EVENT
The Vendée Globe was created to meet the needs of sailors who wish to push themselves to the absolute limit. It is both a sporting, technical and human adventure and an international competition that unites single-handed yachtsmen from all over the world who wish to test themselves in a non-stop round the world race. This event is the longest and most difficult ever devised under competition circumstances. The winner of the event is the yachtsman who crosses the finish line first in Les Sables d’Olonne after having rounded three Capes without stopping and without assistance.
This event is a real time race and is enlisted in the calendar of the Fédération Internationale de la Course Océanique (FICO). Points are therefore awarded counting towards the IMOCA and FICO-LACOSTE World Championships for skippers and sponsoring teams.
CREW
Single-handed
SUMMARY
Golding was a pre-race favourite to take the race and smash the previous race record. Eight hours after the start Golding, ‘Team Group 4’s metal rod forestay failed and the mast collapsed. Golding managed to get the boat back to Les Sables D’Olonne for immediate repair. The shore team worked round the clock for eight days in order to restep the spare mast with new rigging and sails.
In an amazing display of grit and determination he fought his way back up through the 20 boat fleet and after 102 days at sea finished 7th on the water and recorded the 4th fastest time for the race.
“Its not quite the race I’d planned and the whole things’ just been a big struggle for me. This is the hardest race I’ve done.” “I’m very pleased with the result, but it’s not the result I would have liked; I would have liked to have come in with the top players but I’m still pleased I got this position and a good time. I’m glad its over. The agenda clearly was to win the Vendee Globe and its taken me 3 months to figure out why I did restart the race after such an enormous set-back. As a former fireman I’m used to putting out fires, and we put out every fire large and small.”
“The worst thing I’ve had to contend with is me – my own desire to call it a day. You don’t pull yourself out of that, you just do it a day at a time and just keep pushing. It’s just been a battle against myself, really; whether I could keep doing it or whether I would stop. Even one week ago I thought I’d stop, and most of that was in my own head. I just felt that things were shutting down. Things were breaking and when the genoa failed again it just seemed like too much. But there wasn’t an alternative, which is probably why I’m here.”
Keeping himself motivated through all the problems and storms and maintaining that strength to see him through to the end of the race, shows how determined and strong Golding is. He never gives up.
Setting the 4th fastest time in the race, was an encouraging reward and shows what Golding could have achieved had he not had the original rigging problem.
Just prior to the start of the race, Golding proposed to his partner, Andrea Bacon, whom he skippered as a crew member aboard ‘Team Group 4’. Andrea commented, “ physically and mentally, I do not know where he gets the strength from. You have to have a very capable mind and Mike is very good at visualising what might happen next and how he will tackle a problem. His strengths come from sheer determination. He does not like anything which will beat him and he wants to be able to get over any obstacle.”
Winning the Vendee will remain the ultimate challenge, and until it is finally achieved, cannot be put to rest. Roll on 2004, we are all looking forward to seeing what will happen.
