Writing in The Times Ed Gorman comments about “Ellen MacArthur becoming the greatest of all solo sailors…”

Gorman mentions “her twin victories in transtlantic races and her second place in the Vendée Globe single-handed round-the-world race four years ago”

He says these, “would give MacArthur an unmatched career performance, taking her past those who inspired her as a child, the knights of British sailing, Sir Francis Chichester, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Sir Chay Blyth.”

I’m a big backer/long time supporter of Ellen’s dating back to the run up to her Vendee Globe campaign. Nobody is better than Ellen when it comes to ‘grunting up’ and ‘getting on with it’ no matter the circumstances.

Whether she will be the greatest, takes me back to prior to the Vendee Globe. Then her associate Nick Moloney was attempting to become the 1st to: sail the Whitbread/Volvo (fully crewed around the world), Jules Verne (crewed/fastest around the world) and solo around the world. Moloney’s goal beacame unmet when he lost his keel off Brazil.

Writing about this I commented, “f Moloney achieves his goal I would put him amongst but not above any of the above sailors. Even a win I don’t think makes me rank him above others.”

For instance Michel Desjoyeaux has won the Vendee Globe, the Figaro and the Transat. All in different types of boats.

Macarthur’s CV would show Transat wins in both directions, a 2nd in an around the world race- all in Open 60’s- and an around the world record in a trimaran should she come good.

Does this= the greatest? Well, Desjoyeaux was the winner of the Vendee when Ellen came 2nd. Desjoyeaux also has creds in both monos and tris. And the record that Macarhtur is working to break was set in dramatic fashion by Francis Joyon just last year. I know this statment is eminetly arguable but I’ll say a new record won’t make Ellen the greatest solo sailor. My crux would be that Desjoyeaux beat her in the Vendee Globe.

“Ellen is 24 miles through a 26-mile marathon, she has hit the ‘wall’, where energy levels drop to irrecoverable levels, she’s torn a few muscles, has bad blisters, and her shoes are close to falling apart,”

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