2007, Piran, Slovenia

Working Environment
RESULTS
The subject characteristics were: age 39 years; stature 1.81m; starting mass 88.7kg. Out of
187 days the skipper was at sea for a total of 118 days: Leg One took 46 days with a 38 day
stopover in Fremantle; Leg Two took 60 days with 31 days in Norfolk and the final leg took
12 days to reach Bilbao.
Skinfold thickness (mm)
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Bilbao Fremantle End of Norfolk End of Bilbao
Start End Leg 1 Stopover End Leg 2 Stopover End
Figure 1. Changes in skinfold thickness during the race
Tricep
Bicep
Sub scap
Chest
Axilla
Illiac crest
SupraIlliac
Abdomen
Front Thigh
A total of 8.3kg body mass was lost over the 48 days at sea during the 1 st leg. As the specific
gravity of urine indicated the skipper was dehydrated (1.030 at end of the 1 st leg) and to
varying extents the bioimpedance analysis data was confounded. Skinfold measurements
(Figure 1) suggest that 3.4kg of this loss was body fat. These changes in body mass equate to
a negative energy balance of 30,427 kcal in total and a mean of 2.77MJ.d -1 over the first leg.
The pre race body mass was restored during the 38 day stopover. The second leg took 12 days
longer but the body mass lost was only 6.2kg and the skinfold assessment suggests a fat mass
lost of 4.18kg giving a total negative energy balance of 37,617 kcal, which equates to
2.62MJ.d -1 over the entire leg. The comparative sprint of 12 days at sea for leg three however
showed a rate of a total of 2,829 kcal lost and mean loss of 0.99MJ.d -1 ). A strong (r =0.99)
correlation exists between duration at sea and rate of negative energy balance in fat mass as
measured by subcutaneous skinfold thickness. If this were a non-stop race over the 118days
the total energy imbalance would be around 80,908 kcal based on the current data.
Despite the lack of sleep and the significant losses in body mass and body water there were no
negative effects on the skippers strength or muscular endurance. Aerobic fitness however
does appear to have improved slightly over the two longer legs of the race, remaining
unchanged pre and post the final leg (Fig.2).
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