Valerie Bell, CRNA, MSN     Class of 1991

From "Pitt Nursing News", Spring 1998

Valerie Bell: Against Prevailing Winds     From "Pitt Nursing News", Spring 1998

A ten-month sailboat race around the world with a crew of amateur sailors is an exercise in perseverance under any conditions. But when Valerie Bell and her fellow voyagers tested their mettle against the high seas, their task was made more arduous by sailing against prevailing winds and currents. "The route we took was safer but much harder," says Bell who received her BSN '86 and MSN '91 from the School of Nursing. "But we looked at it as a challenge."  

Bell, who was born in New Brighton and grew up in Industry, Pennsylvania, was the only American woman among the 182 international adventure seekers in 14 identical 67-foot yachts, each with a 13-member volunteer crew and professional skipper. The ten-month amateur yacht race was organized by Challenge Business Ltd, a British yacht racing company. Race organizer  Chay Blyth, a British businessman and yachtsman, chose Bell from among the more than 4,000 applicants because she showed the enthusiasm, desire, and commitment he sought in the amateur crew members. 

Bell, who traveled to England six times over the course of three years to train for the race, became interested in sailing five years earlier when she visited Florida's Key West with a girlfriend from college. Her friend's father owned a sailboat and took them on a trip to Ft. Jefferson, the Dry Tortugas. Bell was hooked. She enrolled in sailing classes at Annapolis and dreamed of one day circumnavigating the globe. However, when she returned to Pitt to earn her master's degree in nurse anesthesia, she had to settle for occasional sailing trips at a nearby state park and Lake Erie.  

After graduation and an unsuccessful attempt to find an anesthesia position in the Virgin Islands, Bell moved to Homestead, Florida, and took a position as a nurse anesthetist at Homestead Hospital. Bell continued her interest in sailing by joining the Women's Yacht Racing Association and racing on the Biscayne Bay. Then, in 1993, she saw an article in Sail Magazine seeking  amateur sail boaters for a race around the world. "I was immediately intrigued by the idea of ordinary people doing extraordinary things," says Bell, who is also a certified scuba instructor and has served at a hyperbaric chamber to help scuba divers suffering from the bends. "It was also the opportunity for adventure and to do something I had always dreamed of."  

Bell and her fellow crew members on the "Motorola" received a high dose of adventure during the opening days of the voyage as they faced gale force winds after leaving South Hampton, England, on September 29, 1996, for Rio de Janeiro, the first leg of their trip around the world. Although the elements were their major concern, the crew also had to deal with each other as they worked, ate and slept in close quarters. 

"We were basically operating under survival conditions and, for the most part, were cold, wet, and tired," says Bell. "Nothing we did was superfluous. We were up every four hours to man our stations, and there was a lot of strain and a few 'tiffs' among the crew." 

Even after they reached port in Rio de Janeiro, the crew only had a couple of days for visiting the sites during their three-week stay there. They spent the rest of the time fixing sails and blown spinnakers and generally preparing for the next leg of the trip to New Zealand. 

More than once, Bell wondered what she had gotten herself into. Still, she says the drudgery, boredom, and sometimes panic she and her fellow crew members faced was a worthwhile experience. "I remember going up on deck for watch just as the moon was coming up," says Bell. "It was the most gorgeous moon I had ever seen-huge and amber rose. It took my breath away."  

Although Bell did not like "having to be full on" all the time for the competition, she steeled herself for the next leg of the race to New Zealand. Unfortunately, Bell, who had had abdominal surgery the year before, developed a bowel obstruction. "I was very sick and scared," she says. "Basically, I spent two weeks in bed in treacherous seas." 

Upon reaching New Zealand, Bell decided that, because of her health, she would forgo the rest of the race. "It was a great adventure, but once is enough," says Bell, who paid about $30,000 to participate in the race. "I most enjoyed meeting the many talented and gifted people who participated in the race, and I have some very good friends in England now."  

While Bell may view her adventure as "the best and worst thing that ever  happened" to her, she also says that it changed her life. "When I came back to Florida I went to work in my old job; but, after a month, I realized that I wasn't satisfied and wanted to do something different," says Bell "The voyage definitely gave me more confidence and a desire to push myself further. It's important to do what makes you happy. Life is short, and we should take chances." 

Currently working for an agency as a temporary nurse anesthetist in hospitals and other health care facilities, Bell enjoys the flexibility,  freedom, and challenge of using her anesthesia knowledge in a variety of  settings. She has also begun her own photography business as an outgrowth of her voyage. "I had been interested in photography for about 20 years and have started selling photo note cards that I took of New Zealand, she says." 

Although she recently bought a home near Key Largo, Florida, and is looking forward to settling down for a while, Bell cannot completely quell her urge for adventure. "My boyfriend is building a catamaran and, in about five years, we plan to cruise to New Zealand."