DOWN NOT OUT

WHEN PIP HARE DISMASTED IN THE 2024 VENDÉE GLOBE HER RACE ENDED – BUT HER STORY DIDN’T. PIP TELLS THE TALE OF HER REMARKABLE 800-MILE SELF RESCUE

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In the early hours of 15 December 2024, midway between Australia and Antarctica, my second Vendée Globe race came to a devastating end when my IMOCA Medallia dismasted. It still seems crazy that such a complex situation could be summed up in one sentence.

Almost exactly halfway through the most competitive solo round the world race ever, I had truly found my stride and worked my way up to 15th in the 40-strong fleet, ranking 2nd among the 2016-generation boats.

The Indian Ocean had been brutal for the pack I was racing in. It was my first experience of sailing big Southern Ocean conditions in a foiling IMOCA and I was learning every day about how to thrive. Our small peloton had been stuck in relentless winds and waves for two weeks, but we were heading out of the worst and rapidly catching the group of newer boats ahead.

At the time of dismasting I was waiting for the centre of a depression to pass over me. The wind had been light but was steadily building. The boat was not particularly powered up – reaching with a J2 jib and full main. Medallia was flying, lifting out of the water on the leeward foil, surging forwards, the bow coming back down each time with a familiar crash. We flew and landed, flew and landed, then flew – but as the bow touched down the noise was different. I looked up through the cockpit bubble to see the mainsail falling towards me, deflected off the coachroof above. In two seconds my race was over.

It’s hard to describe the multitude of feelings that buried me in that moment: shock, disbelief and utter devastation. I felt sick, I was trembling, I wanted to curl up in a ball and stop the world from turning for even one more second. So many people had put so much energy into the four years building up to this Vendée Globe. It was failure and it hurt more than I could have imagined.