All the skippers arrive for the start

Cometh the hour, cometh the last piece of funding required for Steve White to finally realise his dream of competing in the Vendee Globe, a single-handed yacht race around the world that starts on November 9th this year.

Starting from Les Sables d’Olonne in Western France, the race is a non-stop, circumnavigation along the old clipper route. It follows the Atlantic Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope; then clockwise around Antarctica keeping Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn to port and then finally back to the Vendee.  All in all it will take most skippers around 90 days to complete, and some may not make it at all. It is quite simply the ‘Mount Everest’ of single-handed yacht racing.

It is hard to imagine the emotion that Steve must have felt as he sailed the bluQube sponsored Open 60 boat from its home in Weymouth into the Bay of Biscay and finally smelt the air of the start line, charged with the anticipation of the competition to come. This journey has taken him over ten and a half years, and along the way Steve and his family have had to overcome all kinds of hardships, setbacks, and disappointments. Just getting to the start-line was a major achievement that would have tested even the most obstinate, and single minded of individuals. So when the phone rang to say that the last minute sponsorship funds had been secured, tears flowed in equal measure with champagne, as the greatest adventure of his life was about to become reality.

Stand aside Mr and Mrs Beckham

The Vendee Globe is a massive event. It ranks along side the Tour de France as one of the biggest single sporting events in Europe and if word gets out that you’re a competitor, then step aside Mr and Mrs Beckham, the Whites are in town and here, along with all his fellow competitors, Steve is a superstar. From the moment that it was confirmed that he was starting the race everybody in the media, including yours truly, was desperate to get an interview with him, young kids and ocean race fans all wanted his autograph and a picture. In Steve’s words, “It been absolutely manic, it’s a terrific atmosphere, but I can’t move without being accosted by either a journalist, television crew or a fan wanting me to sign something, but my feet have to stay firmly on the ground – I have only 2 and half weeks to completely prepare the boat, literally from the bottom up.”

All the other competitors have been preparing their vessels for months, not so Steve. In order to be anywhere near ready he needed help, and this assistance has been found in former Vendee Globe veteran Josh Hall. No one knows better than Josh what Steve will up against. Josh previously owned and successfully completed the 2000 Vendee Globe aboard the same boat that Steve will campaign in this time and therefore has an intimate appreciation for the challenges that Steve will face both before and after the start. Before the race begins, Steve and Josh have to take the boat out of the water and clean its bottom (anti-fouling), fit new sails, mast, rigging, a new generator and get the yacht scrutineered (legally measured to the specific race criteria). In addition to this and with the help of Steve’s wife Kim they have to set-up his shore crew and all the equipment they need to stay in contact with him throughout the race. No problem then, where’s the cheque book!

The tortoise and the hare – and we all know who won that race!

So what are Steve’s chances? Well let’s hear what Josh Hall, the man who’s done it all before, thinks, “Steve’s boat is 10 years old, and about 25% slower than some of the brand new boats competing in this race. This event however is not about speed it is about reliability and some of the sophisticated technology that is being installed on some yachts is unproven in these extreme conditions. I expect therefore a lot of technical problems for some skippers, slowing them down and in some cases ending their races altogether. It is not about gaining 1/10 of a knot race speed, it is about finishing in one piece at a constant pace. I predict that Steve will finish in the top half of field and from there onwards, well you never know….”

If you would like to follow Steve over the 3-4 months of the race then click here to sign up to the Vendee Globe website.