From one of the most prolonged and challenging storms
encountered by any of the 29 skippers who left Les Sables d’Olonne on
Sunday November 6th last year, French solo skipper Eric
Bellion emerged triumphant, securing a remarkable ninth placed in the
Vendée Globe solo round the world race when he crossed the finish line
at 1658hrs UTC. Bellion took 99 days 4 hrs 56 mins for his actual 28,048
miles route, averaging 11.78 kts. He is the first ‘rookie’ solo skipper
– someone who had never before started the Vendée Globe - to complete
this eighth edition of the solo round the world race.
Although he is a vastly experienced sailor in his
own right with a circumnavigation already to his credit, he only raced
an IMOCA 60 foot race boat for the first time 15 months ago. For a
skipper who set out largely to see if he could complete this race, one
of the toughest challenges in global sport, his ninth place is well
ahead of all his pre-start hopes and wildest dreams. Bellion’s odyssey
is a classic tale, revealing a huge increase in personal confidence and
solo racing ability but is a result which comes neither by luck nor by
accident.
An accomplished and inspirational leader who assembled an
excellent support team in cooperation with double Vendée Globe winner
Michel Desjoyeaux’s company Mer Agitée, Bellion’s Vendée Globe started
relatively slowly but saw him faster and faster during his first time
racing in the ‘big south’, dealing strategic and mental challenges of a
slow, light wind South Atlantic climb, and the final big hurdle – a
vicious four day North Atlantic storm which ripped a section of his
mainsail mast track off and which left him racing the final miles upwind
across the Bay of Biscay with just his J3 jib and no mainsail.
Bellion’s CommeUnSeulHomme (meaning Stand As One) project promotes
positive roles for people of diverse abilities, encouraging companies
and organisations to embrace less able workers and realise the positive
contributions made. Under the banner #appelpourladifference he has
mobilised hundreds of thousands of followers to realise his positive
messages. Fourteen different companies with more than 80,000 workers
have supported his programme.
Before the start Bellion said: “I’m approaching it with a real sense
of pleasure. Sailing is my passion and I feel at home in the middle of
the ocean. Sailing in solo configuration is not something I’ve ever done
before so it’s a big challenge. This Vendée Globe is a gift to myself
for my fortieth birthday! I position myself among the non-professional
sailors and I’m here as an amateur and an adventurer. I’m not putting
myself under any pressure. I’m just aiming to sail a clean race and be
proud of myself at the end.”
Explaining the roots of his passion for
diversity and inclusion he explained: “As a child, I was taunted about
my father’s stuttering and I didn’t understand. Later on, I sailed with
mixed crews of able and less able-bodied sailors and there I understood
that difference is a key factor in a team’s happiness and success. Being
different is one of the hardest things to live with, but if we want to
be happy and grow together, it is the only way forward.”
Bellion’s
partnership with his boat, the Finot designed former DCNS, grow
stronger with every mile. In fact his boat had never finished a major
IMOCA race, indeed had never made it across the Equator until he and
young British skipper Sam Goodchild raced the Transat Jacques Vabre in
2015, as Bellion’s first big race. They finished seventh and the French
skipper learned a lot. Goodchild said today:
“Eric was clearly a very
experienced sailor with many ocean miles under his belt but he knew
nothing about an IMOCA or solo racing when he started. But he always
made it clear he wanted to learn. It was impressive to see how quickly
he learned though. Most of all it was fascinating to work with him, he
is incredibly inspirational. Three years ago he basically enough to be
safe at sea in any conditions, but now here he is finishing ninth in the
Vendée Globe. He had a dream and he set out to achieve it. Behind the
scenes he has a very happy, hard working team who have prepared the boat
so well and that is an insight as well into how he manages and inspires
everyone to do their best work. At first he struggled with the whole
thing, how to sleep when your boat is doing 20kts for example, that was
one of his biggest hurdles for him initially. But, like he does with
everything, he worked at it and found solutions.”
The race down the Atlantic
Eric Bellion began the race with a lot of questions of himself,
sailing at the rear of the fleet. CommeUnSeulHomme went a long way west
to get across the Doldrums, where he met Romain Attanasio (Famille
Mary-Etamine du Lys), who was to sail alongside him for a long time.
