Interview with Vendee Globe star Pip Hare in Les Sables d’Orlonne, France
An unexpected invitation from Helly Hansen to interview Vendee Globe sailor Pip Hare in Les Sables d’Olonne early June (where her boat, Madallia, was moored), was something I was keen to accept having followed Pip’s progress throughout the 2020 Vendee Globe race when she finished a credible 19th out of 35 starters when only 25 boats actually finished the race
Helly Hansen’s PR arranged for me to fly from Gatwick to Nantes where a car picked me up to drive me to Cote Ouest Spa Hotel just outside Les Sables d’Orlonne, about a two hour journey. The rest of the journalist were booked on a later Ryan Air flight from Stansted which fortunately gave me time me to investigate local surroundings before wse met up for a pre-dinner drink which was followed by a delicious supper in the hotel’s restaurant. The only journalist of the group I knew was Sue Pelly, the last time we met was during the 2019 Cowes Week Regatta!.
However, the first time I met Pip Hare was also back in 2019 in the RORC offices in Mayfair alongside five other female skippers all taking part in the 2020 Vendee Globe race. For Pip, this was unchartered waters and her first attempt at the Vendee Globe often described as the world’s most gruelling race. At the time we met, the race was less than a year away and Pip was still desperately short funds – how things have changed since those early days. After finishing the 2020 race, having coped with several dangerous mishaps and regularly kept followers fully informed via videos clips, she clearly demonstrated that come hell or high water, how utterly determined she was to finish her first Vendee Globe race.
Some may remember back In 2001 an unknown 24 year old, Ellen MacArthur who took part in her first Vendee Globe race as the youngest ever competitor, and became the fastest woman to circumnavigate the globe. Pip, on the other hand was already 46 before she took up the gauntlet and will be 50 when she competes in the next 2024 Vendee Globe race.
The following day, Pip gave an interesting presentation explaining the many problems encountered during her last race as well and the business logistics needed to run a successful campaign while maintaining strict training routines. Following lunch we were driven to the Marina to visit Madallia, her now famous boat moored alongside other Vendee Globe boats all preparing to take part in the Vendee Archtique qualifying race on a course that would take them around Iceland and back (but that’s another story). Since the 2020 Vendee Globe, Medallia has had a complete re-fit and now has foils attached to her hull. Wearing Helly Hansen kit, we clambered on board and were given a sort of conducted tour of how things worked for a single handed sailor utilising the smallest of spaces which I found fascinating, particularly below deck where most of the work, plotting routes and weather forecasts is done.
She also told us about the selection of dried food she eats and mixes with hot water and showed us the tiny container she boils water in whilst wrestling with winds reaching up to 40 miles an hour. Racing in these ever changing conditions requires bucket loads of guts and unlimited determination especially if spending the best part of three months alone at sea where everything is thrown at you, storms, icy seas, exhaustion, lack of sleep , rigging failures and the frequent need of engineering skills to repair broken engines. She also explained how she had to train her body to accept short cat naps to replenish lost energies and was often forced to keep awake during storms and busy ship lanes.
We were also shown an eye watering number of sails needed for various types of weather and her famous beanbag where she relaxes and wraps herself up in for relaxing catnaps. The whole visit was a fascinating insight to single handed racing and left me tremendously impressed by Pip’s guts and determination to take part in the 2024 Vendee Globe Race .
Meanwhile my return to Gatwick was one of those nightmares I had previously only read about when Helly Hansen’s PR told me my Easyjet flight from Nantes to Gatwick had been cancelled and the only flight available was Ryan Air to Stansted, leaving the next day – I wasn’t too pleased as I had left my car at Gatwick but these days international travel days is almost as precarious as sailing around the world in a single handed race …. !!
