On a ROLL!! Family is everything

My life these past four years is all GGR. The last 117 days I live and breathe it 24hrs. I know every sailor, every wind, every wave. I can feel entrant emotion and sometimes pain. Occasionally I anticipate their thoughts and actions. We are a little family of intrepid voyagers and adventures from all corners of the world recreating 50 years of history in the spirit of Sir Robin Knox Johnston and SUHAILI.

There are no real surprises in this game as anything goes in extreme adventure. But sometimes I too ask WHY? I am not sailing but I live it. In my subconscious I am there beside them and wake in the depth of night to wonder about one or a more. Are they ok, cold, wet, even safe? Any attempt at sleep thereafter can be challenging, so I get up and check the tracker just like many of you. I look closely for signs.

Sometimes they ring. Again, I wake immediately stumbling for the phone then the light, balancing pen and paper at the ready. Their initial relaxed HELLO means nothing to me as they hope to sound in control no matter what. It’s the following words that have me holding my breath. You what? Can you repeat that..You’re OK? Great! Do you need anything? Fantastic! I breathe again. Thanks for calling! I try to sleep, but rarely do as night turns to day my fingers still dancing across the keyboard. It’s what I want to do, so it’s OK. I am living it with my sailing family.

When that call comes describing a rollover and lost mast it is tough on us both. When it’s all over we question WHY? I personally know more sailors who have been knocked down or rolled over in the Southern Ocean that have kept their mast, than lost them. That includes me. So WHY are four GGR rigs on the seafloor? I am still thinking about it and so are many sailors. I have no simple answer for now other than suggesting it’s tough in the Southern Ocean. Maybe even tougher than it was 50 years ago. Climate is changing the world over.

All boats and rig’s went through thorough rebuilds and checks prior to the start. No one could look at GGR rigs and question their integrity. No one did. They all looked good. They were a great display of industry best practice based on around the world standards and I was happy with them. Over the next nine months we will investigate many things, talk to mast makers, riggers and the sailors themselves to see if lessons are to be learned. If there are and I hope so, we will make recommendations to entrants for the 2022 GGR. They won’t be new rules ( we already have plenty) because the GGR is for sensible sailors who are watching and learning from this extreme test and no one would intentionally go far South with a rig they believed was anything other than ready!

At any level the GGR is a HUGE challenge both emotionally and physically. I have said many times in the past that…The world has never seen anything like this for 50 years. Maybe the activities and dramas of the past months just confirms that the challenge today really is as tough as it was back then.

And then there is Susie! She has given me the toughest moments of the Race so far. What a sailor she is. Youngest person in the fleet with the courage and determination of a.????? How can you even compare her. From the very beginning she has done everything right. She is still there fighting. She has had serious challenges that have nothing to do with the weather or the boat. Social media can make it look all too easy, or all too hard, but it can never really get inside the depth of emotion it can take to keep going day after day. She has had some bad luck like all entrants. She has made good and bad decisions too. But Susie has pressures maybe more than most because she is the lone woman in the GGR with an amazing story and a great smile. On the Ocean we are all equal, but when I saw another version of ABHILASH’S and GREGOR’s storm about to form right on her projected position I thought ..OH NO! Not Susie…

I checked, then checked again all possible forecasting options to take her away or through it. It was hopeless. I had to send her BACK!. How could I even suggest that!. I checked with Jesse another solo circumnavigator. He agreed she had to run, run fast and run now. I sent the message…SUSIE GO BACK! Susie rang to confirm and decided to go for it, not believing her own decision. I am not sure when I decided I would rather be out there sailing through the storm than sitting awaiting the outcome, but I did. It was tough for me. Was it the right advice or not?. Would she roll and lose the mast or worse? Time moved very slowly. It was my personal nightmare reminding me of the strength and trust of FAMILY. I am not a Race Director, I am simply family. We are close in our own way, we really are. She did it and it is her story and what a story it is. A GGR sponsor would make Jane and I VERY happy but not half as happy as when Susie rang to say it was nearly over!!! That was a dandy!!

Living the GGR through the Yellowbrick tracker is unique but throw in the daily tweets and soundcloud calls and you have a complete picture. It is rich food for your imagination. Many tell us it is more LIVE and connected than they ever would have dreamed. LOIC LEPAGE is gone and now there are only eight. You can feel the difference, you can see the difference. Who will make it to the end? This adventure has matured and like many I respect these eight more than ever before. It is a long road and we are not fully half way. J-L VDH is flying while IGOR ZARETSKIY is fighting his own battle half a world away. This is a race, an adventure, a struggle to survive and a celebration of something we rarely see these days. True human endeavor and raw courage.

