Petr Muzik services

Following on from yesterdays blog about why the next Volvo Ocean Race should stop over in Cape Town, an email from my friend in New Zealand,Ian Allen, came in this morning,its about a local guy and underlines the quality of local Cape Town big boat service,here is a wonderfull story direct from the man who can service both Lewmar and Harken racing winches,his name is Petr Muzik,a guy who recently finished a mainly solo circumnavigation,aboard his self built Shearwater 39,a design by Dudley Dix,the boats name is Shoestring,taken from Petr's own boating shoe brand lable.

WORKING FOR THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE ERICSSON TEAM - OCTOBER 2008



Article by Petr Muzik

Photographs by Nick Muzik





The phone rings at 09h00 and May and I are on our way to Cape Town from Port Owen, where we live. It is my old friend and racing adversary Anthony Spillebean, now one of the heads of the shore crew for the Ericsson team which have two boats in the race, namely E3 and E4. Their boats have come in 1st and 3rd and have a long list of repairs and maintenance. Would I come in a soon as possible to help them out in overhauling the winches for both boats.



Having been involved with all the Whitbread and Volvo races I can call myself qualified in this field, being trained by both Lewmar and Harken. These are no ordinary winches like one would find on my or your boat. Made of kevlar, carbon and titanium with three speeds connected to coffee-grinders they represent the F1 of yacht racing, and can be found on all Americas Cup and Volvo boats. Between the two boats there are 21 winches.



The organization here is terrific, four 40ft containers make up the maintenance section, a complete sail loft, engineering workshop complete with lathe, milling machine, 20 ton press and any tool you wish to name. Two containers carry spares for every eventuality. Then there are the offices, a fully equipped kitchen which serves two meals per day for nearly 60 people, and all this does not include the promotional side of Ericsson. By the way, Ericsson do not make cell phones, but make the network for them. Sony Ericsson are the manufacturers.



When I arrived, the activity was frenetic, people working on the keel, two rudders and daggerboards for both boats. The four spreader 100ft masts were removed and all fittings and rigging checked. All standing rigging is kevlar and running rigging is spectra. The masts are carbon fibre and they even flew out an expert from Italy to advise them on the state of all carbon/kevlar structures. He went through both hulls with a fine toothcomb to check on cracks and weak areas. The man is unique as he not only advises on Americas Cup, and Volvo yachts, but formula one racing cars and the Spanish government on their wind generator programme whose blades are now 120 metres in diameter and their tips are made of kevlar/carbon to stop vibration. There cannot be too many people in this field. All the crew's clothing washed in fresh water and dried ashore. These sailors spend most of their time "underwater" as the boats are very wet and very very fast. In 25 knots of wind they can reach at 35 knots! No wonder they are all doing close to 600 nautical miles a day. All food was taken off the boat and replaced by new food for 17 days for the next leg to India which is estimated to take 14 days. Each day has it's own bag to feed the 11 crew on board. All the meals are freeze dried (space age) and all you have to do is place the relevant packet in boiling water and voila, a complete meal for 11.



Everything on these racing machines is cramped. Forward of the main bulkhead is absolutely nothing. There are six bunks on each side of the main cabin area and the crew tack bunks each time there is a tack or jibe. All sails not in use are stored in the main cabin. The galley is tiny and just aft of the mast and the heads (only one) just forward of it. The tiny navigatorium is jammed underneath the cockpit. Life is cramped to say the least.



Well now onto the winches. I spent 11 hours a day for 5 days just on the winches! Each winch was taken apart to it's last part, taken off the boat and into the workshop. Only four allen keys are required as tools. Each part was washed in a pressure bath of paraffin to get rid of the salt and old grease, then dried with toweling and a high pressure air hose before assembly could start. All pawl springs, pawls and gears were checked for wear and tear and replaced where necessary. I accidently dropped and lost a special screw - and in no time a new one was turned for me in titanium! All gear teeth were brushed with a special grease to withstand the salt and sea water. Each tooth had to be covered but not too much and all excess grease was wiped off. All pawls and springs were oiled with a light oil. On some of the smaller winches (65's) the stresses and strains were so great that some of the gear wheels became oval and had to be replaced. Each winch, now complete cleaned and serviced was taken on board for assembly. At this rate I could manage 4 to 5 winches per day. Recently I overhauled 9 winches on a Swan 65 and managed to do them all in one day, that's the difference between a standard winch and a formula one winch. Consider that each winch costs an average of $15 000.



For me at age 70, this was a special experience. Working with young professionals was invigorating and gave me a new zest for life, even though after 11 long hours each day I was absolutely finished! I was priviledged to be invited to work with such a powerful team - roll on the next big race, I am ready.



PETR MUZIK







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