Commenting immediately after being told the news that Bernard Stamm was disqualified from the Vendée Globe for receiving outside help, Golding said, "While the decision might technically be correct, it doesn't feel right. Bernard, perhaps more than others, has worked extremely hard to get to this Vendée Globe and is a great competitor.
Credit : M.Golding/Gamesa
"The Vendée Globe is the pinnacle of offshore racing, solo and without assistance. To preserve the fundamental ethos of the Vendée Globe we have to live by the sword and die by the sword. Part of the lure of the race is that it is without assistance and so places the ultimate premium on self-reliance.
"I think I can see the thinking behind the decision. The rules are the rules and all that. But I think when you know all the story about Bernard and you know the situation he is in now, facing a good chunk of South Pacific to sail across and then icebergs at Cape Horn and the problems he still has, I think it just doesn't feel right.
It doesn't feel like the right thing. But as I say, the rules are clear and unfortunately, based on the information I've got, it sounds like the rules were inadvertently, and I think I make that point, inadvertently breached. I am not sure about it at all, it doesn't feel right to me and I really …… I am very, very sad for Bernard and I hope he can get an appeal together and stay in the race.
"Poor Bernard, he'll be devastated. I really empathise with his situation and with almost a duplication of what happened in the last edition, the safety of the boat and those around him must come first.
"The race, for the leader, is about being the leader, but for the boats that are further back, including myself, the race is about the atmosphere at the start, the atmosphere at the finish and the amazing adventure you have in between. The rankings, the classement, it is something you follow, it keeps you driving on and keeps you pushing your boat and keeps you trying to catch the boats in front and stay away from the boats behind, but it is not the only driver to doing the Vendée Globe. I think the reception Bernard gets as he goes up the canal in Les Sables d'Olonne, will be, and should be, equal and perhaps greater than the boats around him. Bernard is a very popular skipper, and rightly so, he is a lovely guy, and he has worked extraordinarily hard on this project, and I think everyone in this race, and everyone of his followers and the followers of the race will be really upset by the prospect of a seemingly heartless jury, making a decision that perhaps they had to make."
Mike
Day 54 – “Morning! I spent most of last night sailing in a SE direction waiting for the wind to shift to the NW so I could gybe. It felt a little strange being south of Cape Horn and still heading south but now the shift has come and I have gybed this morning and now am sailing in the direction of Cape Horn, I should be arriving in about the next 16 hours or so. I have about 300 miles left before I make this first solo passage of the horn. There are reports of a lot of ice around Cape Horn area so naturally I am also a little apprehensive about that, but the race committee provide us with positions of all icebergs within the area on a daily bases, so with this information I should be able to navigate my way past the Horn safely and back into the south Atlantic.
The other good news is that I managed to do some work on the hydro generator yesterday. I still have a fair bit to do and will keep plugging away at it. I take every opportunity in the weather I get to work on this and hope that there will be more opportunities in the South Atlantic for me to get this done so I can get out of power saving mode and have my full attention on finishing the race.”
