Teacher will sail 30,000 miles in yacht
By: John Fortuna
Wanderlust has always been a companion of Diana Hunt, taking her from Princeton roots to Rome, Barcelona, Puerto Rico and South America in her nine-year career as an English teacher.
But her travels thus far pale in comparison to what’s in store for her this fall. On September 10, Hunt and more than 200 fellow competitors will take to the waves in the BT Global Challenge, which bills itself as the “word’s toughest yacht race.”
The race starts in Southampton, UK, with stops along the way in Boston; Buenos Aires; Wellington, New Zealand; Sydney, Australia; Cape Town, South Africa; LaRochelle, France, before finishing back in the United Kingdom. When the 10-month race is over, the 12 identical, 72-foot yachts will have covered 30,000 miles around the world against prevailing winds and currents.
And, except for a professional skipper, the 17 volunteer crew members of each boat possess precious little ocean-racing experience. Less-hardy souls could be forgiven for wondering about the attraction of such an event. But, to Hunt, it’s obvious.
“I love a challenge,” she said from South America, where she’s currently living with her husband of four months, Augusto. “I find it amazing when people really stretch themselves to the limit physically and mentally, and have always wanted to be part of an event in which I can do the same.”
Hunt began sailing while a student at Boston University, then further pursued the sport after graduation at a local dinghy club. She bought a 32-foot sailboat upon moving to Puerto Rico, then heard about the BT Global Challenge through a friend.
“I’m a person who moves around a lot and loves adventures,” said Hunt, who’ll move to Boston next month so that Augusto can complete work toward a degree at Boston University. “So the Challenge fits right in with my lifestyle. This is the experience of a lifetime and I’m very thankful to have the opportunity to take part.”
But it’s an experience that also comes with its share of trepidation.
“I do have second thoughts every once in a while,” Hunt admitted. “One reason is that after joining the race I met and married the man of my dreams. It’s going to be very difficult to be separated from him for so long.
“And now and then I think that I’m crazy to want to spend months in the southern ocean with him so far away. But then I always think about how I’ll regret it if I do give up the chance to go through with the race.”
Training for the race, as you might imagine, is a rigorous process that involves a myriad of cardiovascular activities, lifting weights and exercises that increase balance — such as standing in a moving subway car without holding on to a strap or bar.
Hunt doesn’t live near her fellow crew members, so running and mountain biking are her exercises of choice to increase leg strength. But with ropes to pull, winches to grind and sails to carry, sailing demands a strong upper body, too. So Hunt has also embarked on a rigorous weight-lifting regimen. Her training is only interrupted when she heads to England for training sails.
“The training sails are so spaced apart,” Hunt said, “that by time a new one rolls around, it’s hard for me to get used to the cold and discomfort of it all— especially since I live in South America.
“But this will be the experience of a lifetime; so different from anything I’ve lived through before. I’ll learn many new skills, from technical aspects of sailing, to how to deal with 17 people for long periods of time in a very controlled environment, to how to really push myself when I have to. Plus, a trip like this — with the intense experience that everyone shares — is bound to create lifelong friendships.”