in each ‘Bonus Bag’ .
So what is in Ollie’s Bonus Bag? Ollie laughs “When I need a morale boost, it’s got to be an Apero!”
His Apero consists of crackers, tinned gherkins or silverskin onions and either luxury tinned sardines, foie gras or cured meats.
Ollie’s friend, Fabienne, a licensed hunter in the mountains near Davos, Switzerland has prepared some vacuum-packed venison that she caught herself.
“This is such a cool thing!” comments Ollie, “Not only is it delicious, but it makes me think of home and reminds me of my friends and family. It’s a real mood-booster for me.”
Hydration: Just as Important as Calories
75% of the brain is water and it is well documented that even mild dehydration can lead to a reduced performance in critical thinking and attentiveness, which could slow Ollie down, so staying hydrated is vital.
Ollie doesn’t carry bottled water on board, instead his boat is equipped with a water-maker (and a spare) which processes sea-water to turn it into distilled water.
This de-salinated water lacks flavour and does not contain any of the minerals usually found in drinking water. Ollie therefore adds squash or electrolytes to his water to make it more appealing to drink and avoid mineral deficiency.
Fuelled Up and Ready to Race
With this proper nutrition plan, Oliver is one-step closer to overcoming the challenges that inevitably lie ahead as he embarks on one of the world’s toughest sporting events. Stay tuned for updates on his incredible journey!
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