Piet Eichholtz, professor of Real Estate and Finance at the School of Business and Economics, is on sabbatical this autumn. At the end of August 2023, he departed Portsmouth, England, in one of the eleven racing yachts in the biennial round-the-world sailing race known as the Clipper Race. “Have you heard of the Volvo Ocean Race? It’s now called the Ocean Race. It’s like that, except the Ocean Race is for professional crews and the Clipper Race is for amateur crews. Only our skipper and first mate are pros.”
No, he says, it’s not necessarily a childhood dream come true. “I’ve been sailing since I was twelve or thirteen years old. First in a small boat, later as crew on a seaworthy ship. When I moved from Amsterdam to Maastricht, I said goodbye to the water. I wanted to put down roots here, not travel west every weekend.”
Love of the sea
But his love of the sea was rekindled about ten years ago, when friends (“guys from UM”) began inviting him to races – first across Lake IJsselmeer, then in Brittany and later in Croatia. He decided to obtain the necessary qualifications to sail anywhere. Maybe he would sail across the ocean one day after all – something he thought was out of reach when he was sailing as a teenager.
By chance, he stumbled upon the Clipper Race. The race involves yachts with about twenty crew members sailing in various legs around the world, with stopovers on all continents. After passing an interview, applicants go through four one-week training courses to see if they are mentally and physically up to the task. They can choose to participate for a few months or the whole year. People kept dropping out until the last day of training, says Eichholtz. “I talked about it with my wife, Margo. She immediately said, ‘You should go for it’.”
Sad circumstances
But he almost didn’t step onto the yacht. First, the pandemic threw a spanner in the works; this year, tragedy struck his personal life. “In December 2022, my brother found out that he was terminally ill. He passed away in June. If he’d still been alive, I would’ve stayed with him. I had not yet pulled out of the race; I thought, ‘We’ll see’.” During the last week of training in early August, his mother passed away quite suddenly. “We don’t have Wi-Fi or mobile service on board. No news, no emails, no WhatsApp. But we had to turn back because of an issue with the mast.” As they got closer to land, the messages from his family started coming in. “I called my sister and she said, ‘You did so much for Theo’s funeral, I’ll arrange Mum’s funeral. You stay on the boat.’ I finished out the week and went to them immediately after.”
Yes, he says, “it felt bizarre to leave under such sad circumstances. But I wanted to see it through. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” At first, his thoughts often strayed to his brother and mother. “But you essentially spend every waking moment focused on sailing. How’s the wind? How are we doing? What’s our sail set-up? It’s a real competition; all crews are fiercely competitive.” And so is he, judging by his triumphant message on Thursday 6 November: “We won!!! First boat to arrive in Cape Town.”
Spartan living
Life aboard the Dare to Lead is spartan. “There are ten or eleven beds on board. You don’t have your own bed. At night, you’re on watch for four hours and off for four hours, so you don’t get much sleep. During the day, you’re on watch for six hours and off for six hours. You sleep when you can.” He doesn’t suffer from seasickness. “Pure luck”, he says. “Good genes. I feel comfortable at sea. I love a good storm. I don’t get afraid, I stay calm. I knew that already, but I’ve rediscovered it here.” At the time of the interview, they’re berthed in the port of Cape Town for nine days. Some of his crewmates are nauseous for three days after each stopover; if they’re on kitchen duty, they’ll be alternately “puking and cooking”. That’s why Eichholtz is often on kitchen duty those first few days. “They prefer me to cook – not just because I have my sea legs, but also because the food will taste good. Not all of us are great cooks”, he laughs. But he can’t always be on kitchen duty. He’s been elected as one of the two watch leaders – a great honour. “The skipper and first mate are in charge; the two watch leaders are their first go-to people.” He has turned out to be much better at sailing than he thought he was, he says without false modesty. As for his leadership style on board, “I stick to the same approach as in university. I’m not big on hierarchy; I prefer to let people do their own thing, stepping in when they need guidance.”
Crew relationships run deep, he says. “We’re like a small community of 22 people. It’s so tough; you’re always tired, losing weight. But shared suffering builds strong bonds. We talk a lot when we’re on deck together. We’re usually very busy, but occasionally, there are four hours of relative calm. We’re fortunate with our crew – no aggressive egos on board, no fights, just occasional irritation. Everyone is very open and there’s no talking behind people’s backs.”
Churning out papers
Has he had time to process the loss of his brother and mother? He’s not sure. “We’ll see when I get home.” He thinks of the race as a big reset. “In our department, we have the book Let My People Go Surfing by the founder of the outdoor brand Patagonia. He says, ‘I want my people to work hard, but I also want them to go surfing when the weather is good’. My sabbatical is in the same vein. I could be churning out papers with other professors right now, but why would I? Sometimes it’s good to do something completely different. Incidentally, that’s why I think it’s utterly useless for students to do internships. Why do something you’ll be doing for the rest of your life? You should be trying different things to get to know yourself better. I chopped wood, ran a painting business, smuggled caviar from Poland. I learnt so much during that time.”
Homesick
Does he ever get homesick? It’s a good question, he says. “I was supposed to get off at Cape Town. Then Margo said, ‘Why don’t you stay on until West Australia?’ I said, ‘Sure, but then you have to come to Australia and we’ll go on a camper van trip together.’ But during our Uruguay stopover, I realised that I wanted to go home to celebrate Christmas with Margo and the kids. I want to see my family and friends again. This is a fantastic adventure, but I have a great life at home. I love my job and the university itself; I have amazing children and a wonderful wife. I wouldn’t want another life. But my life had become a bit less adventurous. This race came to me at the right time. It’s the same thrill you feel when descending Mount Ventoux on your racing bike.”
Follow the race online: https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/race/standing