THE HARDEST ROAD

WHAT’S IT REALLY LIKE TO PREPARE FOR THE WORLD’S TOUGHEST OCEAN RACE, THE VENDÉE GLOBE? PIP HARE REVEALS HOW HARD IT CAN BE

- PIP HARE

It would be easy to assume the toughest challenge of the Vendée Globe Race is racing a 60ft IMOCA alone, battling the elements, sleep-deprived and exhausted. But for me, striving to get to the start line on a meagre budget and tight timescale, the two-year build-up to the race, has caused me to dig deeper than at any other time in my life. Only 87 sailors have ever finished this race, but how many more have not made it to the start line?

The Vendée Globe is raced in IMOCA class yachts and perhaps the hardest part of entering this race is acquiring a boat to race in – a new build would cost millions. I got my lucky break in 2018 when the 20-year-old Superbigou became available for charter at a very cheap rate. Originally campaigned by Bernard Stamm in the 2000 Vendée Globe, Superbigou has made four successful circumnavigations, most recently in the 2016/7 race where she came 12th skippered by Swiss sailor Alan Roura.

When I launched my campaign in November 2018 I knew what I wanted it to look like; a well-prepared boat with a small, functional team to manage the project and allow me to focus on sailing and training. But without a title sponsor this ideal was not going to be possible.

Without a boat how could you possibly convince a backer to fund your campaign, and without the backer to buy your boat how do you get started? With Superbigou I saw an opportunity to fundraise as I went. The charter fee was payable monthly and the upfront investment to get the boat sailing again was minimal as the boat was still within class after the 2016 Vendée.