I wonder what tomorrow brings?

Don

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DAY 114 – Loïc Lepage rescue successful

Dateline 16:30 UTC 22.10.2018 – Hobart, Tasmania

French solo yachtsman Loïc Lepage was successfully transferred from his dismasted yacht Laaland by the Japanese bulk carrier Shiosai at 00:53 UTC Monday.

The rescue, which took place in the South Indian Ocean some 670 miles SW of Perth Western Australia, commenced shortly after first light once the Australian P-8A search and rescue plane was overhead. Members of the Shiosai crew were lowered down in the ship’s recovery vessel, and though the rolling swell presented a few challenges, Lepage was plucked from his yacht and successfully transferred to the ship.

Francis Tolan, skipper of the S/V Alizes II, a Beneteau Ocean 43 competing in the Long Route solo circumnavigation who also came to the aid of Lepage, was released from search and rescue tasking and sincerely thanked by both the Golden Globe Race Organisers and the Australian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Canberra, which oversaw the operation.

In a message to Alizes II , JRCC said: “Your efforts and endeavours to provide a fellow mariner with requested assistance in challenging conditions are in keeping with the greatest traditions of a mariner at sea. Well done and thank you.”

Don McIntyre, Chairman of the GGR, added: “Everyone at the Golden Globe Race have complete admiration and the utmost respect for all involved with the successful rescue of Loïc. The professionalism, expertise and passion displayed at all levels is truly amazing. You are all a great asset to Australia and mariners everywhere.”

The 176,827 Ton Japanese bulk carrier Shiosai has now resumed her course with Loïc Lepage aboard, bound for Las Palmas, Argentina and is scheduled to dock there on 22nd November.

The tracking signal for Lepage‘s yacht Laaland ceased at 06:30 UTC today and is assumed to have been scuttled.

Lepage was sailing the Chichester Class within the GGR, having stopped in Cape Town to make repairs and replenish supplies. 8 of the original 18 starters remain in the GGR solo non-stop challenge.

PLEASE NOTE!!!

Facebook is our frontline LIVE and information update platform for everything on the GGR. You can catch it all too on the DAY BY DAY section of the LIVE buttone on the GGR web site.. We do not want to bombard you with emails. Usally there is on average two email updates a week with extras as something important is happening. To keep up with the very latst you can listen to the GGR SOUNDCLOUD phone calls from entrants each week. You can read all the entrant daily tweets for what they are doing on twitter. You can also watch all the Facebook LIVE sessions on the tracker for explinations and read the daily written summary explinations of WHAT IS HAPPENING on GGR Facebook. We try to cover everything but when there is a lot happening you need to go to a few places to keep up. Hope you are enjoying the coverage!…all the best…DON and the team.

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DAY 113 – NEWS UPDATE

Loïc Lepage rescue update
Susie Goodall survives ‘horrific’ storm
Igor Zaretskiy suffers broken forestay
Uku Randmaa ETA Hobart Gate Oct 26. Susie Goodall, Nov 1

Dateline 16:30 UTC 22.10.2018 – Hobart, Tasmania

Loïc Lepage rescue update

French solo yachtsman Loïc Lepage is expected to be evacuated from his dismasted yacht Laaland shortly after first light on Tuesday (23:30 UTC Monday). By then both the bulk carrier Shiosai and the sailing yacht Alizes II will have reached Laaland’s position in the South Indian Ocean some 670 miles SW of Perth Western Australia, and will await the arrival of an Australian P-8A search and rescue plane overhead before starting the rescue operation.

The forecast for the region is good – 15-20 knot winds and a 3 metre swell. The primary plan is for Lepage to be recovered from his liferaft tethered on a long line to his dismasted yacht, by a boat crew from the bulk carrier Shiosai. Francis Tolan, skipper of the S/V Alizes II, a Beneteau Ocean 43 competing in the Long Route solo circumnavigation will providie backup. If conditions prove adverse, then the MV Shiosai may provide a weather lee for Alizes II to conduct the transfer instead.

Lepage has been fully briefed by GGR Organisers and will evacuate wearing his survival suit and carrying a second EPIRB on standby, VHF radio, personal location beacon and his grab bag. He has set up a bright strobe light on deck and rigged his Echomax inflatable SOLAS radar reflector 2 metres off the deck.

