Oceanracing 2002 - Route du Rhum 2002

Route du Rhum 2002
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Datum: 23. Nov 2002 13:04
NEWSFLASH SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER, AT 1135 GMT

Mike Golding on Ecover Second in the 60-foot Monohull Class
After 13 days of close battle with Ellen MacArthur on Kingfisher, Mike Golding crossed the finish line in Pointe à Pitre, Guadeloupe at 1134:35 GMT, 0734:35 local Guadeloupe time, just 9 hours 17 minutes, 48 seconds behind Kingfisher.
Mike Golding has raced at an average speed of 10.61 knots of orthodromy, at 13 days, 22 hours, 49 minutes and 35 seconds. This means that Mike Golding also beat the previous record for monohulls in the Route du Rhum (15 days, 19 hours, 23 minutes Yves Parlier sur Cacolac d’Aquitaine en 1994).
It was a smiling Mike Golding that glided over the finish line bathed in warm sunshine amid a homely flotilla of little boats out on the water to greet this historic legend. After an intense battle with Ellen MacArthur for a sip of victory Rhum he comes in a triumphant second place in this the seventh edition of the Route du Rhum. A fabulous end to a great race.

Mike Golding strahlender Zweiter
Photo: Martin-Raget/Promovoile

Background:
Golding was giving every thing he could to the final miles of the Route du Rhum. Having lost the use of two spinnakers, it was frustrating losing miles, and there was little he could do to catch up with Kingfisher and Ellen MacArthur’s perfectly sailed race. The former fireman of the “Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service” is a determined man. He kept the momentum going all the way to the finish line, which he crossed under the welcoming blue skies of the West Indies.
Mike Golding (42 years old) turned professional sailor in 1991. He has sailed four times round the world, three of which the “wrong way round” (westabout), against the prevailing wind and currents. He won the BT Global Challenge in 1997, in 1998 he won the first leg of the Around Alone (single-handed race round the world with stop-overs), but whilst in the lead in the second leg he ran aground in New Zealand and was forced to retire from the race. He also took part in the last Vendée Globe 2000/2001, starting a clear favourite. He dismasted in the first night shattering all dreams of victory, but Golding did not give up. He repaired the boat and got underway again, finally finishing a respectable 7th after 102 days at sea, catching up and overtaking many competitors one after the other. He finished third and second in the last two Transat Jacques Vabre races (1999 and 2001), and third in the EDS Atlantic Challenge 2001.

