The Vendee Globe is a sailing race that spans the whole world, each competitor must complete the voyage on a 60 foot s/v(sailing vessel) alone. The 2016 competition begins in 7 hours as of now, Sunday, November 6, 2016, 1:17 p.m. This race is extremely dangerous and has caused 3 deaths and many life-threatening experiences since the first race in 1989. 66 year old Rich Wilson will be competing this year; he will hold the title as the oldest skipper to ever attempt the race. This is not, however, the first time competing in the race. He has already completed the race once and is now going back to attempt beating the world record of 78 days. In his first attempt, he broke two ribs withing the first week. He never dropped out of the race. Instead, he slept over the chart table and waited for the gale(fancy sailing word for storm) to pass and proceeded to sail across the Indian Ocean.
As a sailor, I am fascinated by this article. I lived on a boat when the last competition took place in 2012-2013. The longest overnight sailing passage I've ever gone was 11 days from Virginia to the British Virgin Islands. I was with my parents and 2 sisters and we were the only ones aboard. I remember it being a huge struggle between both of my parents trading shifts (our autopilot broke down) so I can't even begin to imagine how hard this must be for the sailors.
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| Vendee Globe course(above) |
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This is so fascinating! I wander if you get something like a prize or cash if you win keep the world record in your hands. I am very impressed with his motivation and perservance through this race and in life. I'm a wimp and would get up the first day but I'm glad people do this and accomplish their goals in life!
ReplyDeleteI agree, what a cool race! The competitors must be very dedicated to participate in such a dangerous event.
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