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HENRY GOES GLOBAL!


KINGSWEAR SAILOR, HENRY BOMBY, HAS ALREADY PROVED HIMSELF AS ONE OF BRITAIN’S BEST YOUNG SAILORS WITH A ROUND BRITAIN ALONE AND VARIOUS CHAMPIONSHIP SUCCESSES UNDER HIS BELT. HE NOW HAS HIS EYES SET ON THE ULTIMATE SAILING CHALLENGE AS HE EXPLAINS TO BY THE DART.


I


t is 4 months until the first race on the Figaro Circuit 2013, and 7 months until the start of La Solitaire du Figaro, the effective World Championship of offshore sailing. Whenever you put something into a timeline like that, and work backwards and figure out exactly what needs to be done between now and then, it’s soon becomes a scary prospect! So while my long term ambition of competing in the Vendée Globe 2020 may seem like a very long way off, there is a huge amount to do between now and getting on that start line in just under 8 years time. For those of you that


don’t know about the Vendée Globe, it is a very special race and unlike any other race in the world. Starting in Les Sables d’Olonne in the Vendée region of France, the race is single handed, nonstop and without assistance, visiting all corners of the globe, before arriving back to Les Sables d’Olonne 3 months later. It is the pinnacle of offshore racing, human adventure, endurance and endeavour and the peak of


performance, design and reliability. Over 3,000 people have climbed Everest, 500 have been to outer space, yet less than 100 have ever sailed single handed, nonstop and around the world - let alone raced around, let alone won - inspiring stuff.


it would also leave you massively under prepared, which essentially with a race like this, is just plain dangerous!


Competing in the Solitaire du Figaro 2012.


So working backwards, in order to be ready on that start line, with a competitive and reliable boat which can see me take on the best in the world, nonstop for 3 months, I will naturally need quite a bit of time to prepare. Entry to the race closes around 6 months before the start, but there is no way you could put together a last minute entry and be competitive. It might be cheaper, but


By the end of 2017 - early 2018, I need to have found a sponsor, a boat and have a team in place to start working towards the Vendée goal – ideally even earlier if possible for a first time entry. There is a nonstop double handed round the world race called the Barcelona World Race at the end of 2018, which would provide a fantastic shorter term goal, a greater return for a sponsor and an opportunity for me to get to know the boat. It would be a complete dummy run with the team - from preparing for the race, activating PR and marketing, to me experiencing what it is like to race nonstop for that long in some of the world’s harshest environments. All in order to learn enough for the big one in 2 years time, albeit with an extra pair of hands along the way! But to be able to take part in the Barcelona World Race and the Vendée Globe, I need to be able to attract a multi-million pound sponsor; but how do you do that? Now there’s


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