When Mike Golding was last racing solo on his IMOCA Open 60 it was in the harsh wastes of the Southern Ocean in December 2008. He was leading the Vendée Globe after again proving himself to be one of the very best in the tough conditions.
Today, Monday, 5 December, the British skipper will put himself back to the test, racing alone and unaided onboard Gamesa, as he takes on the next key stage in a process which he hopes will see him back in the Vendée Globe vanguard in one year’s time.
As Golding starts the 3,300 miles solo Transat B to B, from St Barthélemy in the Caribbean 'Back to Brittany', France, the contrasts with the grey wastes and huge swells of the Big South could hardly be greater, setting off into light winds. But none of the seven solo sailors joining him on the start line will be complaining as the first few days should, at least, allow them some sunshine and trade winds to find the solo racing rhythm again.
“In many respects I probably least enjoy racing solo but at the same time it is the most rewarding. I enjoy being on the boat with other people but the reality of it is that solo is what these boats are all about, that is what we are preparing for and so in the context of the next Vendée Globe, it’s crunch time: time to find out where you are in the game,” commented Golding.
“This is still about further validations of the changes we have made and getting back into it when I have been away for so long, but I can’t wait to get started now.
“Not only is it about the race, but also you are trying to get there, to keep the wheels on the bus, and make sure that we don’t break anything major. It’s an opportunity to line up against some of the new boats in a solo configuration and see how we compare and of course I hope that we can post a better result than we did in the Transat Jacques Vabre,” he concluded.
Golding is keeping his aspirations in check. He is the only skipper in the fleet not to have raced solo at all since the Vendée Globe, whilst France’s Nicolas Burton on Bureau Vallée and Francois Gabart on Macif will both be ocean racing an IMOCA 60 footer for the first time.
As the weather is shaping up for this race across the Atlantic, Golding believes there will be many stepping points, transitions into new systems which will place a slight premium on being in the leading group but, equally, he feels there will be less tendency for the fleet to split to the north and south as the two handed outbound race did.
“If you are in the wrong place, you will miss out dreadfully,” he warns, “We’ll be pushing and pushing north. At times there will be a temptation to start creeping east. But the difficultly with that is that the routing is being very specific. You have to get north, possibly even west of north and get to the big systems that are coming out from North America, then you hook into the bottom of those, mind you some of them look pretty severe.
“I think the fleet will probably be close together as we are all pinned out to the left side of the course. I can’t see a boat trying another route, certainly not in the early stages based on the weather I have seen, so for the first third of the race, I think the boats will be well to the left side of the great circle, sailing more miles than the shortest route, all with the sole goal of reaching those strong westerly winds.”
Even after 12 days in the Caribbean, recuperating and working to have Gamesa ready once again, Golding is relishing the return home to the chilly North European winter, just in time for Christmas.
The Transat B to B starts from St Barts at 1400 GMT (1000 local), Monday 5 December and the teams are due to arrive in Lorient, France approximately 12-14 days later.
Credit : B. Stichelbaut
Today, Monday, 5 December, the British skipper will put himself back to the test, racing alone and unaided onboard Gamesa, as he takes on the next key stage in a process which he hopes will see him back in the Vendée Globe vanguard in one year’s time.
As Golding starts the 3,300 miles solo Transat B to B, from St Barthélemy in the Caribbean 'Back to Brittany', France, the contrasts with the grey wastes and huge swells of the Big South could hardly be greater, setting off into light winds. But none of the seven solo sailors joining him on the start line will be complaining as the first few days should, at least, allow them some sunshine and trade winds to find the solo racing rhythm again.
“In many respects I probably least enjoy racing solo but at the same time it is the most rewarding. I enjoy being on the boat with other people but the reality of it is that solo is what these boats are all about, that is what we are preparing for and so in the context of the next Vendée Globe, it’s crunch time: time to find out where you are in the game,” commented Golding.
“This is still about further validations of the changes we have made and getting back into it when I have been away for so long, but I can’t wait to get started now.
“Not only is it about the race, but also you are trying to get there, to keep the wheels on the bus, and make sure that we don’t break anything major. It’s an opportunity to line up against some of the new boats in a solo configuration and see how we compare and of course I hope that we can post a better result than we did in the Transat Jacques Vabre,” he concluded.
Golding is keeping his aspirations in check. He is the only skipper in the fleet not to have raced solo at all since the Vendée Globe, whilst France’s Nicolas Burton on Bureau Vallée and Francois Gabart on Macif will both be ocean racing an IMOCA 60 footer for the first time.
As the weather is shaping up for this race across the Atlantic, Golding believes there will be many stepping points, transitions into new systems which will place a slight premium on being in the leading group but, equally, he feels there will be less tendency for the fleet to split to the north and south as the two handed outbound race did.
“If you are in the wrong place, you will miss out dreadfully,” he warns, “We’ll be pushing and pushing north. At times there will be a temptation to start creeping east. But the difficultly with that is that the routing is being very specific. You have to get north, possibly even west of north and get to the big systems that are coming out from North America, then you hook into the bottom of those, mind you some of them look pretty severe.
“I think the fleet will probably be close together as we are all pinned out to the left side of the course. I can’t see a boat trying another route, certainly not in the early stages based on the weather I have seen, so for the first third of the race, I think the boats will be well to the left side of the great circle, sailing more miles than the shortest route, all with the sole goal of reaching those strong westerly winds.”
Even after 12 days in the Caribbean, recuperating and working to have Gamesa ready once again, Golding is relishing the return home to the chilly North European winter, just in time for Christmas.
The Transat B to B starts from St Barts at 1400 GMT (1000 local), Monday 5 December and the teams are due to arrive in Lorient, France approximately 12-14 days later.
From : Mike Golding