The 62-year old Frenchman from Vannes has also cut away all rigging so that there are no water hazards around the yacht, and has his engine ready to start should he be called to manoeuvre his boat. Both Satphone and VHF radio are on standby for incoming communications.

The Australian P-8A search and rescue plane will remain on station until the evacuation has been completed.

Susie Goodall survives ‘ horrific’ storm

In a satphone call to Race HQ today, British skipper Susie Goodall spoke for the first time about a ‘horrendous’ few days when her Rustler 36 yacht DHL Starlight was caught in a horrific Southern Ocean storm some 250 miles south of Cape Leeuwin, Australia.

The storm developed just as suddenly and with the same ferocity as the one that led to Gregor McGuckin and Abhilash Tomy being rolled and dismasted two weeks ago. “The storm really kicked in between 9pm and 9am. I had 70knot winds and 13 metre seas. They were nasty…practically vertical with breaking crests. I don’t know how we got through it. My self-steering broke and I had to hand-steer for 7 hours. We suffered several knock-downs and I feared that we might get rolled at any time.”

Susie explained that everything was soaked through above and below deck including bunk cushions and her sleeping back. “I definitely lost some weight during the storm because I couldn’t leave the helm to eat and I am now constantly cold and can’t get warm.”

Her hands suffered particularly. “I’ve never had such soft hands” she joked, adding “They are not a pretty sight. They are covered in sores and cuts, and now taped up to keep the salt out.“

With the storm closing in around her, Susie took the decision to turn round and head back west and get herself in the better sector. She didn’t escape the big winds but at least she had them hitting her from one direction only before passing overhead. What did for McGuckin and Tomy were the countering seas caused by the winds swinging through 180°. As a result, Susie may well boast that she is the first solo sailor to have passed by Cape Leeuwin three times during a circumnavigation! “I’m just glad the boat is still going.” She admitted

The storm has now passed but left an ugly sea, making it impossible for the moment to repair her wind vane self-steering. “It’s working but not very well. It will only hold a course on a beam reach, so I am having to hand steer with little sail up at the moment.”

With 1,000 miles to go to the Boatshed.com Hobart film drop, Susie is predicting an ETA on November 1st.

Igor Zaretskiy suffers broken forestay

Russian skipper Igor Zaretskiy sailing the Endurance 35 Esmeralda, now trailing at the back of the fleet, almost 6,000 miles behind race leader Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, was forced to spend 4 hours at the top of his mast, repairing a forestay fitting. In a message to his team, he said “I thought I might die because the waves were breaking over the boat.”

On his return to deck Igor reported that he had lost all feeling in his hands and feet and has since been resting up in his bunk. That explains his very slow progress in recent days, but the Russian says that he is now looking forward to get sailing again and today’s tracker plot shows Esmeralda making 4.3 knots in the right direction again.

Both he and 7th placed Australian Mark Sinclair (Lello 34 Coconut) have some catching up to do even to beat Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s relative position in Suhaili 50 years ago. The Tracker now shows Suhaili as being more than a day ahead of them.

Jean-Luc Van Den Heede sailing the Rustler 36 Matmut, is now well out in the Pacific, enjoying a 2 week lead over 2nd placed Mark Slats (Ohpen Maverick) who left the BoatShed.com Hobart film gate behind yesterday. Speaking via Satphone to Race HQ today, the 73-year old Frenchman reported “Good winds today and yesterday…I try to go as fast as possible.” He made repairs to his gennaker and was full of praise for his Hydrovane self-steering. “In a gale it has a big advantage because it is not steering the boat’s rudder, but has its own. This little rudder is far more efficient than the big rudder.”

The next GGR skipper to pass through the BoatShed.com Hobart film gate will be Estonian Uku Randmaa (Rustler 36 One and All). His current ETA is Friday 26th October, followed by Susie Goodall on1st November.

Latest positions at 16:30 UTC today 22.10.18

1. Jean- Luc VDH (FRA)Rustler 36 Matmut
2. Mark Slats (NED)Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick
3. Uku Randmaa (EST) Rustler 36 One and All
4. Susie Goodall (GBR) Rustler 36 DHL Starlight
5. Istvan Kopar (USA) Tradewind 35 Puffin
6. Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) Gaia 36 Asteria
7. Mark Sinclair (Aus) Lello 34 Coconut
8. Igor Zaretskiy (RUS) Endurance 35 Esmeralda

