Vendée Globe

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January 17, 2007Spirit of Canada on show at the Toronto Boat Show

The Canadian skipper Derek Hatfield is continuing his campaign to participate in the next edition of the Vendée Globe. Since the launch of his new 60’ Open Spirit of Canada in September, his team has been busy working inside the monohull at Port Credit Yacht Club near Toronto. The hydraulic system was delivered from New Zealand in November and Derek has been busy looking for sponsors to finance the acquisition of sails and a mast.
This week to publicise his Vendée Globe campaign, his boat is one of the leading attractions at the Toronto Boat Show, which runs from 13th to 21st January. Visitors to the show will be able to take a look at the Open 60 and discuss with his team the preparations for the Vendée Globe, in which Derek hopes Spirit of Canada will become the first Canadian entrant.

January 12, 2007Jean Le Cam - 2006 World Champion

Second in the last Route du Rhum 28 minutes behind the winner Roland Jourdain, Jean Le Cam can now add another line to his list of achievements. The skipper of VM Matériaux has replaced the British yachtsman Mike Golding to become 2006 FICO World Champion. Coming second in the Vendée Globe, third in the Jacques Vabre and second once again in the Route du Rhum has meant that he has won this title awarded each year by the International Forum of Ocean Racing which has John Lewis as its chairman. 2006 FICO World Championship for skippers: 1 - LE CAM Jean, FR - 150 points 2 - DICK Jean-Pierre, FR - 137 points 3 - GOLDING Mike, GB - 126 points 4 - WAVRE Dominique, SWITZERLAND - 115 points 5 - RIOU Vincent, FR - 100 points 6 - JOURDAIN Roland, FR - 95 points 7 - JOSSE Sébastien, FR - 60 points 8 - THOMPSON Brian, GB - 56 points 9 - HUMPHREYS Conrad, GB - 43 points 10 - SEETEN Joe, FR - 37 points

January 12, 2007Jonny Malbon takes over from Brian Thompson

Artemis Ocean Racing Team announced this week that Jonny Malbon has been named skipper of the Artemis 60’ to replace Brian Thompson. Malbon was the boat captain of the the 60’ Artemis and showed what he was capable of last summer by setting a new record for the Round Britain and Ireland race. After the Route du Rhum, the Artemis Ocean Racing Team boat went for a refit in the Caribbean, where Malbon will be picking her up to take part in Antigua Sailing Week.

December 30, 2006Golding awarded an OBE by the Queen

The British yachtsman Mike Golding has just been honoured by the Queen in her New Year’s Honours list for his contribution to sailing. He will now be an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. Golding attracted the attention of the public back in 1992 as a skipper in the British Steel Challenge, before setting a single-handed round the world record against the wind and currents in 1994. As chairman of the IMOCA technical committee, he has had a decisive role in the development of rules for the Open 60 boats. In 2001, Golding became the first person to sail around the world single-handed in both directions without stopovers and still remains the only British yachtsman to have achieved this. After finishing seventh in the Vendée Globe in 2000-2001, Mike returned to Les Sables d’Olonne in 2004 with his Ecover to finish in third place, in spite of losing his keel 50 miles from the finish.

November 23, 2006Golding comes to Thomson’s rescue...

While taking part in the 5 Oceans race around the world and following a problem with Alex Thomson’s keel this morning on board his monohull Hugo Boss, Mike Golding (Ecover) has decided to change course to offer help to his fellow Brit.
At 3h30 GMT this morning, Alex Thomson’s 60-foot boat experienced problems with the hydraulic jacks for her keel, which affected the boat’s stability. Alex radioed in to say he was not injured and was working with his crew to find a solution. The boat appears to be drifting downwind at 8-9 knots.
Given Hugo Boss’s last position 80 miles west of Ecover, Mike is going to have to sail upwind in 30 knots of wind with heavy seas to reach Alex.
The plan to rescue Alex is currently being worked on. A transfer in the middle of the ocean in such heavy sea conditions and strong winds will be no easy matter.

November 22, 2006Bruce Schwab’s boat damaged

It was with some emotion in Robin Hood Marina, Georgetown, Maine that Bruce Schwab was recently able to discover the damage to his boat Ocean Planet. An accident occurred during a sailing trip by his team to South Carolina, when the Open 60 hit a rock, causing a gaping hole to appear in the hull. Having been the first American to complete the Vendée Globe, Schwab has reiterated his desire to line up for the start of the next race, and is currently busy looking for a partner to finance the construction of his new Open 60. The latter is expected to be built in a local yard in Maine on the eastern seaboard of the U.S.