The Canadian sailor, Derek Hatfield has just been looking back at the past few months since he was forced to retire from the Vendée Globe. After carrying out repairs in Tasmania, he was unable to find the budget required to have his Spirit of Canada delivered back to Canada and was forced to leave his boat in Auckland. He then found the financial problems were such that he needed to hand his boat over to the lender. Derek takes up the story: "Since June, another Canadian has become the owner of the boat. I am not certain at this time what the plans are for the Open 60 or if I will be involved with it but I am very proud that the boat will continue to be of Canadian registry. At this point, I am in the Maritimes with the family and starting to think about future sailing projects. I have started to write a book about the past two round the world races (the Around Alone 2002 and the Vendee Globe 2008). The team and I are committed to continue with Spirit of Canada. We are beginning to work towards an exciting new campaign and I will be announcing the details of the next Spirit of Canada project in the next few months."

The Rolex Fastnet Race will be Alex Thomson's first major race aboard Hugo Boss since the Vendée Globe. The black monohull has undergone a long refit in Gosport and will be setting out in the Fastnet Race from Cowes on 9th August with a number of prestigious guests aboard, including the director and founder of Team Origin, Sir Keith Mills, as well as several experienced sailors, such as Rob Greenhalgh and the navigator Andrew Cape. Both recently gained a lot of experience on board Puma in the Volvo Ocean Race. The British champion skier, Graham Bell, known for his Olympic campaign and more recently as a competitor in the triathlon, as well as for his work as a TV sports presenter, will also be going aboard for this legendary race, which he believes is "one of the most adventurous things I've ever done."

The Team Pindar monohull, which completed the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe in fifth place with Brian Thompson as her skipper will be sailing one final race - the Artemis Challenge – before being put up for sale. Last year the British Open 60 won this race around the Isle of Wight revealing her full potential before the Vendée Globe. This year, it will be Mike Sanderson, who was involved in the design of the boat, who will be at the helm on 5th August to defend Pindar's title, while attempting to beat the race record set by Brain Thompson (4 hours and 14 minutes). Brian confirms that Pindar is a boat that should have a bright future ahead of her: "She's a magnificent boat, which should achieve some more great victories in the future. The Vendée was one of the highlights of my life and in spite of the tough race conditions, she proved herself to be fast and safe!"

For the moment, between 12 and 14 of the skippers, who took part in the last Vendée Globe are expected to line up at the start of the 2009 Transat Jacques Vabre in Le Havre on 8th November to set sail for Puerto Limon (Costa Rica). Among them, the two-time winner of the Vendée Globe, Michel Desjoyeaux, who will be taking Jérémie Beyou aboard his Foncia, as well as Marc Guillemot (Safran) with Charles Caudrelier, Samantha Davies (Artemis) alongside the French sailor Sidney Gavignet, Roland Jourdain (Véolia Environnement) with Jean-Luc Nélias, Arnaud Boissières (Akena Vérandas) with Vincent Riou, Marc Thiercelin (DCNS) with Christopher Pratt, Armel Le Cléac'h (Brit Air), Sébastien Josse (BT) with Jean François Cuzon, and finally Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel), who has chosen to join up with the young Figaro racer François Gabart. At the moment three British competitors, Dee Caffari, Mike Golding and Alex Thomson, are also on the provisional entry list.

It is the end of an era for Bruce Schwab, who was the first American officially to complete the Vendée Globe back in the 2004-2005 race. After two round the world races aboard his 60-foot custom-built boat, Bruce sailed his monohull around the Caribbean this winter, but the Foundation, which has been financing the project is experiencing the effects of the global economic crisis and Bruce is now forced to sell his faithful Ocean Planet. Indeed, the situation has reached the point where her owner would like to make a quick sale.
 

After becoming the first single-handed woman to sail non-stop around the world in both directions, Dee Caffari has just set a new monohull record for the Round Britain and Ireland course. With a completely female crew, including Samantha Davies, Miranda Merron and Alex Sizer, she completed the voyage in 6 days, 11 hours, 30 minutes and 53 seconds, beating the outright monohull record set in May 2004 by Solune. 

Dee Caffari, the skipper of Aviva: " The outright speed record was always our goal and I am ecstatic that we accomplished our aim. In sport, as in many areas of life, choosing the right team is vital to success and over the last six days, Aviva has had a strong, focussed team aboard pushing her every inch of the course. We have all given it 110% and clear communication has played a key part in this achievement. It has very much been a team effort and having the other three girls with me has been a blast."

Samantha Davies: " It was fantastic to be onboard Aviva for this record breaking trip. We pushed ourselves and the boat hard but it was definitely worth it to finish inside the record. I think I'm almost as exhausted after this trip as I was after the Vendée Globe - although that's probably as much from the constant chatting as the sailing!"