Sailing Magazine
By Richard Crockett
Singlehanded ocean racing is tough, very tough, and is best illustrated by the feature article today of the 1996/97 Vendee Globe race when several yachts capsized and one disappeared without trace.
The drama of the Du Bois and Bullimore rescues 1 400 miles south-west of Perth in early January was not matched by the quiet disappearance of second placed Canadian skipper Gerry Roufs some 2 200 miles west of Cape Horn.
On 7 January the Argos beacon on ‘Groupe LG’ stopped localising and Isabelle Autissier sailing ‘PRB’ in close proximity to ‘Groupe LG’ alerted race headquarters that she could no longer make contact with Rouf’s. With winds blowing at 70 knots Isabelle Autissier turned back towards the last known position of ‘Groupe LG’.
Ultimately the 1996/97 Vendee Globe fleet was battered beyond belief. Out of sixteen starters there were just six competitors left and they were spread out over 6 000 miles of Atlantic Ocean.
READ THIS INTERESTING FEATURE HERE: Pages from 1997 03 – SA Yachting – OCR
