Scott Shawyer was up before the sun peaked over the church steeples of Newport last Thursday to deliver his IMOCA 60 Be Positive Water to New York and catch up with the rest of the NY-Vendee fleet ahead of yesterday's Vendee Liberty speed trials. The Canadian happily entertained more than 20 curious and enthusiastic guests during the exhibition runs then went right back to work checking systems with his shore crew today.
Shawyer is full-on, but is not aiming for November’s Vendee Globe like many of the skippers are, all of whom are razor-focused on their qualifying miles and the transatlantic race. This transat will be his first big solo race, a massive milestone in his quest to sail in the 2028 Vendee. Still, he joins the other campaigners with the same pressures and endless job lists as he prepares for next week’s start.
The scene on the docks in Newport and New York last week revealed a spread of sails, tools and even local delicacies like frosted pastries from Dunkin’ Donuts as a steady flow of marine professionals moved in and out of the cabins of the 60 footers. Up and down rigs they went in mountaineering harnesses and the buzz of grinders, shouts aloft and the precise and silent needlework of the sailmakers were all heard and seen this week, rain or shine.
“We’re happy with the condition we got the boat back in after the repairs in the Azores,” said Peter Hobson a technical director who was on hands and knees dockside of Clarisse Cremer’s L’Occitaine, sizing up carbon and foam panels for structural repairs on the boat.
Cremer’s IMOCA was damaged early in the recent Transat CIC that brought the boats to North America.
Newport, unlike New York, has a vibrant community of marine industry specialists on the waterfront from electricians, sailmakers and boatbuilders, to engineers, mechanics and divers. Hobson and the other shore crews are loving the support.
“It feels familiar in a sense,” said Hobson, who lives near the ports along the south coast of England. “It’s far away from home, but it doesn’t feel that far.”
Cremer’s Azores stop was disruptive to say the least, but more damaging was the condensed schedule in Newport ahead off next week’s transatlantic.
“I have nine days or less before the transat. So I think it’s just enough to be a bit rested,” said Cremer who still needs qualifying miles to make the starting list in November’s Vendee Globe. “There will be some lasting tiredness I will take back with me on the sea. I will be a bit less rested than other skippers. I’m mainly focusing on trying to rest as much as I can.”
Cremer has been spending time with her family while keeping up with the repair updates and also traveling back and forth to New York for sponsor meetings. With all this going on, she sees advantages to her shortened visit to the Northeast.
“I don’t have enough time to be out of the racing,” Cremer said, referring to how sailors get accustomed to the rhythm of land life versus the cat naps and focus needed solo sailing offshore. “I won’t be surprised next week. It’s still kind of a second nature for me to be at sea alone on my boat. I don’t really have a choice but to be positive.”
Swiss sailor Oliver Heer also had a shocking accident in the recent transat with a capsize off the treacherous, and foggy, Grand Banks off of New Foundland. He had to sail the last one-third of the race with little to no electronics, including his autopilot. Connecting solar panels to a small engine starter battery gave him moments to rest as the pilot worked but that didn’t last long.
“When I had my roll over for me it was very important I finish the race to get the qualifying miles,” said Heer who has been using connections he has made in Newport as a boat captain in the past.
Heer has little time to rest and is still recovering from driving his boat 20 hours a day during the previous race. He has worked with legendary Vendee Globe sailor Alex Thomson who has advised him for what will be his first Vendee Globe in November. He also uses a mental performance coach, like Thomson has, to help manage stress.
“Almost every day now I have sessions with my coach,” said Heer who was finishing up fixes this week to his electrical system. “I’m working through the drama I had in the last race to be able to move on and be fully focused and ready for the next race.”
That "next race" is on Wednesday, when the 28 boats in the NY-Vendee fleet will head under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to the starting line 80 miles to the south. With luck and long hours, sails, boats, bodies and minds will be repaired and ready to return to Les Sables d’Olonne, the home of the Vendee Globe.
