On Your Marks! Finished! Come On

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On Your Marks! Finished! Come On
On Your Marks! Finished! Come On

Video: On Your Marks! Finished! Come On

Video: On Your Marks! Finished! Come On
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Preparatory trip in Portugal

Preparations in Les Sables d'Olonne on the French Atlantic coast are in full swing. From Sunday 20 skippers will face one of the greatest challenges that sailing has to offer.

On November 7th at 1 p.m. local time, the starting shot will be given in the small but totally crazy coastal town. 20 skippers will then make their way around the world. You sail one-handed and non-stop and south of the three great capes - Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), Cape Leeuwin (Australia) and Cape Horn (South America). The sailing professionals move the Open 60s, whereby only a few skippers are given real chances of victory due to state-of-the-art new constructions.

A single German-speaking skipper, Norbert Sedlacek (see also portrait in YACHT 23/04), is sailing this year. However, the Viennese have no chances of victory. Its "brother", a composite structure made of aluminum and sandwich material, is too heavy. "I will hardly set a record," said the 42-year-old in the last conversation before casting off to the YACHT. But he really wants to get through. In his eyes, anyone who finishes this brutal one-handed race is a winner.

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Norbert Sedlacek on his "brother"

On Thursday afternoon Sedlacek was still stressed because he had to stow all the groceries on board. "Due to my limited budget, I only work with volunteers. And in the end I still have to control everything myself in order not to be confronted with any surprises on the high seas," he said in the phone call. Stowing provisions for a Vendée means storing 600,000 calories. No more and no less. The extreme sailor plans to burn 4,000 calories every day at sea, for around four months.

But the provisioning is not everything. A defective radar device also has to be replaced on its "brother" two days before the start of the 24,000 nautical mile race. "But I'm in good spirits that we can do it all."

France Telecom also showed itself to be generous at the last minute, providing the Austrian with an Inmarsat B system. Thanks to this, Norbert Sedlacek will also be able to keep YACHT-online readers constantly up to date.

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the route

The weather for the Sunday start is very moderate according to the latest forecasts. "With around 10 knots of wind we can sail with full gear and thus offer a beautiful picture in the interests of our sponsors," says Sedlacek. In the interests of the sponsors, there will also be a new rule in the Vendée, which is intended to prevent media unsuitable horror reports about deaths, as has often occurred at the race. The race management has set waypoints that protect the skipper from heading too south into the southern latitudes that are endangered by icebergs. Sedlacek thinks the measure is good. "After all, we don't want to execute ourselves, we want to sail a good race," he told the YACHT. In addition, according to Sedlacek, the roughly predetermined route is not far from the route taken by the last Vendée winners.

The Vendée Globe Challenge is being held for the fifth time since 1989 this year. For this year's edition, 20 sailors, including two women (both from France), set out on their way down the Atlantic, around Antarctica and back up the Atlantic to Les Sables d'Olonne. The record at the Vendée is held by the Frenchman Michel Desjoyeaux, who completed the big loop in 93 days, 7 hours, 57 minutes and 32 seconds in the 2000/01 race.

A portrait of the Austrian Norbert Sedlacek and further information on the Vendée Globe can be found in the latest issue of YACHT (issue 23/04).

We will be reporting regularly on the Vendée on our YACHT-online page. Here you will also find current situation reports directly from Norbert Sedlaceks on board his "brother".

TV TIP: On Monday, November 8th, 2004, at 8:05 p.m., there will be a big report in THEM on ORF

The participants of the Vendée Globe Challenge: 1. Mike Golding, England, "Ecover"2. Nick Moloney, England / Australia, "Skandia"3. Karen Leibovici, France, "Bénéfic"4. Roland Jourdain, France, "Sill et Véolia"5. Vincent Riou, France, "PRB"6. Jean Pierre Dick, France, "Virbac Paprec"7. Patrice Carpentier, France, "VM Matérieaux"8. Raphaël Dinelli, France, N. N.9. Conrad Humphreys, England, "Hellomoto"10. Sébastien Josse, France, "VMI"11. Hervé Laurent, France, "UUDS"12. Jean le Cam, France, "Bonduelle"13. Anne Liardet, France, "Roxy"14. Benoit Parneaudeau, France, "Club 60ème sud"15. Bruce Schwab, USA, "Ocean Planet"16. Norbert Sedlacek, Austria, "brother"17. Joé Séeten, France, "Arcelor Dunkerque"18. Marc Thiercelin, France, "Pro-Form"19. Alex Thomson, England, "Hugo Boss"20. Dominique Wavre, Switzerland, "Temenos"

Winner of the previous Vendèe Globe races:

2000/2001: Michel Desjoyeaux with "PRB"

1996/1997 Christophe Auguin with "GEODIS"

1992/1993 Alain Gautier with "Bagages Superior"

1989/1990 Titouan Lamazou with "Ecureuil Aquitaine II"

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