Meet Lollo – The sunshine below deck onboard the OWR HQ, the ship Briggen Tre Kronor! Always with a smile on her face, she tackled the most challenging situations as the Team Leader for the Communication Center.
What were your duties during the One Water Race?
My role during the OWR was as Team Leader for the communication center stationed below deck onboard the ship Briggen Tre Kronor. We coordinated all communications between the different crew teams and race management during the competition, day and night, using radio and GPs tracking systems.
What was the biggest challenge during the race?
Our most difficult challenge in the Communications Center, was remembering to eat and take breaks.
Since the race was non-stop, there was always something to coordinate and prepare. As the race management would hand out new maps at each new stage, it became untenable in the end as the leading team was many miles ahead of the slowest team. I made the decision to go out to a checkpoint myself to hand out maps to some of the teams during my planned break. It was fantastic to get out on the race track for real! The excitement of waiting for these outstanding athletes and then watching their tactics as the new stages was planned. Unbelievable!
The excitement of waiting for these outstanding athletes and then watching their tactics as the new stages was planned. Unbelievable!
What was the greatest experience/memory you take with you?
When left waiting on the island handing out maps, my colleagues in the communication center made sure that a crew boat came by with soft drinks and sweets for me on their way back to the Brig. And when I came back, they had saved a large portion of the food prepared by the chef on board. It’s a nice memory – all the time we in the crew acted like a family and cared for each other.
Another fun memory was when the race management was out filming on the race course, and I asked the Brig’s captain to deviate from the route to enter a bay. Once in the bay, we could see from the three teams fighting head-to-head, which was appreciated by the crew!
What do you do when not being part of the OWR-organization?
The reason why I was given the opportunity to lead the OWR Communications center was probably due to my involvement in the NIAR Adventure Race, the ÖtillÖ Race and the Swim Run Cup, among others. During these events I excelled in thinking a few steps ahead and it has also been shown that my good local knowledge and wide network of contacts have been key to successful decisions. I have also competed in swimrun and other endurance sports – but certainly not for days on end!
I live in the Stockholm archipelago and have also worked with public transport at sea along the entire OWR route, from Arholma in the north to Landsort in the south, since 2016.
Today I work with the land-based public transport but still have a large network of contacts with all kinds of necessary key people for unforeseen situations that may arise in the archipelago. I am a trained preschool teacher, which means that pedagogy, cooperation and getting everyone’s wishes through are close to my heart.
But perhaps it is still the case that I fit in so well with the group because I am a team player through and through. I’m already looking forward to seeing how our crew team will tackle OWR 2023. It would be great to add some new stars to the “OWR family”.
