Hello from Algimouss Spirit of Canada

At 22.00hr UTC Derek Hatfield departed Hobart, Tasmania on the reconditioned IMOCA 60 Algimouss Spirit of Canada, he is determined to complete the course that he started in November as a participant in the Vendee Globe single handed race around the world.

Derek will be posting regular updates and pictures along the way.

Team Algimouss Spirit of Canada

Hello from Algimouss Spirit of Canada

Hobart, Tasmania

It’s been six weeks since arriving in Hobart with Algimouss Spirit of Canada. During this time we have been slowly getting the boat back to sailing configuration. The remaining Vendee Globe competitors have been racing to the finish in Les Sables and it has been fantastic following the race from the sidelines but I must admit to a twinge of “unfinished business” for us as I watch and read about them going up the “channel” in Les Sables. It’s pure magic and it makes my resolve even stronger to be a part of the race again in four years time. The team has a lot of hurdles to overcome and they won’t be easy but that is why the Vendee Globe is the hardest race in the world.

The new rigging from Navtec has arrived and the two spreaders for the mast are slated to arrive early on Monday the 16th February and with some luck with the weather, the mast will be back up Monday evening. I’ve decided to sail the boat back and it will take about 3 days to prepare for departure. The auction for a co-skipper has not been productive and shipping the boat back has now been ruled out due to the costs. I am really anxious to get the boat home so that we can move forward with the campaign and start preparing for the future.

I plan on doing regular updates along the way and will provide as much commentary and pictures as possible. The route from Hobart will take us across the Tasman Sea, south of New Zealand, across the South Pacific, around Cape Horn and north to the North Atlantic. I won’t be alone on the course though as two other races are currently doing the same route. The Volvo Ocean Race and the Portimao Global Ocean Race fleets will be sailing the same waters and rounding the infamous set of rocks at Cape Horn at about the same.

More news on the departure from Hobart in about four day’s time

Take Care

Derek

Derek Hatfield and Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges announce a sailing opportunity of a lifetime for an individual sailor to co-skipper the IMOCA 60 Algimouss Spirit of Canada on the delivery leg from Hobart, Australia to Les Sable d’Olonne, France. The route will take the two sailors into the Southern Ocean; round the famous Cape Horn and northward in the Atlantics across the equator to France.

On 28th December 2008, Derek was forced to retire from the Vendee Globe 2008 after a large breaking wave rolled the IMOCA 60 Algimouss Spirit of Canada breaking two of the mast spreaders. Unable to complete repairs without outside assistance, Derek was forced to retire from the race and headed for Hobart in Tasmania where repairs are currently being completed. The boat will be ready to set sail again in February in order to deliver the boat back to the northern hemisphere for the 2009 IMOCA racing season.

Derek commented on this unique sailing offer; “We have been looking at a number of different options with regard to getting the boat back to France. We have a very limited budget and someone suggested that we might be able to raise money by auctioning off sailing positions on the delivery back to France. I know a lot of sailors would love to have a chance to sail in the remote southern ocean, round Cape Horn and cross the equator. This is a unique opportunity to do all of these things on an IMOCA 60 fully kitted out for the Vendee Globe. We are attempting to find out if there is any interest in this opportunity and if there is, we will hold an auction for the co-skipper position. The successful bidder can decide to sail the entire trip or leave the boat at a number of ports along the route.”

Individuals interested in this unique opportunity to sail an IMOCA 60 around Cape Horn, contact Derek Hatfield at: derek@spiritofcanada.net

Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges Team

Hello From Algimouss Spirit of Canada

It’s been a busy week for Patianne and I here in Hobart as we deal with the many issues surrounding the repair of Spirit of Canada. On Wednesday, we took the Open 60 around to the inner harbour and with the help of INCAT and the port authourity; TAS Ports; took the mast down with a crane. The mast is now safely stored in one of their warehouse facilities and will be there until we put it back up in a few weeks. On Friday, after dealing with the Customs paperwork, I shipped the broken pieces back to Composites Solutions in the Unites States and they will fix and/or replace the spreaders. It is a real testament to CSI and their carbon mast manufacturing ability in the fact that the mast is still standing. The mast did a lot of wobbling on the 1000 nautical mile sail to Hobart but remained intact. The five pieces of synthetic rigging that were damaged by the flogging spreaders have been packaged up as well and sent to Navtec in Connecticut for repair. We continue working on the long list of smaller repairs on the boat to bring Spirit of Canada back into fighting trim.

We also continue to work towards a plan to ship the boat home but there are many logistical and financial hurdles in order to complete this option. Our preference is to ship the boat to save the wear and tear on the boat but the cost of shipping the boat north is $110,000. We will continue to look for a sponsor to help finance this option. Obviously, it can be sailed back to Canada and that is why we are fixing the mast and getting the boat ready to sail so that this option is available. The repair bill for the mast, rigging, sails and assorted repairs and logistics alone will be around $80,000. Since the retirement from the race, we have received approximately $22,000 in donations from individuals and corporations wanting to help get us home so we need to raise another $58,0000 to bring the boat back to sailing configuration.

I’m following the race now when I can and I must say that it’s tough not being out there racing. As you can imagine, it was a real shocker to have to quit the race so suddenly and I am still recovering from it. The ocean is indiscriminate in its dealings with sailors and constantly reminds me that you cannot fight the elements but only learn to deal with the conditions. The blow of the retirement is even harder knowing that we were performing well and might have had a decent result given a finish. The attrition rate for this edition has been difficult and many of the incidents will have to be discussed by the organizers, skippers and sponsors going forward. IMOCA is already planning the next discussions and the evolution of the safety rules for the future of the class and the boats. I wish all of the remaining skippers good luck on their drive to the finish line.

We are still struggling here a bit logistically as we cannot secure permanent accommodation and access to the internet. That being said, we are making good progress and the Spirit of Canada Team is totally committed to getting the boat back into racing configuration and moving forward towards being back out sailing again.

Take care,

Derek