The organisers of the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in 1968 can have had no idea that not only were they creating an audacious new event that put lives at serious risk and, extraordinarily, those on land really had no way of following, but that their idea would spawn an industry built around racing non-stop around the world. No small amount of the credit for what followed must still rest with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (above)… had the only finisher not returned safely things would almost certainly have turned out differently
during the first editions of these races. We are all conscious that this will be a difficult adventure and that engenders a strong bond between us that I have not seen since my first Mini Transat and Vendée Globe races back in the 1980s. ‘My goal is to be in good health at the
start with a top boat, then take each day in turn, absorbing the emotions and thoughts of those who preceded us: Slocum, Moitessier, Alain Gerbault, Vito Dumas and, of course, my good friend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston who set such an example for us all 50 years ago.’ At the other end of the French race
onslaught is a rookie solo sailor, but who otherwise has some impressive sailing credentials. Philippe Péché, 57, has cov- ered more than 300,000 miles racing everything from monohulls to giant multi- hulls. Péché, who has lived in Australia for the past 20 years, has twice won the Jules Verne Trophy with Bruno Peyron, com- pleting his last circumnavigation in under 50 days. He has sailed with many of the other big guns: Eric Tabarly, Michel Desjoyeaux, Ellen MacArthur, Armel Le Cléac’h and Alain Gautier. Péché says he is a solo rookie but it’s
clear he is learning fast. He bought the famous Rustler 36 Gollywobbler and is
52 SEAHORSE
now sponsored by PRB – the Vendée building products company who spon- sored the winning Vendée Globe entries of Mich Desjoyeaux in 2000-2001 and of Vincent Riou four years later. Péché explains: ‘I did my 2,000-mile
qualification sail in September and that took me 22 days. This was the first time I had sailed singlehanded and I fell into the rhythm quickly. I stayed within the Bay of Biscay and tested the boat in varying con- ditions. I learned a lot about the yacht’s performance and how to live inside a small boat for an extended period… alone! ‘The contrast for me is that 2,000 miles
is something you do in three days nowa- days with our big boats. It took me 22. ‘I have for many years been only push-
ing hard on big, fast multihulls. It’s good to learn and discipline yourself to do celes- tial navigation and weather forecasting and so on. Now I am keen to learn how to manage a slow boat with Southern Ocean weather systems.’ With the support of PRB Péché is replacing some sails and installing – and getting to grips with – a Beaufort wind vane self-steering system. Then it is back out into the Biscay for more training. Some campaigns are on a shoe-string,
some not. Tapio Lehtinen, 59 from Helsinki, has mounted a very professional
campaign. A former Commodore of the Helsingfors Segelsällskap (HSS) Yacht Club, he started in Optimists then gradu- ated to Lasers, 470s and then into keel boat and ocean racing. Lehtinen was a 22-year-old watch
captain in the 1981/82 Whitbread Race aboard Skopbank of Finland, followed up by the 1985 Two-Handed Round Britain Race, the 2-STAR transatlantic race in 1986 and the Azores-and-Back in 1987. His two children are both Olympic sailors. His daughter Silja sailed the Yngling in Qingdao 2008, is a former World Match Racing Champion and London 2012 bronze medallist and son Lauri sailed into seventh place in the 49er also in London. ‘My son was asking me about the race,
so I took a look at the Notice of Race and realised this one had my name all over it. Though I am an engineer I hate electronics and I have been racing my Six Metre with- out engine and electronics for 32 years –I loved the idea of a back-to-basics race!’ Lehtinen’s boat is a rare Benello Gaia
36, a Sparkman & Stephens design that won the first One Ton Cup in 1965. She could prove significantly faster than the seven Rustler 36s that are entered. ‘I bought the boat in Italy and sailed it 3,500 miles back from there. It was built in
BILL ROWNTREE/PPL
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