They headed south together talking on the VHF. Gradually, the skipper
saw that his boat could do better than finish 22nd, but he wondered
about his own ability. “It doesn’t come naturally to me like it does for
the experienced solo sailors. I’m trying to keep the brakes on, but the
boat wants to speed up.” Bellion took his race step by step, building
confidence on the way down the Atlantic. His chance came west after he
and five other skippers grouped together, holding back to allow a big
storm to pass in front of them. When they emerged Bellion sailed
steadily in the north of the group but built in confidence in the way he
could sail his boat, finally deciding to sail it how he felt he wanted
to and not trying just to follow the advice he has been given by
Desjoyeaux, Goodchild and others. From that point he sailed faster and
faster and was one of the quickest in the fleet mid December and in the
Pacific.
Discovery of the southern ocean
Bellion tested various ways of trimming and got used to his boat. He
was following in the wake of Arnaud Boissières, when in a strong gust,
his boat was knocked down causing his rudder stock to break. There was a
repair session for twelve hours, but in the end he was able to get back
in the race, feeling much more confident. At Christmas, in order to
avoid a big storm, Bellion slowed and encountered Alan Roura and Enda
O’Coineen. He gradually stepped up the pace in the Pacific, and overtook
the group formed by Fabrice Amedeo, Arnaud Boissières, Rich Wilson and
Conrad Colman. In ninth place at the Horn on 11th January – two days
behind Nandor Fa and nineteen after Armel le Cléach – Bellion was
enjoying himself. “I’m not the same man. There has been a radical
change. The lows used to scare me, but now I love fighting them.”
Tiring climb back up the Atlantic
Bellion
had to remove weed from his keel and avoid the horrible calms and deal
with violent gusts, before facing the lows in the North Atlantic. “I am
going through hell. This final part of the Vendée Globe is the toughest.
I wasn’t expecting that.” During his final week, his engine refused to
start and he had to save energy and repair his water-maker. He faced
hellish conditions 48 hours from the finish with 70-knot winds. His mast
track snapped off on CommeUnSeulHomme, forcing him to finish the race
under reduced sail.
Key moments in Eric Bellion’s race
On the day of the start Eric Bellion declared: “One thing at a time.
The exit from the harbour to start. I’m not aiming to win. We’re going
to try to enjoy ourselves.” After ten days of racing: “I’m a bit special in this race. I’m not
interested in the rankings. I’m sailing my own race. I enjoy every day
out on the water. I’m feeling more and more confident. I hadn’t imagined
so much emotion at the start. It took me 5 or 6 days to get over that.
This is my third solo race and it’s a big one. I feel alone, but not
like back on dry land. We’re kept busy with our boats around the clock.
This is the first time I have been alone for so long. I’m friends with
Isabelle Autissier, who told me that the Vendée is one mile, then two,
then three. I’m taking advantage of every day, as I know it could all
end tomorrow.”
6th Dec - rudder damage: Éric Bellion informed his shore team at 1720
UTC that his starboard rudder had been seriously damaged. He had been
sailing in heavy seas with winds averaging thirty knots. The boat was
knocked down in a gust in excess of fifty knots. Due to the violence of
the crash, the rudder stock twisted.
The rudder blade is still joined to
the boat, but cannot be used. He is heading for 47° (NE) under reduced
sail to find calmer seas which he should reach late in the morning. That
is when he intends to carry out repairs and fit his spare rudder.
13th Dec - 400 miles NW of Kerguelens, headed further NE to avoid big storm.
24th Dec - sails close to Alan Roura and duet
8th Jan alongside Conrad Colman, moves up to ninth
11th
Jan – 90 miles ahead of Conrad Colman: “I rounded Cape Horn for the
first time 12 years ago,”
Bellion said. “I was excited like a kid at
Christmas, and it’s the same again this time, but it’s not the same when
you’re sailing solo. I know what Cape Horn looks like, but this time
the approach to it is different. I can tell you that it’s quite tricky
here. I got hit by a 45-knot squall with some hail and huge waves. If
the Vendée Globe is an Everest, it is the Horn that is at the top and
the road to Les Sables d'Olonne is be the descent to the base camp.”
(www.vendeeglobe.org)
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