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  Vendee Globe personality test—Sailing news from North America & beyond
 | | Conrad Colman finishes under sail in the jury rigged Foresight Natural Energy, February 24, 2017 Conrad Colman / Foresight Energy / Vendée Globe |
I've never had the chance to meet Conrad Colman (NZ/USA), but I'll freely admit that I have oceans of respect for the 33-year old sailor who finished in sixteenth place in the non-stop, solo-around-the-world Vendee Globe Race. Colman, sailing aboard his IMOCA 60, Foresight Natural Energy, crossed the finish line off of Les Sables d'Olonne, France on Friday, February 24, flying a significantly “truncated” aero package.
For those who are unfamiliar with Colman's heroic finish, and why I am so impressed with a guy who finished well over a month astern of winner Armel Le Cleac'h (FRA; 39), Colman lost his rig on February 10, when he was just 800 miles from the finishing line and teed-up to finish this grueling, endurance competition in tenth place.
Colman, a former sailmaker and an experienced offshore sailor, despite his still-tender number of circles around the sun, rigged-up one of the more efficient jury-rigs to have been seen in recent years, and finished the race under his own steam. According to reports, Colman even worked to develop and evolve his sheeting angles on his jury rig during his final weeks of sailing.
 | | Conrad Colman finishes the Vendee Globe in Les Sables dÓlonne on February 24, 2017 Conrad Colman / Foresight Energy / Vendée Globe |
For anyone who has ever been a few days late arriving in Port B during a distance race or a bluewater delivery and has had to ration food and water, Colman was so determined to finish the race under sail that he dramatically curtailed his rations to the bare minimum, raided his life raft's survival kit, and crossed the finishing line looking noticeably gaunt.
According to reports, inside this issue, Colman radioed-in the report on Wednesday-some 48 hours before finishing racing-that just two biscuits constituted Foresight Natural Energy's remaining larder.
All told, Colman's race took 110 days, 1 hour, 58 minutes and 41 seconds and comprised 27,929 miles, which he dispatched at a pace of 10.57 knots. (For comparison, Le Cleac'h, who set a new race record, sailed 27,455 nautical miles in 74 days, three hours and 35 minutes, for an average pace of 15.43 knots.)
 | | Conrad Colman after the finish of the Vendee Globe in Les Sables dÓlonne on February 24, 2017 Conrad Colman / Foresight Energy / Vendée Globe |
“I'm thankful that I had so many difficulties,” said a jubilant Colman, upon crossing the finishing line. “Several times a problem with the pilot. Then, there was the fire. That normally would be a highlight in terms of problems, but as it is, that was almost nothing. So it was a progression of things, which allowed me not to be crushed when the mast came down, so now I'm stronger.”
“I feel like I have moved mountains to achieve what I did,” continued Colman. “I did the very best with what I had. You don't win the race at sea. You lose it at sea. You win the race during the preparation, but my time to prepare was very short.”
 | | Conrad Colman speaking after his finish in the Vendee Globe in Les Sables dÓlonne on February 24, 2017 Conrad Colman / Foresight Energy / Vendée Globe |
“The wind gods are a fickle bunch,” continued Colman. “I got smacked several times. When I couldn't escape from the big storm, I had sixty knots.”
Hats off to Colman for demonstrating the definition of the word gumption, and for fully passing the Vendee Globe personality test. Expect more great things from this talented sailor, moving forward.
 | | Softbank Team Japan AC50 is christened in Bermuda SoftBank Team Japan |
Meanwhile, in America's Cup news, word broke that Softbank Team Japan recently launched their new, 50-foot America's Cup Class (ACC) catamaran in a ceremony that took place in Bermuda, where the team has set up shop ahead of the 35th America's Cup (June 2017). The team christened their new ACC Hikari, which means “flash of light” in Japanese.
“I think we've seen differences in all the boats–the biggest unknown is what's hidden in the hulls–how do the control systems work and how well will the boats operate,” said Dean Barker, Softbank Team Japan's skipper and CEO.
 | | Softbank Team Japan AC50 is christened in Bermuda SoftBank Team Japan |
“That will be the untold story and the biggest determiner of success,” continued Barker. We're very happy with our systems but we know there's still much to do until the start of the Cup.”
Much closer to home, Tim Healy and his New England Ropes team took first place at the J/70 Midwinters, which just wrapped-up racing at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club in St. Petersburg, Florida.
 | | Feb 26 2017 - Quantum J/70 Midwinter Championship 2017 Christopher Howell |
“This is the first time we've sailed together so we were learning the whole time just how to work together and how to get our trim and tune right,” said Healy, who won the class' inaugural world championship in 2014, which was contested off of Newport, Rhode Island. “Slowly, we started to get everything down. We had some light breeze, but [the regatta's last day] was a little breezier with some chop. We were getting used to the settings so we could power through the chop.”
Get the full report from the J/70 Midwinter Championships, as well as a great image gallery, compliments of Christopher Howell, who serves as the class' executive director.
 | | Saint Pierre and Miquelon - RORC Caribbean 600 RORC / Tim Wright / Photoaction.com |
Finally, for anyone who needs a big hit of Vitamin D on this late-February day, be sure to check out Tim Wright's great image gallery from the start of this year's Caribbean 600.
Ah, Antigua...
May the four winds blow you safely home,
David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor
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