To The Finish - Vendee Arctique Race Report 3

When teams set out on a solo race to the Arctic Circle and back all of them knew that they would be venturing into new territory. No one had ever taken an IMOCA this far north, alone. They all knew the history of an event that had been derailed from its original objectives on both previous occasions by the weather. And all of them knew that the tactical challenges would push them hard. yet no one had predicted the emotional roller coaster that the entire fleet found itself enduring. From the front to the back there were highs and lows, storms, flat calms, penalties and heartbreak, all in just eight days. The racing went sown to the wire in one of the most dramatic finishes the IMOCA fleet has seen. As he stepped ashore Macif Santé Prévoyance skipper Sam Goodchild described the race as the most intense he had done. In our third feature on this outstanding race, we look at how the second half of the 3,500nm race played out. Plus, in this episode we have another helping of Docktalk.