Torresen Sailing Site Report From Charleston SC for September 25th

Today is the eve of the biggest race of their lives for some of the Around Alone fleet. For others it is the next big race in a long line of them. And for yet others it is the eve of the grandest dream that they have ever thought of. The sailors of the Around Alone fleet are a very diverse group.

A week spent watching this group closley reveals the different ways in which they approach Around Alone and what the meaning of it is to them.

For most of the boats in Class I falls under the category of this is the next big race for the skippers. For Isabelle Autissier this will be her 3rd Around Alone, and just this year alone she has sailed from New York to San Fransisco and also done 2 legs of the Whitbread. For Mike Golding this is the next in a series of around the world races. He has completed two British Steel Challenge circumnavigations and will do the Vendee Globe race after this. For Giovanni Soldini it is the follow up the the Atlantic Alone race which he one. All of the above mariners have new Finot 60 boats. They have large uniformed support crews. Yesterday a member of Group 4's team had on a Silk Cut shirt, likely left over from the Whitbread. By the afternoon, he had on red shorts and the black Group 4 shirt that all other team members, including Golding wear. Surely with all of this funding and success comes pressure to win. These folks think in terms of Around Alone as a race, a series of tactics and routing decisions.

There is another group to whom Around Alone is more important in terms of dreams and romance. To be honest, this group has no chance of victory. There is a growing body of thought that says they should not be allowed to race. That for Around Alone to grow it must become an all professional event. The idea is that the commercial success of the Whitbread is easily transferable. They should be remembered that the Whitbread is a unique event in sailings history, and could even be a fluke. Still, in this edition of Around Alone there is room for the dreamers. Origionally the idea of sailing around the world was a dream and not reality. And while even Robin Knox Johnston had sponsorhip in his pioneering 1969 voyage, his vessel was not ideal for the race. This is the same situation the dreamers find themselve in. Some have sponsors. Most of their boats are older and slower than one would desire. The dreamers though they provide color and hope. Take Minoru Saito of Japan. He has done this race twice before. He has no sponsors. Look at him as hustles around the docks. He talks in a high energy mixture of Japenese and English. His boat looks disorganized from the outside. However, Minorou always seems happy- smiling and living his dream. In class one is Modern University for the Humanities sailed by Fedor Konioukhov. His boat is old, but he has enough sponosors (including Torresen Sailing Site). During the race Fedor will study for a law degree. He may not worry as much about lead position, or shroud tension, but he has been to the top of Mt. Everest and the poles of the Earth, so really this race does phase him. Finishing this race for Fedor will mean another dream accomplished. In the end as this race unflods it is important to remember that there are many varying personalities in this race.

As we observe the race let's remember it's a race for and about individuals and we should honor everyone just for having the courage to compete.