RETIRED

1. Ertan Beskardes (GBR) Rustler 36 Lazy Otter
2. Kevin Farebrother (AUS) Tradewind 35 Sagarmatha
3. Nabil Amra (PAL) Biscay 36 Liberty II
4. Antoine Cousot (FRA) Biscay 36 Métier Intérim
5. Philippe Péché (FRA) Rustler 36 PRB
6. Are Wiig (NOR) OE 32 Olleanna
7. Gregor McGuckin (IRE) Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance
8. Abhilash Tomy (IND) Suhaili replica Thuriya
9. Francesco Cappelletti (ITA) Endurance 35 007
10. Loïc Lepage (FRA) Nicholson 32 Laaland

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DAY 112 – CODE RED ALERT
Operations begin to rescue Loïc Lepage from his dismasted and leaking yacht 600 miles SW of Perth, Australia
Mark Slats passes through Hobart film gate

Dateline 21.10. 2018 – Hobart, Tasmania

SITUATION UPDATE At 15:00 UTC on October 21.

At 18:27 UTC on Saturday 20th Oct. the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre at Canberra (JRCC Aus.) picked up a distress beacon alert from French solo skipper Loïc Lepage. They had already been alerted by GGR organisers that his yacht Laaland had been dismasted and was taking in water some 600 miles SW of Perth, Western Australia, and took on responsibility for coordinating a rescue mission.

JRCC issued an immediate MAYDAY relay to all shipping and at 20:30 UTC, a Challenger aircraft was despatched from Perth with a droppable pump onboard to assess the situation and photograph the disabled yacht. The plane arrived on scene at 23:09 UTC and raised communications with Lepage via VHF radio. Loïc advised that he was conducting repairs to his engine and did not require the pump or any other supplies to be dropped. He also stated that water ingress was at a rate of approximately 160 litres per hour but that the onboard pumps were keeping up. The aircraft reported that the mast did not appear to be attached to the vessel, and that no other significant external damage was visible.

Throughout this period, JRCC Aus. continued to seek assistance from merchant shipping, while GGR Organisers sort to communicated with other sailing vessels in the region. Due to the severe conditions, two merchant ships advised that they were unable to assist for safety reasons.

At 00:28 UTC, an RAAF P8 search and rescue plane was tasked to overfly the area and later a civilian aircraft was relocated from Sydney to Perth to provide back-up. The Maritime Services vessel Stoker has also been placed on stand-by.

At 01:22 UTC Francis Tolan, the skipper of the S/V Alizes II, a Beneteau Ocean 43 participating in the Long Route solo circumnavigation, positioned some 300 miles NW of Laaland’s position, offered his assistance.

Then at 03:14 UTC, the bulk carrier Shiosai, which had been heading west across the Great Australian Bight, also agreed to assist, and altered course towards the distress position.

At 05:07 UTC, GGR Organisers spoke to Lepage via satphone. The Frenchman advised that water ingress remained at the same rate, that the onboard pumps were keeping up, and that he was not in imminent danger of sinking. He also reported that the yacht’s engine, which had suffered some damage from water ingress into the boat, would not start, and that a jury rig had still to be set-up. Laaland continued to drift in the approximate position 38° 50.33’ S 104°15.27E, and that Loïc was seeking rescue and transfer off his vessel.

Lepage has since repaired his engine and been advised to motor in a northerly direction to shorten the distance between him and the rescue vessels. JRCC Aus. intends to utilise the MV Shiosai and SV Alizes II as surface rescue assets and to keep Stoker on stand-by until Mon 22 Oct when a decision will be made based on a re-assessment of weather conditions and progress of Shiosai and Alizes II overnight.

In addition, an RAAF P8 search and rescue plane will fly direct from Learmonth to the distress position with an ETA of 00:30 UTC Monday. Two other planes have also been tasked to provide air overwatch as required from now until the completion of the operation.

Mark Slats 2nd at the BoatShed.com Hobart Film Gate

The second placed Australian born Dutch skipper Mark Slats arrived at the BoatShed.com Hobart film gate in daylight earlier today and took full advantage of the sunshine and warmth to dry out wet clothing and bedding and to check the rig of his Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick.

Recalling his experiences across the South Indian Ocean, he said: “It was pretty rough, but I’m still going and the boat is in good shape, so I am happy. The Indian Ocean has been very hard and very painful a lot of the time. They say the Pacific is much better, so I am looking forward to that!

Describing the storm that led to Indian Abhilash Tomy and Ireland’s Gregor McGuckin being rolled and dismasted, he said: “The seas were unbelievable, but the waves were horrific up to 15 metres high. I copped one wave that broke over the back and filled the boat, and everything inside was wet.”

