Vendée Arctique Q&A

Vendée Arctique Q&A

Before and after the race, Pip answered your questions from across social media:

What are you most excited for about the race?

The opportunity for a longer race, which will mean more time on the boat learning more and finding my stride

How long will you sleep?

It’s hard to sleep in the first 24 hours of a race but I’ll try to bank some sleep maybe 4 or 5 hours after the start 10/15 minutes at a time and I’ll keep trying to do that throughout the race and bank anything at all

Are you ready for the race?

Yes there’s always going to be little things that are outstanding but I’m feeing prepared

What part will be the toughest?

The whole race is very challenging , the meteorology looks difficult, it will be hard managing the cold and the current but I don’t think one element will be harder than another

Have you done the Vendée Arctique before?

This is my first participation and the first time I will have gone further north than the top of Shetland

Are you nervous?

I feel good, I want to do my best and I’m worried about all the things you’d worry about on a race like this but I’m not too nervous

What do you love about being offshore?

I love just being completely immersed in nature, which is incredible, and also the endless opportunities there are to make gains, challenge yourself, push harder, when you make mistakes to recover from them…just opportunity!

Is this a good race to prepare for the Vendée Globe?

This is a great race, it’s a little longer, the weather conditions are challenging but all of these races are about banking miles, learning the boat, pushing yourself under intense pressure and making mistakes and recovering, it’s all great practise

Great race - what happened with the ballast issue at the end?

Hand on heart it was human error - I was going fast and I left the scoop to fill the ballast tank down for too long, so the tank filled and water was going in faster than it could get out. I’m annoyed with myself and it was 100% avoidable

Why the IMOCA class?

Because that’s the class that races in the Vendée Globe, but also I love the size and speed of the boats, the design keeps on advancing and it’s an exciting class to be part of

What’s your treat/comfort onboard?

My fleece blanket, the boat gets cold and damp so I only get it out when I want to have a longer sleep because it’s really cosy

What do you think of the covered cockpit?

It was amazing when we got into the big breeze, and at the top of the course I put the awning down which was the first time I have used that, the temperature difference was incredible but I’m keen to take it off as soon as the weather is better as I like access to the sky

Did you ever think the conditions were too much?

No it was great - although you never choose to be in those sorts of breeze it was a great test for the boat and it felt solid all the time

How did you feel when you heard the race would finish earlier?

I was disappointed, I’d started to get into my stride and was enjoying the race but you have to take these decisions as and when they come. The race management are trying to do what is best for the fleet as a whole and so I accepted it but was disappointed

Do you get scared and how do you calm down?

I wouldn’t say I get scared but I do have anxiety at times, I worry about what could happen and the way I calm down is to rationalise all of those worries and think about the problem, why I’m worried about it and go through in my head all of the things I’ve done to build skill and prepare the boat and make myself strong. I go through all of the safety training and all of the things I’ve put in place to make sure the worse doesn’t happen and that makes me calmer

How did you get your start in non regional large regattas?

It’s difficult because it does come down to funding and I didn’t start sailing under my own name in larger regattas until I was 35 when I bought a boat instead of a house, I lived on it and used it to race. My first regatta was OSTAR, from Plymouth to Newport Road Island and before then I did international racing as part of other people’s teams, I matched raced as part of the Cayman Islands and won my class in the women’s keelboat championships two years in a row and that’s been on other people’s boats - it took me a while to get my own boat and get going

Have you ever felt really scared of the force of nature?

I’m never scared but I am so respectful of it. The worse conditions I’ve ever been in were the Bay of Biscay, hurricane force winds of over 70 knots for 36 hours, and the waves were 9m and the boat I was in got rolled upside down. The weather and nature can do that so I’m massively respectful of it - I never take anything for granted and I’m always ready for things to change

Head over to YouTube to watch Pip’s Vendée Arctique journey