The shape of 2022
I am often asked if I wish I had broken into the Vendée Globe race earlier in my career, having finally made it to the start in 2020 at the age of 46. The answer is unequivocally ‘no’. I have made it to the top level of solo ocean racing, at an incredible time.
The interest in the Vendée Globe race is at an all-time high and there are more teams than ever before vying for a place on the start line in 2024. The organising committee have expanded the number of entries from 34 to 40, but currently have over 55 teams registering an interest in taking the start. This year the entry requirements also changed, and the rule allowing a skipper who had finished the preceding Vendée an automatic entry has been removed. So, like everyone else I am going to have to fight for my place.
The rules for entry are as follows:
Every skipper must race in and finish at least two qualification events, one in 2022 or 2023 and one in 2024, in the boat that they intend to race during the Vendée.
If more than 40 skippers meet these criteria then the places will be awarded as follows:
13 places will be awarded to new build boats (there are currently 15 new build projects on the go).
1 place can be awarded as a ‘wild card’ by the race committee to a competitor of their choice
The remaining 26 places will be awarded on cumulative mileage built up racing in official IMOCA races. Solo races will be weighted over double handed with a capped mileage available for those racing fully crewed in the Ocean Race.
Banking miles is going to be essential and to bank miles, I need to enter and finish as many races as I – and my shore team – can comfortably manage.
I am not worried about securing my place in the race but I certainly don’t take it for granted. The competition is already fiercer than it has ever been and, despite having finished the previous race, I am going to have to fight to get to the next one just as hard as I did last time. Though this puts a huge amount of pressure on us as a team, it guarantees an exciting year for all you spectators, which is a great thing for the sport I love. There are going to be plenty of races to watch and many teams to get to know while we all battle it out to be allowed to start the toughest sailing race on the planet. I hope it will keep those who already follow sailing engaged and entertained and inspire a new audience to join them.
There is a tiny part of me that feels a little bit cheated that the automatic entries previous editions’ finishers had is not available to me, having earned my stripes. But the reality is I would have been out there racing anyway. I want to learn my boat, to practice, to compete, to progress and gain in confidence and the only way to do that is on the water racing. So I think the new qualification system is both sensible and fair.
We are going to have to be careful though. I will want to do well in races, but also be mindful of that fact that if I damage the boat, for example break the mast, to an extent where I can’t finish a race or may not be able to make the start of other races, then this will have a knock-on effect on my eligibility for the Vendée Globe. I am going to need to walk the fine line between risk and reward carefully. I will need to have my eyes on the big goal – always – and make sure I don’t get lost in one moment; much the same as racing around the world, I guess. You always need to have your eyes on the end goal.
We are going to need to work hard as a team. There are some tight turnarounds between racing, we will be away from home a lot, travelling between race starts and finishes, packing up the team, our tools, spares and office and working our way around race venues. At each new venue the team will need to repair, prepare and deliver a race-tuned boat ready to go. I will need to use time between races to work with them on development and tuning as well as working with coaches on improving my own skillset and maintaining my physical condition.
We will need to set up camp, establish working environments, find places to train, to live, to sleep and many of the team will be away from family and friends for extended periods. It’s a proper life on the road with a blend of the excitement and buzz of the race villages, pre-start nerves, tracker-watching, while I sail the course, getting the boat back home safely, then packing it all up and moving on to the next event. It is not all glamour. There are late nights, long journeys, the weather can be mean and working conditions difficult. But we are passionate and we are proud to be a British sailing team in the mix at these international events.
As well as my usual updates and insights from board during the races, we hope to share more of the behind-the-scenes action with you from our wider team. So you can see what it’s like to be on the road with Pip Hare Ocean Racing and get to know some of the people that make the racing happen. We will be sharing this content on our YouTube channel.
Here is an outline of the year, to whet your appetites for what lies ahead:
March – Launch boat in Gosport, shakedown sailing in Poole.
April – Early season training in Cascais, Portugal. Moving the team south for April will allow us to bank valuable early season training and tuning. The days are longer, we will have more predictable weather and can guarantee more sailing days.
May – Bermudes 1000 race – A solo race from Douarnanez in Brittany down to the Azores and back. Qualification race miles.
June – Vendée Arctique Race – A 3000-mile solo course from Les Sables d’Olonne to a way-point off Iceland, and back. This will also be a recce opportunity for the wider race team as the event start will be in the same venue as the Vendée Globe Race. Qualification race miles.
July – Training from Poole
August – Round Britain and Ireland Race – Fully crewed (five up). This is not an official IMOCA race but it is a great British race and I love it and am keen to support our own vibrant offshore racing scene.
September – Defi Azimut – solo race from Lorient in Brittany. If I have completed the other races in the year, I may not do this – it depends how many miles I have banked and how we are feeling about the programme in general. Qualification race miles.
October – preparation for the Route du Rhum in Poole
November – Route du Rhum race – solo race from St Malo (France) to Guadeloupe. This is THE big race of the year. The race start is always incredible. It is a big event and will also provide qualification miles
December – cruise back home.
I’ve had January off to rest, recover and build up to a base level of physical fitness. I arrive back in the UK next week and will hit the ground running. It’s a big year for sure. Let’s bring it on.