He thought he had been lucky with the weather, but then reminded himself  “I had 9 days of calms and then 5 days in a row of 40-50 knot head winds from the NE. That really got me down and I got pretty depressed…but then 10 minutes of good winds and speed and all was well again!”

When Mark set out with the GGR fleet from Les Sables d’Olonne on July 1st, he forgot to pack his gloves, but overcame this by wearing neoprene socks on his hands in bad weather and cutting up a jumper to make a pair of mittens to steer with.

“The worst damage has been to my electrics,” he conceded. “I have no way to monitor the batteries, no radio and no cassette players. I had two of these and two Walkmans but all have got wet. Only my VHF radio and AIS are still working.”

Last week, Mark thought he might have suffered a fractured rib when a toolbox flew across the cabin and hit him on the side during a knockdown. Today, this had all been forgotten. “Oh, it is not a problem. It only hurts a bit when I am lying down for any length of time.”

After 90 minutes, Slats rehoisted his sails and set off in pursuit of French race leader Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, now more than 2,000 miles closer to Cape Horn, the next big turning point.

Click here to view interview with Mark Slats in Hobart

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DAY 111 – CODE RED ALERT

Loïc Lepage dismasted 600 miles SW of Perth, Australia

Yacht leaking

Dateline 20.10. 2018 – Hobart, Tasmania

At 18:30 UTC, French solo yachtsman set off the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) on his yacht Laaland after being dismasted earlier in the day some 600 miles SW of Perth Western Australia.

The incident began 5 hours earlier when Lepage first contacted Race HQ to report that Laaland’s mast had broken in two places while sailing in 25knot winds and 3 metre seas. After cutting away the rigging, the 62-year old sailor from Vannes, expressed some concern that one section of the mast may have damaged the hull near the keel, but that the initial ingress of water had stopped. He did not ask for assistance and was planning to set up a jury rig at first light on Sunday and sail to Fremantle unassisted.

That all changed at 18:10 UTC when Lepage made a second call to Race HQ to say his yacht was now leaking at the rate of 30 litres of water per 10-15 minutes from an area in the keel hidden from view by a water tank. His pumps were working and keeping up with the flow, but conditions outside had deteriorated, with winds of 40 knots..

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Canberra, which had already been alerted to Laaland’s CODE ORANGE situation earlier, intercepted her IPIRB signal at 18:30 UTC and immediately issued a MAYDAY relay alert to all ships. A Challenger search and rescue plane has been despatched from Perth and was expected to reach Laaland‘s position at 23:00 UTC. Her crew will communicate with Lepage over VHF radio and photograph the condition of the yacht, which has the rig still attached at the bow, acting as a sea anchor.

The nearest GGR yacht with an engine is Puffin skippered by American/Hungarian Istvan Kopar, which is some 480 miles downwind to the east. The strong westerly gale force winds in the area will almost certainly make it impossible for Kopar to turn back upwind for another 24 hours. Another solo yacht, Alizes II sailed by Francis Tolan in the Long Route solo circumnavigation, is some 350 miles NW of Laaland‘s position and GGR Organisers are attempting to contact him.

Laaland’s position at 19:00 UTC was 39 1.117S and 104. 1.67E making 1.2K on 45T.

Lepage has reported that all safety gear is secure, his emergency sat phone is working and the yacht’s tracking equipment is fully charged. At 00:00 UTC wind and sea conditions are forecast to moderate and by 12:00 UTC on Sunday are expected to be back to 20-25kts from the SW.

Loïc Lepage is a highly experience solo yachtsman, having made three transatlantic crossings and spent the past three years preparing his Nicholson 32 yacht Laaland for the Golden Globe Race. Problems with his radio and a shortage of fresh water forced him to make a stop in Cape Town, which left him demoted to the Chichester Class (for those competitors forced to make one stop or receive outside assistance). But he has continued ‘to realise my dream’ to sail solo around the globe.

The GGR Race organisers are polling Laaland’s position every 30 minutes and maintaining a 2-hourly satellite phone check with Lepage to monitor the situation.

Loïc Lepage‘s position 600 miles SW of Perth Western Australia at 21:00 UTC relative to other yachts competing in the Golden Globe Race

Mark Slats about to arrive at the BoatShed.com Hobart Film Gate

Australian born Dutch solo sailor Mark Slats sailing the Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick is expected to reach the BoatShed.com Hobart Film Gate at approx. 00:00 UTC Sunday 21st October

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