Liz Wardley to contest 2012 Vendee Globe

by Vendee Globe on 9 Feb 2012 Sailor Liz Wardley has just announced her participation in the 2012 Vendee Globe. This comes after her signing of a three-year long partnership with a sponsor, whose name is set to be revealed on 9 March in La Roche-sure-Yon in Vendee.

Liz Wardley has therefore become the second woman to sign up after Samantha Davies, taking the total number to seventeen skippers. Liz will be joining Jean-Baptiste’s ocean racing team in Lorient, to get some help during the preparation phase.

Originally from Papua – New Guinea, bursting with energy, this rather short lady is a determined racer and a true adventurer. She built up a solid reputation in ocean racing circles over the past few years thanks to her fighting spirit and experience: World Hobie-Cat vice-champion in 1998, she took part in the 2000-2001 Volvo Ocean Race on board Amer Sports Too. In 2002, she built a Mini 6.50 prototype in New Zealand, before taking part for several seasons in the Figaro circuit. Liz Wardley:

'Lining up for the start of the Vendée Globe this year is fantastic and unexpected. I was looking for sponsors for a transatlantic crossing aboard a dugout canoe and ended up finding a partner for three seasons. I shall be joining a team that will ensure I can prepare for the race in the best possible conditions. It would be something of an exaggeration to say that the Vendée Globe was a childhood dream, as when I started to sail in Australia, the race wasn’t that well known there. Since I have been living in France and I have been racing solo, the Vendée has become a goal for me. I can’t wait to get out there training. I shall be setting out in this Vendée Globe as a genuine racer, with my first goal to get all the way around and complete the race, which is something you have to do before looking at your result.'

Vendee Globe website