It's a hard road to the start of the Vendée Globe - just ask Ollie Heer and Conrad Colman
by Ed Gorman / IMOCA Globe Series 23 Oct 2024 02:41 PDT
Conrad Colman / MS Amlin © Thomas Deregniaux / Qaptur / MS AMLIN
There are 40 skippers and their boats already at the Vendée Globe race village in Les Sables d'Olonne ahead of the start on November 10th, and all of them have their tales to tell of triumphing over adversity to take part in this four-yearly classic.
We spoke to two of them - the New Zealand/American sailor Conrad Colman and the Swiss debutante Ollie Heer - about their journey to get to this point, both of them having had to contend with problems that would have defeated those less determined to fulfil their dream.
Colman, 40, who is married to a Frenchwoman, lives in Lorient and has two young children, has spent the last three years in a constant struggle to find commercial backing for his second Vendée Globe, having taken part in the 2016-'17 race when he finished 16th. Previously he had already raced around the world in the Global Ocean Race in Class 40s and the Barcelona World Race.
The charming Kiwi admits his financial woes have kept him up at night for most of these three years with worry and work, as he spends his day on the boat, then plays his part in family life in the evenings before spending more time hunting for sponsors when everyone else is asleep.
"It absolutely does affect everything," he told the Class while on his delivery sail to Les Sables d'Olonne. "You should not talk to my wife for this article! Because it is absolutely all-encompassing. I keep asking myself, 'when is it going to get easier?' You know, I would have thought that having built an international profile, having done the race before and invited people to embark on my fourth race around the world, with a history and story of resilience and zero emissions, that it would be easier. But building a Vendée Globe project is not easy for anybody, at any time."
Colman says he has no doubt that getting to the start of the Vendée Globe is harder than doing the race itself. "The race does not scare me in the slightest," he explained. "And in part, that's because I finally get to enjoy the purity of the event which has always attracted me - once the gun goes everything lies on my shoulders. What I find challenging is that I can give 500 presentations, and give every single one of them the very best of myself, and not have any direct link between my in-put and the out-put I get, like I have on the boat. It comes down to chance, to finding the right person at the right time, and that's clearly what we have struggled to do this year."
Heer has been in the same boat, as it were. But not only has he struggled to find financial backing for his first Vendée Globe, he has had to fight to the end to ensure qualification and forced himself to complete the last 1,300 miles of The Transat CIC with no power on board after a knockdown.
It has been such a hard journey, he can hardly believe he has made it to Les Sables d'Olonne. "I don't even know really where to start," he said when asked about the toughest part. "Four years ago I was here as the boat captain of Alex Thomson and I already had the dream of one day doing the Vendée, but now to be here four years later with my own boat is actually quite cool. But it took a lot. People underestimate it. Even if you tell them how hard it is, how hard it actually was, they don't understand."
Heer was on the back foot from the start having missed a few of the early races in the cycle and then had to retire from the Transat Jacques Vabre and could not compete in the Retour à la Base. But every knockback, and the criticism he heard, inspired him even more towards his goal. "The more people doubt me or, in a way, almost belittle me, the more energy I can put into the campaign, proving everyone wrong. I just said 'now I want to do this more. I want to succeed," he said.
We asked him what his advice to a youngster dreaming of the Vendée Globe would be after all he has been through. "Well," he said, "first of all, go for it, if it's your dream. Absolutely go for it. But don't underestimate the business side of things. You are a sailor a third of the time or, if you're lucky, half of the time. The other half of the time you are a businessman and you need to be able to enjoy this side as well. And you need to have certain skills in this area otherwise you will be having a hard time, I believe. But go for it absolutely..."
We asked Colman the same question and he couldn't resist the opportunity to laugh at what he has been through. "Pick your parents wisely because it would be a help to be a millionaire," he said. "I mean clearly, I keep my eye on the EuroMillions lottery and every once in a while I think 'gosh, that could be the answer to all my problems.' But part of the frustration comes from the fact that I feel like I have so much to give...I'm an experienced skipper, a good communicator with an interesting project. I just wish I could find people that would get as switched on by that as much as I am."
Colman's problems have been alleviated to some extent - but not entirely - by his signing a title sponsorship deal with the insurance and reinsurance firm MS Amlin which has offices in France, the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. But he is still looking for more support and will be doing so right up until the gun goes in less than three weeks time. "It's not too late," he quips, "put that in your headline - it's not too late to join me."
One of the consequences of the battle on land to go to sea, is that Colman sometimes finds it hard to settle into a racing rhythm. "It takes me a little while to warm up and switch off the business side and switch on the sporting side, because I've got such a great degree of resting stress. And if anything goes ching (wrong) on the boat, which inevitably it does being an IMOCA, then it all comes rushing back. You know, I'll be thinking 'Oh no, Jesus, how am I going to afford to replace this and keep the boat operational, let alone talk about optimisation?'"
Heer has been more fortunate in having signed a title sponsorship in July with the Swiss vitamin and micronutrient manufacturer Antistress AG, also known as Burgerstein Vitamine. This will cover most of his costs and his boat now carries the slogan Tut Gut, meaning Good for You. The deal came late and the work to get the boat ready has been continuing even during the delivery to Les Sables d'Olonne.
"I would be lying if I said I'm fully rested and in perfect shape for the start of the Vendée," he admitted. "The last two-and-a-half years were very intense. But motoring up the channel in Les Sables, and parking my boat in the race village, is such a thrill that it makes you forget the little bit of hardship that we went through over the last couple of years. I'm very much looking forward to it and just thinking about it gives me a boost, so I will be full of energy and roaring to go."
Despite what they have been through, both these sailors want to go again in 2028. Heer is already planning his next campaign and has an eye on an entry in The Ocean Race in 2027. Colman, however, struck a note of realism about what would be his third Vendée Globe.
"It depends on the kind of project," he said. "If I manage to get the right connection with partners and build a campaign that is solid from the outset, then yes absolutely I have four more years to give. That has always been my dream and remains so. But I do not have the emotional resources to do a hard scrabble for the next four years. It's not fair on my wife, it's not fair on my kids. I need to be more balanced and more grounded, and I can only do that if I am not in the same highly stressed situation as I'm in now."
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Let's dive into the thrilling preparations for the Vendée Globe. For IMOCA skippers, the year 2024 holds paramount significance, marking the pinnacle of their efforts. Sailing solo around the world is their ultimate ambition, and reaching the starting line is their first victory. ALL ACCESS is the web series produced by IMOCA in partnership with Harken. Its goal is to immerse you in the world of the skippers and the behind-the-scenes of their teams throughout the year, at the heart of their intense preparation for the major challenge that awaits them at the end of the year.
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