It was necessary to stay up until late to go and welcome Mark Slats second in this edition of the Golden Globe Race 2018. Despite everything, about fifteen boats came to meet him, braving the night, the wind and the swell. We were among them.
euros 23:18 Thursday, January 31, 2019, Mark Slats' Rustler 36 crossed the line materializing the finish line - between the South Nouch and the green lighthouse in the channel of Les Sables-d'Olonne: 214 days, 12 hours and 18 minutes!
Although the excitement of the arrival of VDH was not present, many brave spectators came to watch the entry into the channel.
Welcomed at the pontoon by VDH
euros his arrival at the pontoon Mark is welcomed by Jean-Luc Van den Heede in person euros winner of this 2018 edition. It will be Jean-Luc who will conduct the interview for the journalists. Mark counted us his adventures and stories that he lived at sea, happy to share his emotions.
Unlike Jean-Luc, for whom this race was an additional round-the-world race, for Mark it is a great discovery. He has never participated in a competition: "This is the second race I have participated in. The first was the prologue!" He embarked on this Golden Globe Race like a great leap into the unknown. He tells us about his strongest moments, his best memories and his worst fears, which often come from the same situation: "I was extremely disappointed 3 days ago when the weather became very bad and I had to divert to A Coruña. If I had stopped in La Coruña, I would never have been able to leave. I really wanted to get to Les Sables d'Olonne. I talked with cargo ships and the "Finistère traffic control" because I had no map of this area.
The captain of one of the cargo ships called me: "I sailed 20 years on yachts. I looked at the weather charts and I think that if you turn north now there is a window to go to Les Sables-d'Olonne", he told me. I could not have had a better weather window. We talked for half an hour and he explained everything to me. I think it was one of the happiest moments of this race. I found myself on deck, on the windward side of the boat, just like in a regatta. The wind was coming from the northwest. I sailed along the mainland, there were 10 meter waves coming across the boat. The hood broke again. But for 4 hours I was so happy. It was a really good time."
A man at the service of his boat
In spite of the harsh conditions and the difficult situations the boat has been through, she remains very clean. It must be said that his skipper took good care of him. Mark dived 7 times to clean the hull. He also climbed the mast twice to repair and untwist the windvane and the VHF antenna. Demanding and very physical operations. It must be said that this 42-year-old man is a true sportsman, strong and enduring. In January 2017 he broke the record for rowing across the Atlantic. The physical effort and the mental iron, he knows.
He even used this rowing experience to row his boat forward when the wind was lacking: "I didn't row as much as I already did euros 18 hours a day. That said, I rowed again, two days ago. In the south of New Zealand, I rowed 12 hours a day for 2 days. I rowed for 2 hours and then I rested for 2 hours. That's why I still have a good amount of fuel."
euros freshwater courteuros
This endurance probably also saved his life. Since January 1st, he has no fresh water source. For 25 days he has to pump with his emergency water maker to get a few drops of water: "Five days ago I thought that 10 liters of water would be enough, but it was limited. I didn't drink anything all day. You have to pump 4 to 5 hours a day at a rate of 0.5 liter per hour. I counted 1562 times to get 0.7 liters. At first I couldn't pump more than 30 minutes at a time. With a little training, I was able to last 2 hours. But as I climbed north, it got hotter and hotter and to pump those 0.7 liters of water, I was sweating 0.5 liters."
The Golden Globe Race is a race that everyone experiences differently. But whether the goal is competition or adventure, it is certain that these sailors will long remember this solo, unassisted, old-fashioned circumnavigation of the globe.
