Long-distance offshore racing nurtures extraordinary levels of self reliance and mutual support. The inaugural Globe 40 race, an ambitious and testing circumnavigation for double-handed Class 40 teams via the three ‘Great Capes’, with diversions into the tropics to Mauritius and Tahiti, took this to an extreme, with some US entries sailing 44,000 miles.
At the finish in Lorient the sense of camaraderie, solidarity and respect was inspiring. “We were talking to all the other skippers all the time, a lot of it sharing knowledge about fixing the boats,” says Mélodie Schaffer, owner of Canadian entry Whiskey Jack. “We all had problems along the way and all helped one another.”
“We understand each team needs different support and we all try to do that for each other,” adds Craig Horsfield, co-skipper of another North American entry, Brian Harris and Micah Davis’s Amhas, a 2013 Akilaria RC3 model, which finished 2nd overall. Race organisers provided advice while the fleet was at sea and practical help at each of the seven stopovers. Skippers came from a mix of backgrounds: most owners were hugely experienced amateurs looking for the experience of a lifetime, though one had only started racing offshore four years previously, while around 40% of the co-skippers joining them were professional sailors.
The skippers were in frequent contact with each other. “It was a really unique experience,” says Schaffer, “because they’re the people who can appreciate what you are going through most closely.”
An obvious takeaway for anyone with ambitious cruising plans is that your networks matter. When things go wrong having somewhere to turn for expert advice – or even just to bounce ideas
