Goss recalls the Vendee
As the Vendee boats approach Madeira I'm struck by how close the race is at this juncture with the lead still changing hands. It's fun to look at the tracker (see right hand link) which shows how the boats are bunched.
The two lead boats must be in good sight of each other, spurring each other on. Further back, I suspect that Brian Thompson has Mike Golding in sight now too. This makes a difference competitively although it's important that those further down the field do not begin having their own private race without keeping an eye on the bigger picture.
I'm watching Michel Desjoyeaux too striving to get back in to contention. At the rate he's going he has a good chance. Dominique Wavre, meanwhile, is almost back with the top half of the field.
Separately I have been dipping in to Pete Goss's blog (link in right hand side bar)and his own tracker here. He's hoping that he might catch sight of the approaching Vendee fleet at some stage soon. The fleet includes Raphael Dinelli, who Goss famously rescued in the 1996-97 Vendée Globe.
Goss turned back and sailed upwind to save the French man who had capsized, out of reach of any other possible rescue. The rescue earned Goss the Légion d'Honneur and a lasting friendship with Dinelli.
About the Vendee, he says: "The Vendee is more than a race, and it is how the person reacts to whatever fate chooses to throw at them that counts. It's private, something that the podium can't get to grips with as it lacks the depth, but it is real and lasting to the individual who has endured and enjoyed the ups and downs."
The two lead boats must be in good sight of each other, spurring each other on. Further back, I suspect that Brian Thompson has Mike Golding in sight now too. This makes a difference competitively although it's important that those further down the field do not begin having their own private race without keeping an eye on the bigger picture.
I'm watching Michel Desjoyeaux too striving to get back in to contention. At the rate he's going he has a good chance. Dominique Wavre, meanwhile, is almost back with the top half of the field.
Separately I have been dipping in to Pete Goss's blog (link in right hand side bar)and his own tracker here. He's hoping that he might catch sight of the approaching Vendee fleet at some stage soon. The fleet includes Raphael Dinelli, who Goss famously rescued in the 1996-97 Vendée Globe.
Goss turned back and sailed upwind to save the French man who had capsized, out of reach of any other possible rescue. The rescue earned Goss the Légion d'Honneur and a lasting friendship with Dinelli.
About the Vendee, he says: "The Vendee is more than a race, and it is how the person reacts to whatever fate chooses to throw at them that counts. It's private, something that the podium can't get to grips with as it lacks the depth, but it is real and lasting to the individual who has endured and enjoyed the ups and downs."
Labels: Brian Thompson, Legion de Honneur, Michel Desjoyeaux, Mikie Golding, Pete Goss, Raphael Dinelli
posted by Richard Donkin at
2:43 AM
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