A line in the sand to start 2022

One of my final training days in November 2021

I am not a great one for New Year’s resolutions. For me, any day can bring hope, change, challenges and an opportunity to move forwards.  This is one of the things I love so much about long-distance ocean racing – the opportunities to learn and improve on past performance keep coming, the weather keeps changing, you can pick yourself up after mistakes or misfortune and try to push a little bit further up the fleet, right until the finish line, regardless of where you are on the race track.

That said, the year end in the UK provides a natural break in the sailing calendar. The days are short and cold, the opportunities to train become sub optimal so it makes sense to take our boat out of circulation. With Medallia safely tucked up in a dry shed, under refit, I am able to step off the rollercoaster for a few weeks and rest, and plan for the year ahead.

The pace at which my team and I have worked through 2021 has been ferocious. Together we have grown both the sailing team and my business from my ‘one woman band’ to a crew of thirteen, full and part time staff running a foiling IMOCA campaign. Since the beginning of 2019, when I started out alone and with nothing, determined to make it to the start of the Vendee Globe Race, I felt like I was pushing a boulder up a hill. I could never stop pushing, because it would roll back down and I never did. I gave it everything that I had and then made sure I enjoyed every moment of the race I had fought so hard to start. Once the race had finished, I continued to push the boulder, wanting to make it to the next level and delighted that Medallia felt the same way.

Acquiring our new boat in June 2021 was like arriving at the top of the hill with my boulder and since then it has been rolling fast down the other side and I feel like I am running hard to keep up with it. It’s the same energy, the same focus, just a very different pace and lots of things have changed.

Building a team has been a new experience for me. I have had to hand over the running and management of my campaign to other people. I have had to learn to trust that they will do things as well or better than I can and to understand that my refusal to let go will stop them from flying within their roles. It has been hard and I have not got it completely right. I have been scared to let go fearful to see my dreams and passions and hard graft come to a halt without my shoulder to the wheel. But we have recruited carefully and I am now surrounded by competent, careful, passionate people who want to be part of a Vendee Globe team and to make us all a success. 

 So, I have finally had the last one of my fingers, prised off the tiller and I’ve been able to come away for a few weeks to the warmer climate of Lanzarote where I am having my first break in three years, focussing on my physical training and getting some rest before a huge season ahead.

 And yes, this year-end does mark a line in the sand for me. When I come back to the UK, I will need to fulfil a different role within the team; a role I have aspired to for my entire adult life. For the first time ever in my career, and in the 48th year of my life I am going to be a full time professional sportsperson. 

Making the most of the fantastic conditions in Lanzarote to cross train.

What does this actually mean? How is it actually going to change my day-to-day life? Well, it means that my job going forwards is only to focus on being the best sailor I can, as well as representing the team in an official capacity. Though I will still be involved in business decisions and have an overview of the running of the team, I can now prioritise my own development over the business needs of campaign. I don’t have to work all day and all night to cover all bases. I don’t have to feel guilty for switching off my laptop early, or going sailing instead of chasing new leads or answering correspondence.

 I am both excited and terrified of this incredible opportunity. In my last Vendee Globe race, I managed a great result as an underdog. I was always the bottom of the pile, I never invested in myself and at the start I was exhausted and had managed only one day of personal development over the whole of the two-year campaign. Now I have the chance to push myself harder and further, to really develop as a sailor and hand on heart I am more afraid of failure now than I was then because I have no excuses and nowhere to hide. But one thing has not changed and that is my determination and my drive. I know how to learn and I gain confidence from practicing over and over again. To be in the position where I can develop as a sailor and an athlete and not have to feel guilty, or conflicted or concerned about not doing other work is the most incredible privilege and I embrace it. 

 So, my new year is going to be a fun one. I am running, biking and weight training daily, working remotely with my personal trainer Rob and making the most of the dry warm climate in the Canaries. I am loving going to bed early and I have read a whole book from cover to cover for the first time in years. I’m also learning to wing foil and it is a beautiful thing to learn a truly new skill.

Learning a new skill in the Canary Islands sun