Modern technology has revolutionized single handled ocean racing in so many ways for both sailors and spectators. The five sailors in the Velux Five Oceans race not only face all the hazards of the sea as they sail singlehanded around the world, but are also blogging, taking photographs and videotaping their exploits to entertain web-potatoes around the world.  (A web-potato is similar to a couch-potato except that a web-potato sits in front of a computer rather than a  television.)

The Velux Five Ocean race organization has done a wonderful job at making a spectator sport of a singlehanded race across vast oceans.  Its site features a live map to track the five competitors, as well as blog postings, photography and videos. The current race leader, American, Brad Van Liew, racing on Le Pingouin, recently posted a video of his crossing of the equator.

The race hasn’t lacked for drama. Earlier in the race Brad Van Liew posted a video not long after his boat suffered a crash knockdown.  Likewise, after seriously gashing his face in the blades of a wind generator,  Polish racer, Zbigniew Gutkowski, known as Gutek,  blogged about having to stitch the gashes using a mirror:

“First I had to clean my wounds and put some stiches. It went well, and I was really surprised. But it was like in a movie, when Terminator is fixing his eye looking at the mirror. But the difference is that the boat is moving and rocking and tossing.”

As of this morning Brad Van Liew on Le Pingouin holds the lead with 3,910 nautical miles to go to the end of the first leg of the race in Cape Town, South Africa.  Gutek on Operon Racing is only 78 miles behind, with the rest of the fleet strung out over almost 2,000 miles.