Special Volvo Ocean Race

Volvo Ocean Race 2014 – © Mapfre/MMuina/Volvo Ocean Race

High-Calorie Diets for High-Intensity Racing

Volvo Ocean Race boats are known for their physical demands. Sailors onboard are constantly performing strenuous tasks like stacking sails, maneuvers, and sail changes. The number of calories burned by each crew member is staggering.

To ensure sailors remain at peak physical performance, nutrition plays a vital role. Over an 8-month race, provisioning is not something left to chance. Every meal is carefully chosen to fuel the team for optimal performance.

What Do Sailors Eat Onboard?

The quest to minimize weight onboard means that only freeze-dried foods (cold-dried) are carried. From breakfast to dinner, every meal is prepared by simply adding hot water from the onboard desalination system.

Each leg of the race requires meticulous planning when it comes to provisioning. Factors such as temperature, estimated duration of the leg, weather conditions, and crew preferences are all considered. For colder legs near icy waters, daily caloric intake can soar to as much as 7,000 calories per crew member.

Where Do Teams Source Their Food?

Whether it’s Dongfeng, Brunel, Mapfre, or other teams, all seven competitors in the Volvo Ocean Race share a common supplier for their onboard food: Lyophilise & Co, a French company based in Lorient.

Specialized in outdoor nutrition, Lyophilise & Co is the trusted supplier for all the teams, thanks to their extensive range of freeze-dried products and international logistics expertise.

Why Freezedried & Co?

For years, Lyophilise & Co has supplied sailors, initially focusing on French sailors but now catering to crews worldwide. From professional races like the Volvo Ocean Race and Vendée Globe to amateur sailors, they are the go-to experts in onboard nutrition.

The company boasts the most comprehensive range of freeze-dried products in Europe, with an impressive variety of brands. They also excel in international logistics, handling customs and administrative tasks to ensure food supplies are delivered seamlessly to the 12 race legs around the world.

Favorite Foods Onboard

Among the many meals carried on board, two recipes are particularly popular:

• Beef Stroganoff (a Polish recipe)
• Cod Curry (a Norwegian specialty)

For breakfast, porridge is a common choice, while desserts like chocolate mousse and rice pudding are often included.

To boost caloric intake, some teams add pemmican—a calorie-dense food made from animal fat, traditionally used by Inuits—to certain meals.

Between meals, sailors snack on dried fruits, jerky, and protein bars to keep their energy levels high.

A Little Onboard Secret

One of the seven skippers in the Volvo Ocean Race indulges in a small luxury: enjoying sterilized gourmet meals from Lyophilise & Co in addition to freeze-dried options. Can you guess who it is?

The Logistics Challenge

Most provisioning happens before the race begins. Teams typically place their orders the summer before the race to fill the two containers allocated to them, which travel alongside the race route.

At each stopover, Lyophilise & Co ensures that everything is customs-compliant and verifies that the food in the containers meets the local regulations.

Within each team, a performance optimizer and a nutritionist collaborate with Lyophilise & Co to select the onboard meals. The allocated food budget is approximately £44,000 per boat for the entire race.

When choosing freeze-dried meals, some teams focus on calorie count, others on portion size or weight. While some teams aim for variety, others prefer to limit recipes to a few tried-and-true favorites. Each selection involves analyzing detailed nutritional charts provided by Lyophilise & Co, covering energy values, fat content, protein levels, and weight.

Time constraints between race legs mean that each team splits their food supplies across two containers, alternately shipped by cargo to the next stopover. In locations where shipping a container is too complex, Lyophilise & Co sources local suppliers to deliver freeze-dried products directly to the teams at foreign ports.

Supporting the Volvo Ocean Race’s provisioning needs is a significant challenge for the Lorient-based company. Their meticulous organization ensures smooth operations. Customs delays can have severe consequences for the teams, as shown in an early edition of the race when a container of food was destroyed due to customs issues, causing major disruptions. Since Lyophilise & Co took over provisioning, everything has run smoothly.