Series 2 - Ep2 - Nick Moloney Part 2

Shirley Robertson continues her two part chat with offshore sailor Nick Moloney in this the second part of their discussion about the Australian offshore sailor's diverse career.

This edition kicks off with Moloney's move into solo sailing and jumps straight in with his tense and brutal account of his first Mini Transat race, and attempt that resulted in a badly broken arm and a very near death experience underneath the upturned hull of his 6.5m mini transat boat...:

"A big wave hit the side of the boat, rolled it on it's side and washed my legs from underneath me and I had my arm around the vertical shroud.  As my legs came out from underneath me my arm slid down the narrowing of the 'v' and snapped my forearm in half.  And I went in the water.  It's hard to talk about it now.  I didn't talk about it for along time."

Maloney's honest and emotional account of the incident is one of several anecdotes he shares that benefit from his easy, genuine style of story telling.  The near death accident failed to dampen his spirit, and his offshore career blossomed.  It wasn't long before he got the call from French offshore sailing legend Bruno Peyron, offering a spot on the then ground breaking catamaran 'Orange' - their objective, the Jules Verne Trophy.

Awarded for the fastest sailed lap of the planet, the Jules Verne Trophy os one of the most coveted awards in the sport.  And so it was on May 5th 2002 that Moloney, on board  'Orange', crossed the finish line, as one of thirteen crew onboard the record breaking circumnavigation.  The non-stop blast around the planet had taken 64 days 8 hours and 37 minutes, and for Moloney, sailing with French offshore legend Bruno Peyron was just one of many highlights in an incredible voyage...:

"Bruno had a lot going on....so you didn't see a lot of him, but whenever you were out of control, which was pretty often in those boats, before we knew it, before we actually knew we were out of control, he'd put his wet weather gear on, his harness on, and as soon as the situation got critical he appeared like a fairy, and just grabbed the helm, laid down command and got the situation back in control immediately, and that for me was absolutely amazing.

"I remember getting the trophy, and having said to myself 'I'm gonna put my name on that trophy', everyone's name's on the base.....and the trophy itself is this chrome canoe body suspended on a magnetic field.....and when the (black silk sheet) dropped off the base, my name was right there!  It was so emotional!"

More recently, Moloney and Robertson both held key roles as skippers in the fledgling Extreme 40s Series, the groundbreaking, fast catamaran series that paved the way for inshore, 'stadium' style racing.  Their recollections are of wild early days, racing fast boats in small spaces, with the inevitable collisions and dangers of the new sport pushing them all to their limits.

But it was offshore that Moloney's calling was strongest.  A tight business alliance with Ellen Macarthur flourished, and set Moloney on an inevitable collision course with the solo sailor's ultimate challenge, the toughest race on the planet, the Vendee Globe.  It's his honest and at times brutal accounts of his exploits alone at sea that are the highlight of this podcast, confessing how at times, he hated the noises, the movements, everything about being at sea, confronting near death experiences with the honest and matter of fact approach of a man that knows things could have ended very differently.  It's a compelling listen, but there's also a passion and transparent emotion in Moloney's story telling that is there for all to hear in an interview that offers a raw insight into the life of one of the sport's real characters.Support the show