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World Race (two-handed) and is now preparing a shoestring Vendée Globe entry. He plans to use the upcoming race as an apprentice- ship towards what he hopes will be a better-funded and more competitive campaign in the 2020 edition. ‘Solo offshore sailing fits our kind of psyche in New Zealand,
the tough guy doing everything himself, and our pioneering spirit,’ Colman told a newspaper interviewer earlier this year. He has a point.
His exploits will be closely watched in New Zealand where at a more grassroots level solo racing is experiencing something of a surge. Two-handed sailing, which operates under the umbrella of the Short-Handed Sailing Association, is already well-established and popular with a solid programme of events including the flagship Round North Island Race, run every two years. Already the 2016 edition has more than 20 yachts on the board even before official entries open next month.
Much more recently a new singlehanded series has debuted in Auckland, attracting fleets of up to 40 yachts, with a core of 20 or so diehards. Dubbed Solo IQ, the series operates out of the Richmond Yacht Club and most of the participants are young-ish with boats in the 7-10m range.
another trans-Tasman bid in 2017 and then the Mini Transat itself. ‘If you’ve got a dream, you’ve just got to get out there and try to make it happen,’ he says enthusiastically. ‘No one’s going to give you a handout and say “here you go, make your dream a reality”.’ Josh Tucker, from North Sails New Zealand, is one of the SSANZ stalwarts and has amassed heaps of double-handed miles around New Zealand. He has also put his toe in the solo scene, competing in the Route 66 event, a 66-miler from Auckland to Whangarei up the east coast of the North Island (not quite the Vendée Globe but it’s still early days...). Tucker sailed a SunFast 3600 and, like Flynn, was impressed by the number of entries in the solo division and the amount of energy in the class.
A glance through the Solo IQ entry list confirms a mix of men and a couple of women sailors across a broad age spectrum drawn to this form of racing. One of the profile pictures shows an old- timer with a flowing white beard and a sheep in the background. This is Raggie Mackwood-Smith, who has logged well over 50,000 miles at sea, most of it solo or shorthanded. He owns a Farr 9.2 and says the only modifications for solo racing ‘comprise ready- rolled durries [cigarettes], ready-made sammies and a lashing for the helm so I can go below for a cup of tea. However, if things get really serious I may have to buy a thermos.’
The core group even includes a couple, current series leader Carey Shelley and his partner Holly Hamlin, sailing in separate boats. Most say the self-reliance challenge draws them. Not having anybody else to blame is another frequently mentioned factor. ‘We do a lot of blaming ourselves pretty harshly,’ laughs Andrew Hall, who with Richmond Yacht Club commodore Bryon Wright has been at the vanguard of setting up the Solo IQ programme – taking a number of disparate solo events run by different authorities and amalgamating them under a single umbrella.
The only Class40 in New Zealand ownership is multihull veteran Matthew Flynn’s Pogo 1 (above). Corinthian singlehanded racing is only now catching on in New Zealand, long after it took hold in Europe. Of course, for a Kiwi solo event to finish ‘abroad’ the skippers will inevitably face some very serious blue water racing
The closest thing to a purpose-built solo campaigner is an early-generation Pogo 40 bought by Matthew Flynn, a seasoned multihuller with plans to get involved in solo sailing. He represents the more ‘mature’ side of the group, but has participated in one of the new races and liked what he saw. ‘I have been surprised at the amount of interest there is in this type of racing,’ he said. ‘There is huge enthusiasm, most of it coming from owners of the smaller keelboats which have been so much part of our sailing in New Zealand in the past. There are also lots of younger people involved, which was great to see. It is good old-style Corinthian racing – it reminded me of the sailing scene when I was a young man. ‘For me to move out of multihulls is a bit of an aberration, but Class40s like the Pogo are about as close to a multihull as a mid-sized monohull gets – ignoring stuff like the Imoca foilers of course… The Pogo 1 is fast but still with some interior comfort.’ Flynn says he will do more of the Solo IQ events, which mix short-course harbour races with longer coastal passages. His longterm goal is to build some solo experience and then ship his Pogo to Europe with a view to getting into some of the racing there, perhaps even working up to a Route du Rhum. Representing the younger set is Cory McLennan, who grew up in a dairy farming family on the west coast of the South Island, where sailing hardly registers. After reading a book about Sir Peter Blake, he became obsessed with sailing and at the age of 19 became the youngest sailor to complete a solo trans-Tasman passage in the 2014 New Plymouth to Mooloolaba Race. He subsequently acquired a Mini 6.50 and has set his sights on
14 SEAHORSE
Another part of the interest, Wright agrees, stems from the fact that getting and keeping larger racing crews together in a busy world with lots of competing pressures is increasingly difficult. However, that is not to say this is all about a bunch of loners. Many sail in crewed and two-handed events as well and a key part of the solo series is social. ‘We have made it a stipulation that there has to be an after-match function attached to every event. It is important to have that social element.’ He agrees with Flynn’s observation that the group is primarily grassroots in its make-up, although some bigger yachts are starting to come into the mix. A major step forward in the acceptance of solo racing will see a
new division in the longstanding Coastal Classic, which is New Zealand’s premier coastal offshore event. ‘We are delighted to have a solo division sanctioned for this year’s Classic,’ says Hall. ‘We don’t know yet how many entries there will be, but given the interest in our existing series we are confident we will have enough for our own division this year. And we believe it will grow from there.’ That is exactly the kind of development Andrew Hall hopes to see growing out of the current grassroots foundations of solo racing he has helped foster. ‘What Conrad Colman is doing with his Vendée Globe bid is awesome and we certainly hope he can get the funding together.’ It all helps build awareness and momen- tum to a movement that is attracting increasing attention. While it may be a stretch to see any immediate prospects for
other home-grown Vendée Globe contenders, Hall believes it is realistic to expect a lift in numbers for the next trans-Tasman solo race in 2017. He, for one, is hoping to be on the startline and believes he will have plenty of competition.
‘I do believe there is potential for this type of racing to grow in New Zealand,’ he says. ‘The two-handed Corinthian scene exploded in France a while back with events like the Transquadra and the same is now happening in the UK. I can’t see why we won’t follow them. From there it’s a much easier step into the bigger two-handed and solo events we all like to read about. ‘It’s really the one area of sailing where New Zealand still has yet to make a mark…’ Ivor Wilkins
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IVOR WILKINS
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