Alain Gautier, Vendee winner in 1992/93 and a key member of the Kingfisher team greets Ellen macArthur

'Next time' for Roland Jourdain too a first time win was a genuine possibility

Editorial

Peerless
After the traumas that visited this event during its first 10 years it was both a pleasure and a relief to see the universal success that was Philippe Jeantot's latest Vendée Globe.

While the competitors put on an outstanding show, which highlighted the progress that is once again being made in the shorthanded discipline, 'peerless' is the only word to describe the race's management by Jeantot - also the event's founder. From beginning to end Jeantot's enthusiastic team worked hard to deal with every enquiry and difficulty that came at them. From the dismasting of Yves Parlier, deep in the Southern Ocean, to day-to-day problems with media communications ashore.

However, throughout this event it has always been clear that, ..........See Seahorse April 2001 for the remainder of this article

Special?
Grant Dalton and Club Med, 655 miles in 24 hours. We have now got used to the 500-plus daily mileages of the boats still in The Race: 550, 575 miles sound almost routine. It is worth taking a moment or two to remember just what these enormous mileages, under sail, actually represent. The Fastnet race course is around 625 miles in length; 'theoretically' a 655-mile daily run means Club Med could start the Fastnet at midnight and complete it at around 10pm the same evening. 

Does this help?  ..........See Seahorse April 2001 for the remainder of this article

Sympathy - surely not?
Talks between the St Francis YC and Oracle Racing are struggling over the issue of 'right to defend'. This only makes the actions of Bill Koch seem even more Corinthian in 1992, ..........See Seahorse April 2001 for the remainder of this article

© 2001 Seahorse Magazine. All rights reserved.