Transat Jacques Vabre - Golding announces new partnership

by Sail-World.com and Victoria Low on 24 Oct 2009 The Transat Jacques Vabre, a 4730-mile race from Le Havre in France to Costa Rica, attracts international sailors from around the globe.

British sailor Mike Golding has announced his partnership with Spain's Javier Sansó for the race which commences on November 8th, 2009.

Initially Golding, who has competed in every edition of the biennial Transatlantic Race since 1999, was to sail with long-time friend Bruno Dubois. However Dubois has made the decision to stand aside and let Sansó sail in his place.

Explained Dubois 'Javier approached Mike a while ago to sail this Transat Jacques Vabre but as Mike and I have sailed together many times before, and I suppose in a way, I was the easy option! But after further conversations with Javier, Mike and I agreed that we ought to give him the chance. And a race like the TJV is perfect - not too long and not too short.

Golding explains, 'The IMOCA Open 60 class has really begun to take off in Spain, helped primarily by events like the Barcelona World Race. When we sold ECOVER II to Pedro Campos a couple of years ago it was really th e beginning and since then it has really moved on and there is now a good core of Spanish Open 60 sailors, and 'Bubi' is amongst the leading players. He is an accomplished sailor in his own right with a Vendee Globe, a Barcelona World Race and two TJV's under his belt already. I very much hope that I might be able to share a bit of my own experiences, but I very much see this co-operation as a two-way street.

'The boat itself is in great shape and we are very keen to get back out racing again! The new Transat Jacques Vabre course [to Costa Rica] will see a change in the dynamic of the race and it will be interesting to see how we all measure up again after the Vendee Globe' Golding concluded.

'Mike and I have known each other for a while, albeit we have never sailed together before. I have a lot of respect for what he has achieved in his career and am very much looking forward to the opportunity to learn and develop my own Open 60 skills' concludes Sansó.

Javier will join Mike for the final preparation sailing in the UK and the qualification passage. Mike's IMOCA Open 60 is currently in Ocean Village in Southampton and has undergone a comprehensive refit over the past eight months. The team is sailing the event unsponsored, and has benefited from the considerable support of Mike´s long-term business partner, Jørgen Philip-Sørensen.

'We are obviously now looking for a new sponsor to take us through the next IMOCA cy cle, and as such both Philip-Sørensen and I felt it was important to take part in this race as it is a key one to look at both our own, and the competition's performance', commented Golding. 'By supporting this entry we will be able to not only do that, but also raise awareness of our search for a new sponsor.'