Maiden’s Vuyi Jaca Wins The Ocean Globe Race

Vuyi Jaca joins the crew of Maiden as the first female team to win the Ocean Globe Race. Vuyi also holds the esteemed accolade of being one of 3 black women in the world to sail past Cape Horn and the 1st black person on the African continent to circumnavigate via the southern ocean. We are incredibly proud of her achievement.                                   S+L caught up with Vuyi when she landed back on SA soil.

A dream of a lifetime

Winning the Ocean Globe Race means a lot to Vuyi personally. “It’s a lifetime achievement for me. I never would have thought that I would be doing what I’ve done at this age, or even in my life – it still feels like a dream. It just shows if you believe, it is possible. As long as you don’t give up trying”.

Besides the achievement as the first female team to win an around the world race (which is amazing in itself) there were other milestones that Vuyi and the team were proud of.

“I’m so proud that we were able to start and finish the race without giving up,” says Vuyi.  They had many problems to deal with onboard including breakages above and below deck, and not enough water. “I mean we could have asked other boats for water or gone to land to get water, and just given up, but we didn’t do that.” Instead, they were positive about every situation as they tried to fix what they could to continue racing.

Leg by leg

Each leg had its highs and lows, but for Vuyi the most frustrating was that all the legs had high pressures zones which seemed to follow them around the world.

The 1st leg was a little bit rough and wet. “For the last 2 weeks before reaching Cape Town we had about 30/45knts of wind the whole time, even through the finish line. The skipper gave me the helm as we crossed the finish line – we were coming home to my own country. That was amazing,” says Vuyi.

The 2nd /3rd legs were interesting as Vuyi had never sailed in the southern ocean before. There was a lot she was looking forward to. They had the great wonder of the sea, an Albatross, along for the ride for almost all of the way. They saw different types of dolphins, one of them being the southern right dolphin. “This was amazing for me. Before the race Jeremy Bagshaw interviewed me and showed me pictures of the same dolphins he saw around Cape Horn during his Golden Globe Race. He said I might see them, and surprisingly I did see them. I was so stunned and happy”.

Challenges and fun

The weather was cold and the sky was different shades of grey almost everyday. She remembers finally seeing the sun and clear sky after one week. “The ocean was rough but I kind of enjoy it as most of the time we were down wind sailing with the kite up, surfing the massive waves. I also got to helm at 50knot for the 1st time – it was so much fun”. For Vuyi,  rounding Cape Horn was historical. “It is something that no one will ever take away from me. It was like I was graduating at sea getting my degree or doctorate. One might say I’m exaggerating, but those who know about sailing, know how important Cape Horn is to us as sailors – it’s beyond comparison to anything!”

The 4th leg was a little bit different. “We didn’t have wind for almost the whole leg, which is not nice when you’re racing – it is really frustrating!” They had difficulties too – almost everything below deck stopped working – the inverter, the generator, the grey water pump and the water maker. “It was a lot to deal with, but we were able to fix some of the problems. But things that we couldn’t fix, like the inverter, made us work on survival mode”.

They ran out of water and were limited to drinking only 300ml a day, and were limited to using just 200ml to cook with every 12hours. “As much as it may sound scary it really taught us that every obstacle we face brought us together, and we learned a lot about ourselves.”

The job list

Vuyi started the race as the 2nd engineer on board but replaced Ami for the last 2 legs as 1st engineer. “Ami couldn’t do the last 2 legs so I was given this role to be in charge, which came with such a huge responsibility. I was a little nervous and excited for the opportunity, but with the support of my team it was all good”. Many things stopped working. “I mean it has been an adventure. I think Maiden was getting tired so those predicaments we faced made me learn a lot. Now I know more than before as we were fixing things ourselves onboard”.

We are the world

The diversity of the crew tells such a beautiful story – women from all over the globe racing around the world in a corinthian-style race on a boat previously raced by an all-female crew. Crew represented 7 nations: Great Britain, the USA, India, South Africa, Antigua, Afghanistan and Italy. Vuyi was one of the 8 crew out of thirteen who raced for all 4 legs.

Cultures were shared as each crew member learnt what the others are all about. “I am Zulu, so I told them about our culture, our traditional food, how we do traditional weddings (the whole process) and I shared a few Zulu words too. What was interesting for me is how English people like their tea. English tea is more like a tradition. I was surprised by the amount of tea they can drink a day.”

Tracey Edwards supported me in so many ways. “She allowed me to be part of the race crew – that alone is supporting my dreams. She always made sure that everyone was well taken care of and checked that everyone was happy at each stopover.”

Education for girls

The Maiden Factor did a world sailing tour prior to the OGR to raise funds for girls education. It has helped lots of girls worldwide. “As the crew of Maiden we did lot of charity work at each stop. This includes donating to non-profit foundations, talks with girls to boost their self-esteem and to help girls overcome their daily struggles”.

SA support

The support back home for Vuyi during the race was amazing, and even from around the world.

“At each stopover I would check my socials and there were always positive messages, which meant a lot to me. As much as I get support from my family and friends and the sailing community, most people in South Africa don’t even know what sailing is until they hear about my story”. Vuyi’s hope is that one day sailing will be at the level of soccer and rugby, where everyone knows about it, and supports it like the normal sports in the country. “To be honest I have no idea how they will celebrate my win, but maybe doing talks will help as I will be sharing my sailing adventure experience, and they might appreciate it”.

Vuyi wants to inspire and motivate other young women to sail. “I think hearing about my story, what I went through before this race (as it wasn’t just magic but hard work and determination), it might motivate them to do not similar, but way bigger things than me”.

Paying it forward

When asked what the future holds for her, Vuyi says, “At the moment I just want to rest while I think about what I want to do next. It has been such a journey. I would like to continue my studies as I have a scholarship from the Department of Sport. I need a source of income as well so getting a part time job in the meantime would be helpful”.

From one SA hero to another

Besides many other accolades, GGR winner Kirsten Neuschäfer was recently awarded the SA Sportswoman of the Year award. Vuyi met her in England before the race, she came to the Maiden crew house for dinner. Kirsten shared her GGR stories and gave them advice. Vuyi saw Kirsten again in Cape Town along with the Maiden crew and she shared more advice together with Jeremy Bagshaw.

“I was with Mellissa at that time – they are all amazing people – I am so honoured to have such people in my life. I remember Kirsten sent me a congratulations message once we’d crossed the finish line and told me she was so proud of me. Sterna the only SA entry skippered by Jeremy Bagshaw, posted a tweet to congratulate me as the 1st black woman on the African continent to circumnavigate via Cape Horn”.

Pictures: Facebook, Maiden Factor, OGR