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  Gearing to for the Vendee Globe-Sailing news in North America & beyond
 | | Francois Gabart, winner of the 2012/2013 Vendee Globe Vincent Curutchet / DPPI |
Last week my good friend Scott sent me a wee-hours text message from Les Sables d'Olonne, France, where he had traveled to see the Vendee Globe fleet and visit with his friend Rich Wilson (66; USA), who will be setting off from France this coming Sunday (November 6) along with the rest of the Vendee Globe fleet for a singlehanded, nonstop-around-the-world race that's considered to be one of sailing's absolute hardest challenges. Scott's text message may have snapped me awake in the middle of the night, but it also got me thinking about the fact that these 29 brave skippers will be spending the next several months in a sleep-deprived state as they sail their wildly overpowered IMOCA 60s through the depths of the Southern Ocean.
For anyone who is not familiar with the Vendee Globe, this race, now in its eighth edition, represents a massive personal and logistical challenge for the skippers, their teams, and-for the high-budget programs that are contending for top honors aboard new builds-their naval architects, engineers and designers. Not only does each skipper need to be physically and physiologically prepared to take on the entire world alone and armed only with with the skills and tools that they carry, but they also need to be prepared to take on some of the worst weather imaginable.
 | | Morgan Lagraviere (FRA) onboard IMOCA Safran training before Vendee Globe, start 6 November 2016 in Les Sables d'Olonne, off Groix, South Brittany, on April 15th, 2016 © Jean-Marie Liot / DPPI / Safran |
While the Vendee Globe has historically been a largely French affair (N.B., 20 out of this year's 29 skippers are French), North American interests are being represented by Wilson, who hails from Marblehead, Massachusetts and will be racing aboard Great American IV, and by Conrad Colman (32), who holds dual American and New Zealand citizenship and will be racing aboard 100% Natural Energy.
While some of the skippers will be racing brand-new, bespoke, state-of-the-art IMOCA 60s, other skippers-like Colman and Wilson-will be aboard older boats and will be racing for reasons other than a race record-or race victory-attempt.
 | | Conrad Colman – The first New Zealander to tackle the Vendée Globe © Conrad Colman (DR) |
Colman has been transitioning into singlehanded around-the-world sailing since the 2008-2009 Vendee Globe, when he served as shore crew for skipper Steve White (GBR). Colman sailed with Nandor Fa (UNG) in the doublehanded, nonstop-around-the-world 2014/2015 Barcelona World Race, where they finished in seventh place, and now he aims to complete his first Vendee Globe aboard 100% Natural Energy, with the goal of a zero-emission solo circumnavigation. While Colman would likely love a shot at a podium finish, his realistic goal is a strong finish that seals his name as a singlehanded Vendee skipper while also helping to spread the word about proper environmental stewardship and zero-emission sailing.
Likewise, Wilson is also focused on educating, rather than trying to win the Vendee Globe. At 66, Wilson is the oldest competitor in this year's Vendee Globe, but he is also one of the smartest and most experienced sailors in the fleet. Wilson holds degrees from both Harvard and MIT universities and has held jobs as a math teacher, a defense analyst and an international consultant, plus he has already completed one solo circumnavigation and has set several other offshore records, including the fastest passage times between San Francisco and Boston, and from Hong Kong to New York.
 | | Finish for Rich Wilson (USA) - Great American after 121d 00h 41min 19sec - 9th - Vendée Globe – 12 August, 2016 © Olivier Blanchet / DPPI / Vendee Globe |
The trouble for Wilson, however, is that he suffers from severe asthma, so not only will he be sailing aboard an older-generation boat, he will also be battling his lungs each time he has to hoist a sail or gybe the boat and grind-in long sections of spinnaker or mainsheet. Because of this, Wilson's main reason for participating (aside from his true love of sailing) is to share his experiences with schoolchildren, who follow his adventures online (www.sitesalive.com).
So, while Colman and Wilson are not expected to win the Vendee Globe, they can both be assured wild adventures, starting this coming Sunday.
 | | The VPLP-Verdier boats have carbon appendages that are referred to as Dalí foils for the head-on appearance of the boats in which the thin blades turn up to a point like the mustache of the artist Salvador Dalí. © Yvan Zedda/Transat Jacques Vabre |
Elsewhere in the Vendee fleet, skippers will be using the new “mustache” style foils, as well as other cutting-edge design elements to try and best the course record time of 78 days, two hours, 16 minutes, which was set by Francois Gabart during the 2012/2013 Vendee Globe. It will be fascinating to see if these brave-hearted skippers sailing aboard these state-of-the-art machines will be able to break Gabart's jaw-dropping record.
Racing begins this Sunday off of Les Sables d'Olonne, so be sure to stay tuned to the website for the latest Vendee Globe news, as it becomes known.
May the four winds blow you safely home,
David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor
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