Joined: 16/03/2009
Posts: 3
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What an unprecedented Vendee Globe. First, Frenchman Michel Desjoyeaux breaks the race record with a crazy solo round the world victory in 84 days and change. The French may have swept the top 3 spots, but an English yachtswoman finished 4th. Personally, I think the most exciting finish was that of Rich Wilson who came in 9th. He was only the second American ever to finish the race, but that is not the crowning achievement of his finish. See, a few of you old-schoolers out there may recall his name from the 1980 Newport-Bermuda race when he became the youngest skipper to ever win that race. That's right. 1980. Now, at age 58 Wilson is the oldest skipper to finish the Vendee Globe. Out of 30 boats that started the race, only 11 finished. Wilson's story gets even better, because he's not a professional captain, he left the racing circut years ago to pursue a career in academics. Just goes to show, just because you are old-school, as long as you sail fast, you never grow old.
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Rich Wilson deserves high praise for his achievement. I urge everyone to check out his website:
http://www.sitesalive.com/
You'll learn why he participated in the Vendee, hint: it's not about him!
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Joined: 12/12/2008
Posts: 22
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It was a great race this year. Shame the VG is over. It was a nice distraction from all the bleak news in the news. I read that Rich Wilson cracked a rib early in the race to boot. He's a great role model.
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It was a great race. I was hoping Samantha Davies would have pulled an Ellen MacAurthur. But I guess it will be a long time before anyone steals the spotlight from Desjoyeaux. Wilson may be a professor but Desjoyeaux is "the professor" he's the one who's schooling all the sailors.
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