Around the World

April Tod meets Poole sailor Annie Lush, as she undertakes a gruelling round the world ocean race

Few would consider taking up the gauntlet of participating in an around the world ocean race with few comforts – where bunks are shared, the main diet is heated dried

food, sleep is restricted to one hour in every four and oh yes, there is also the communal toilet bucket.

Add to that the excruciating cold conditions, howling gales and 20-foot waves constantly hitting decks, and it’s enough to put off even the most experienced sailor.

But that’s what professional sailor Annie Lush from Poole is doing right now. Having set sail from Alicante on January15 on the gruelling Ocean Race’s first leg to Cabo Verde, she rejoined her team in Cape Town for the third and longest leg that left on February 26, heading for Itajai in Brazil.

With five different designed IMOCAs taking part, crews of five include one female member on each boat. Annie, 42, is with GUYOT, Team Europe, the fleet’s oldest boat and has already had to deal with a few dramas.

She was forced to return to Cape Town after the first day to repair the boat’s hull after it became unstable and delaminated.

Poole is where Annie’s lived all her life and where she learnt to sail dinghies in the harbour from a young age.

“One hundred percent of the reason I was drawn into sailing is because I was born in Poole,’” she says. “I didn’t really sail outside the harbour until I was well into my teens, although there were occasional trips to Brownsea Island.”

Sailing has always been Annie’s passion although rowing took precedence during her student days at Cambridge University. She once represented Cambridge in the annual Oxford and Cambridge ladies’ race. However, after graduating she soon realised sailing was the sport for her. “I started seriously competing in local events and trialled for the British sailing team but it was qualifying for the Olympics that took quite a long path. Fortunately all the rowing I did at university strengthened my body, and that helped enormously with training preparations for the Olympics.”

All her hard work paid dividends when she was awarded a place on the Olympic team representing Great Britain in the Finn class for the 2012 London Olympics partnering the more experienced Shirley Robertson.

“It was a long, tough path qualifying for the Olympics, but Shirley was my biggest inspiration,” she admits. “It was during
that time I was approached to try out off-shore racing which appealed to me – in fact I became quite obsessed with the idea. Fortunately my coach was already involved
in off-shore racing and explained a lot to me, and also helped me get involved in an all- female crewed Swedish boat, my first attempt at ocean racing.

“The other thing that appeals to me about ocean racing is the camaraderie between teams and crews. That’s when I realised how much I wanted to take part in ocean racing, although my ultimate dream had always been to sail in the America’s Cup. Unfortunately, that’s still a dream as women still can’t compete in these races.”

We are chatting in the Helly Hansen sponsored crew quarters, the day before
the start of the ocean race’s first leg. Annie appears surprisingly relaxed despite the many challenges that lay ahead.

“For a long time off-shore racing had been a male domain, and women were considered as not having enough strength and stamina to take part, so the only way we could prove this was wrong was by racing all-female crewed boats.”

Annie is one of the pioneers behind the now successful Magenta Project which promotes equal opportunities for women in racing by mentoring sailing programmes and helping potential crews understand how to approach ocean racing.

“Previously it was difficult for professional racers like myself to get involved in off-shore racing, when it was considered physically impossible for us to join all-male crews. But rules have now changed.”

The other poignant challenge for Annie is having to leave her four-year-old daughter behind. “It’s definitely difficult for me, but she tells me it’s harder for her. This is the first time I’ll be away from her for such a long time.”

Fortunately support is never too far away. A group of family and friends from Poole, known at the Poole-ites, now follow all Annie’s races.

“They’re my biggest support group and mostly friends I grew up with since I was seven. Around 50 from Poole are here in Alicante, some follow me to every stop-over. I feel so lucky.” she says proudly.

Considering the enormity of the race’s many challenges, Annie is stoical, saying, “It’s all a challenge, but that’s what ocean racing is all about.”