Ecover bricht auch Atlantikrekord
Photo: Martin-Raget/Promovoile

Datum: 23. Nov 2002 17:07
Quotes Ellen MacArthur and Mike Golding, First and Second in Imoca Monohull Class
QUOTES FROM PRESS CONFERENCE FOLLOWING ELLEN MACARTHUR’S ARRIVAL
Saturday 23 November 2002
Translated from French
Some hours after her arrival in Pointe à Pitre, Ellen MacArthur launched into a free-for-all of questions for the press.
Race:
« It’s been a magnificent race, great, the best! And if I had to leave again tomorrow I would not hesitate!»
Arrival:
« It’s a finish where I’ve gone through a lot of emotions. It was quite extraordinary! I was so shocked, it’s hard to imagine. It was an enormous sensation and there are not words enough to express how amazing it was. »
First call:
« Just after crossing the finish line, I telephoned my parents. It was in the middle of the night for them. »
English victory:
« I see no difference between the French and the English as I feel European above everything else. And when you’re racing everyone is equal and you have to battle against the others regardless of nationality. »
Boat :
« The boat has been super, we have had a lot of fun together. My strongest memory is the pleasure I’ve had aboard! It is hard getting used to the idea that I will have to leave it.»
Sea - Land:
« Once you arrive your life changes all in one go. You have had one goal for two weeks and then all of a sudden it’s over. In fact as soon as you cross the finish line, your life is different. »
Women:
« I have never heard women shouting and cheering like that at the finish. But this victory is for everyone. And if that can help people it’s a good thing and if it’s for women it’s great! »
Difficulty:
« This race has been really hard and I would like to share this victory with my entire team who helped me. I was never alone. This result is down to teamwork, especially during the months spent preparing the boat. The motivation is energy passion, emotion from everyone around. And the people following the project have spent some moments that weren’t easy. I think about those who are behind a lot when I’m out there. »
Mike:
« Mike and I were fighting like mad! We had a good gybing battle to find the right place to get out of the anticyclone. It was easy to win and lose miles in a single gybe. One time I would win the miles, then it would be Mike. And it was like that all the time. »
Adrenaline:
« Once there were 25 to 28 knots for three hours! I couldn’t drop the spinnaker, or leave the helm. I was surfing at 22/23 knots, it was enormous! The boat was like a dinghy. And if I had made a mistake on the helm it would have been all over. I did that once and the boat keeled over at 90°! It was full on but I didn’t break anything! »
Easy - not easy:
« Upwind is easier with this boat. It’s when reaching that you push and the limits are even harder to find. »
Breakage:
« I tore a spinnaker but it wasn’t serious because I had three onboard. I also broke a gennaker halyard which I had to rethread. I experienced problems with the computer which crashed every three hours and I had a little hydraulic leak but nothing serious! »
More or less 24 hours :
« I didn’t follow the multihull race as I wasn’t receiving their positions. I don’t really know where they are. Now we’re going to see when Mich’Desj arrives!»
Physical :
« To climb the mast is stressful but it’s not hard. When I had a problem, I didn’t have to think twice about it, I just had to get up there. What was really hard was to drop and hoist the sails. To drop a spinnaker to put up a Code 5 and then realise that it’s not working and that you have to drop the sail again in order to hoist another, that’s hard! »
Storm:
« In the Vendée Globe, I never had a storm like that! I was clipped on for two days. I even went down below clipped on. The waves came in diagonally from behind and three times I keeled right over! The storm was very, very powerful. But we know that the monos are more robust than the multis in these conditions. In addition, with a mono you can always bear away (distance yourself from direction of the wind) and not follow a direct course to stop your boat from suffering. There were some pretty full on moments but you still have a choice! »
Tomorrow :
« I will have one week of holidays in England. Then I am going to sail big catamarans to train for the Trophée Jules Verne that we will attempt this winter ».
Philosophy :
« If in life you don’t learn anything, there is no point in continuing! »
QUOTES MIKE GOLDING, SECOND IMOCA MONOHULL CLASS
2 Britons first and second:
“Well it’s great, but I am more surprised that we are ahead of the multis! When I saw them all in Saint-Malo, I would never have imagined that we would be here ahead of them!”
Ellen’s victory:
“Ellen has done so well, she had a fantastic race. She is a star. It was nice to have such a close battle with such a good competitor.”
The racing:
“This was probably the toughest single handed race I have ever done. It was very tough racing but very enjoyable. It is a good race, tactical, tough, relentless pressure. I remember thinking this is why I am doing this. ”
Beating the record:
“We broke the record, with the first five days in tough upwind conditions - we did not sail that fast the first five days. The record will easily be broken again if reaching conditions the first days of the race.”
Breakage:
“I am missing a daggerboard, but I don’t think it cost me that much. It cost me a little bit of the upwind section. I lost both my spinnakers, unfortunately, that was a killer. A killer in three ways: 1) You lose time for repair. I lost four hours trying to recuperate the sail. 2) You lose position, and end up tactically wrong. 3) You lose later on because you do not have the right equipment.
Ellen had three spinnakers and lost two. I had two spinnakers and lost two. What do we learn from that…”
Close battle:
“We were racing so close, we saw each other four times during the race, one of these four times was for five solid days, when we always had sight of each other on the horizon! Once I thought Ellen had a problem so I changed course slightly and went really close. She did not answer my call, maybe she was up the mast. I am not sure, maybe it was the logo, but I think I saw her.”
“One day after the storm, I had a lot of damage – a long vertical tear in the index sail. I had to repair it immediately. We were close reaching in strong winds, and I did not want to lose miles. I reefed the index sail and pulled out the big genoa, a little bit too big for the conditions but I did not want to lose miles. I carried out the repair in 18-20 knots speed. The waves were huge, crashing all over the boat constantly. I was repairing slowly, sowing with a big needle, running around the mast to pull through the needle. It took me several hours in the rough conditions. When I got back to the cockpit and took the helm I looked ahead and right in front of me was Kingfisher! Amazing.”
Luck – bad luck:
“In the last few years I had some bad luck, like the Vendee. But like “Gary The Golfer” said: ‘The more I practice the luckier I get’, which is true for me. I am doing all the jobs around the actual sailing, managing the project, finding sponsors, working on the boat, managing the shore team. I do not practice enough. I would be an even better sailor if I would practice more. Ellen has a great management around her, I envy her. It allows her to concentrate on sailing. Ellen is a great sailor.”
Second:
“We keep on getting on the podium, but we have to figure out why we are not winning. But I know we will win a major event. I know we can.”
Future:
“The longer term mission is to do the Vendee Globe again, and win it.”