VELUX 5 OCEANS – Race Summary
VELUX 5 OCEANS: THE STORY SO FAR…
The Thrills and Spills of The Ultimate Solo Challenge
The VELUX 5 OCEANS has certainly delivered thrilling drama and compelling action from the
outset, even with a relatively small fleet of yachts whose skippers have been tested to their
extremes across the world’s harshest oceans. Now six months after the start in Bilbao (Basque
Country) and having sailed alone over 25,000 miles, the remaining sailors are in Norfolk,
Virginia (USA) and poised for the sprint back across the Atlantic, marking the completion of an
unbelievable feat that so few in history have achieved; a solo circumnavigation of the planet.
The drama in the VELUX 5 OCEANS kicked off before the yachts had even crossed the start line,
when Tim Troy, the “American Dreamer” and amateur sailor, was forced to withdraw after his
60 foot yacht, the MARGARET ANNA, failed to receive IMOCA certification. It was a devastating
blow for the entrepreneurial skipper who had dreamed all his life of sailing around the world
single-handed and had put his job and finances on the line to fulfil his fantasies. Sadly this was
not to be the time for Troy, who keeps his dreams alive for another day.
Prior to the start, Graham Dalton of New Zealand also announced that he would leave Bilbao
behind the fleet after the mast of his Open 50 was damaged in a storm that ripped through the
Basque Capital only a few days before the departure. This delay would ultimately prove a
blessing in disguise, as the storm itself should have been a warning of the conditions that were
to lie in wait in the Bay of Biscay.
The tone for the first leg was set by the two British rivals, Mike Golding and Alex Thomson.
During the exhibition in port race in Bilbao, Thomson paid respect to the old superstition that
the winner of a prologue event will not win the overall prize. Unbeknown to Golding, Thomson
steered HUGO BOSS the wrong side of the finish line despite leading by a substantial distance,
thereby handing first place, by default, to Golding’s ECOVER. The FICO World Champion was
not impressed by the young skipper’s sportsmanship and refused to accept the win. The
incident escalated into a war of words and bitter exchanges.
The fleet finally left Bilbao on October 22, but sailed straight into the eye of a horrendous storm
off Cape Finisterre. The savage conditions, which registered hurricane strength winds and huge
seas, forced four of the skippers back to shore to make repairs, with only Bernard Stamm and
Kojiro Shiraishi battling through relatively unscathed. With a mandatory 48 hour time penalty
for receiving outside assistance, the Defending Champion from Switzerland and the Spiritual
Adventurer from Japan built a strong lead from the outset of leg one to Fremantle, Western
Australia.
Once all the yachts were back out on the race track, Thomson and Golding set theirs sights on
chasing down Stamm out in front and also keeping ahead of the other. As Golding approached
the equator, he passed Shiraishi and moved into second. Uncharacteristic weather patterns in
the South Atlantic allowed Stamm to cut the corner at the Cape of Good Hope. Golding tried to
follow, but the door was shut. Meanwhile, Thomson had gambled on sailing farther but picking
up the traditionally strong winds to the south. The gamble worked and the two fierce rivals
finished up side by side in the Southern Ocean, separated by only a few hundred miles at times
as they battled to hold second place.
In the midst of this isolated drag race, with both skippers pushing their boats hard, disaster
struck HUGO BOSS, when the yacht suffered irreparable damage to the canting keel system.
With a storm fast approaching, the only option was to abandon ship and the only saviour was
ECOVER. Golding didn’t hesitate for a second to turn back and rescue Thomson. In a testament
to the professionalism and skill of both sailors, they undertook a successful mid-ocean rescue.
However, only hours after rescuing Thomson, disaster struck ECOVER as her mast smashed in
three places. Forced to limp back to Cape Town, Golding eventually retired from the race and
the VELUX 5 OCEANS lost two of the favourites. The Ultimate Solo Challenge was certainly
proving that anything could happen and that we should expect the unexpected.
Meanwhile, Bernard Stamm on CHEMINEES POUJOULAT had sailed a flawless first leg and
arrived first into Fremantle at the beginning of December. However, Kojiro Shiraishi on SPIRIT
OF YUKOH was only three days behind Stamm, an impressive performance for a skipper just
entering the Open 60 class on a yacht he had only taken ownership of months before the start.
The remaining competitors battled through the Southern Ocean, with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston
claiming a podium finish ahead of Unai Basurko and Graham Dalton.
The second leg to Norfolk, Virginia (USA), delivered uncharacteristically benign conditions in the
cold expanse of the deepest Southern Ocean. Skilful sailing from Stamm saw the Swiss skipper
build an impressive lead from the start, which he would hold and extend all the way to Norfolk,
sailing another superb leg at impressive speeds. His seamanship shone through as he played
the weather to perfection to pass through the first Southern Ocean waypoint. His navigation
and routing was exemplary. As Bernard sailed on, Kojiro Shiraishi was left floundering as bad
luck, navigational mistakes and challenging weather patterns cost him dear.
The three back markers developed their own drag race all the way to Cape Horn. However,
with pitstops for Knox-Johnston in Ushuaia and for Dalton in the Falkland Islands, Unai Basurko
moved comfortably into third position and secured a podium finish in leg two. With Knox-
Johnston coming in fourth, the Basque skipper and the sailing legend are now locked in a close
battle for fourth place head of the final leg, separated by only one day’s sailing.
The second leg held many problems for Graham Dalton, but the tenacious Kiwi skipper refused
to give up, despite all the odds and bad luck. After pitstops in his native New Zealand and the
Falklands, he was forced to stop in Brazil to repair a rudder cassette. During the stop, not only
did he get struck by terrible illness and have all his onboard electronics stolen, the keel bulb fell
of his yacht. However, the experienced yachtsman built a new bulb in Fortaleza and is now
racing towards Norfolk in a race against time to make it back to Bilbao and fulfil his dream and
the promise to his son Tony who died last year of cancer.
The fleet are now set for the final sprint back to Bilbao. Although Stamm looks set to reclaim
his title with a huge lead over Shiraishi, who has impressed many with his performance, the
battle is on between Knox-Johnston and Basurko, who will be hoping to claim third place as he
returns home to Bilbao.
|
