November 30, 12:30 a.m.: Forget the Formula 1 night race and all those cricket matches in floodlit stadiums. Following a Volvo Ocean Race yacht after sundown is night sport at its best. I am on a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) of the Customs and we are off to see Ericsson 4 finish.
Powered by two Mariner Magnums that drink around 150 litres of petrol an hour, the RIB zooms, throwing sheets of spray. We pass Dufferin Point to our right; on the left, Fort Kochi is asleep and dark, except for lanterns on Chinese fishing nets. The Puthuvypeen lighthouse fleetingly jabs a finger of light into the darkness. Kochi city is now just a long glow, low on the horizon. The rest of the world is just the night sky and dark water. The engines splutter and die; water hyacinths have fouled the propellor. Bad news at the finishing point, too. E4 is ‘parked’ in a no-wind zone and might come only at around 7 a.m. We head back.
2:15 a.m.: I’m sleepy. On the 15-km drive home, over the car stereo Raghu Dixit complains “Khidki ye sone na dere/raath bhar mujhe jagaye re.” No, no you got it wrong, buddy. Not the windows, it’s VOR that’s keeping me awake.
3:30 a.m.: VOR International Press Officer Sophie Luther calls: E4 has found wind.
4:00 a.m.: Back at sea. Photographers ask VOR Communications Director Marcus Hutchinson if there will be floodlights to light up E4. He grins, “Floodlights in the Arabian Sea?” As we catch up with E4, flashes pop like streaks of lightning. The TV crews’ lights seem like so many glowing matchsticks. RIBs zoom all around E4. VOR has arrived.
4:50 a.m.: Back at the pontoon, Sophie teaches me the best way to lash down a RIB. After the prize giving ceremony, Torben and the boys head for a bite, shower and beer—not necessarily in that order!
6:00 a.m.: Back home and in bed. Now if that isn’t a night to remember, tell me what is!
