[February 28, 2001 - 11:31:14 AM]
Press Conference for Mike Golding (Team Group 4):
What were your motivations after the second start? "It was
very difficult. Before the sailing, professionally I was a
fireman. Whenever there was a fire, I had to go. It’s the same
thing here, despite the problem with the mast, I had to go."
Did you get into the race straight away after this second start?
"I didn’t really feel into the race for the first part of the course.
To motivate myself I was looking at where the leader was and
working back 8 days and 4 hours. So it was like a virtual race
for me as I pitched myself against the leader in this way."
What now? "Well, now is the time to re-evaluate everything
that I’ve accomplished. And I’m going to get married soon,
something I can’t wait to happen!
How do you find the Vendée Globe? "There are good and bad
moments. Now, it’s over!"
Calculating his race from the second start, he has recorded
the fourth fastest time for the circumnavigation in the whole
fleet. "I’m very pleased at this, I would obviously liked to
have been at the head of the fleet. My goal was to beat the
record but the Atlantic wasn’t good for the boats mid-course."
Golding has also become the first man to sail solo in a
monohull both ways round the world: "The two events were
very different for obvious reasons, the weather, the boat, both
were voyages within oneself, which is what makes the Vendée
Globe so unique."
What routine is there on board Team Group 4: "The routine
on the boat has to reindex flexible, as it is interrupted by
things outside your control. The way I ran the boat solo
revolves around very little sleep! On a regular day I would do
my sleeping in the early hours of the morning and late
afternoon. I’d work, do indextenance on the boat between
10am and 4pm and 1am – 4am local time. Because of the
length of the Vendée I slept 5 hours a day, two lots of 70
minutes and a series of 20 – 30 minute sleeps. As in most
sports, which involve deprivation of some kind, you live your
life around your meals. So I would have one primary meal a
day, normally around 5pm local time, a big breakfast and
index meal, and spend the rest of my time thinking about how
to make my freeze-dried food more palatable."
"I’ve covered 26,400 miles, but I don’t know my average
speed yet!"
"I hope that because there were 3 English skippers racing in
the Vendée Globe this will help develop sponsorship in the UK.
The Open class boats and single-handed sailing are becoming
so important, almost ‘de rigeur’ in England now.
Could you ever imagine doing the Vendée Globe again?
"The answer at the moment is no! But clearly time is a great
healer and you remember the good times and forget the bad
ones. My only regret was not to able to be up with the front of
the fleet. It’s not a complaint, it’s just to say that I wasn’t
where I would have liked to have been to use the things that
I’ve learned to do the best."
[February 28, 2001 - 11:27:48 AM]
After starting a second time and completing his
circumnavigation in 102 days, 12 hours and 22 minutes at
sea, it was a jubilant Mike Golding who crossed the finish line
of the Vendée Globe single handed non-stop around the world
race here in Les Sables D‚Olonne at 0833 hours local time
(0733 hours GMT). He is 7 hours and 15 minutes ahead of
Marc Thiercelin’s time and so becomes the 4th fastest person
to complete the Vendée Globe.
His official Vendée Globe race time is set at: 110 days 16
hours and 22 minutes.
He is also the only person to have completed a non-stop, solo
circumnavigation aboard a monohull in both directions.
The hardship of the final stages of this epic race were
forgotten as Golding waved and grinned wildly at the family,
friends and media aboard the flotilla of assorted craft which
had gone out to welcome him home. As he was towed into the
harbour the waving continued to the crowds lining the sides of
the entrance to the port - all cheering the skipper they had
watched leave, alone and in the dark, on the evening of his
re-start back on Friday 17th November 2000 - 8 days and 4
hours after the index fleet.
After the formalities Golding has an urgent appointment with
an entrecote steak and a large bowl of chips!
Source: MPR
[February 28, 2001 - 11:07:42 AM]
Pasquale de Gregorio (Wind) is having a hard day in the
office:
02/27 23:50 G 31.01S 040.43W
"I have had a tough day again with strong and gusting E-SE
winds of over 30 knots and a big sea, forcing me to lowering
the indexsail completely and navigate with the jib. I have just
two days of navigation to sail fuller, afterwards I’ll be under
shore. All day long I have tried to head outward,
but it has been a pain, specially for the boat, becouse the sea
is big and we have been pitching badly. The Brasilian forecast
speaks of a force 7 from E-SE that will last until March 1. Nice
days are expecting us! On the other hand the temperature is
warm and I can finally wear cotton t shirts."
Source: Oriana Ubaldi
February 28, 2001 - 11:00:25 AM]
Mike Golding’s first impressions from the pontoon:
"Now I’ve stopped I’ll start all the bad things again! What a
reception!
"From 12 hours into the race until now, it was not the race I
planned. The whole thing has been a struggle. From the
moment the rig fell down it was one problem after another,
even though the guys did a fantastic job, all that done, I was
still left with technical problems. The good thing is that none
of this related to the speed of the boat.
"It was very much against myself, whether I could keep doing
it, even a week ago I wasn’t sure I’d get into Les Sables
d’Olonne. When the genoa failed a second time it just
seemed like too much. I had no food, cigarettes, power
problems.so now, I have no difficulty whatsoever in getting of
my boat - do you want a demonstration?!
"I’ve been on quite a healthy diet, no cigarettes, no sugar, no
alcohol.I thoroughly recommend it!
"The worst thing I’ve had to contend with is myself. It’s been
the hardest struggle for me, as the way I motivated myself
before the start was different to the way I had to for the race.
I made the best job of it and if you can walk away and know
you’ve done all you could then, fine.
"The highlight of the race was when the rig fell down and I
came back in,the amount of support from people who had
nothing to do with the team, who got behind us, incredible!
And this reception, it’s incredible, from people I don’t even
know, it’s enviable in this sport how public sailing is in France.
"The Southern Ocean was mild this time, two days ago I had a
storm that rivalled everything in the race. We were lucky as a
fleet.
"I had to go up the rig a few times, and once in the Southern
Ocean, where I found a quiet spot, very small, at Marion
Island. I got up the rig, the boat was sailing at 4 knots
towards the big Southern Ocean swell, it was getting dark and
I had trouble working up there. As the boat moved into the
swell it started pounding and I was thrown off the mast. I was
unable to catch the mast again, I must have been 15 - 20
foot away, when I came careering smack into it. I got big
bruises all over my arms and legs. Afterwards I was shaking
so much I couldn’t do the repair change and we were moving
deeper into the swell and I thought here we go..! It was
terrifying. I lost a lot of confidence after that, lost something
in my ability to get up the rig, even in the calms."
February 28, 2001 - 9:23:13 AM]
Mike Golding (Team Group 4) arrived in Les Sables d’Olonne
this morning, crossing the line at 0833hrs French time, with a
great smile on his face, cheered on by hundreds of people out
in the early morning sunshine lining the port.
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