ECOVER 3 - Mike Golding

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ECOVER 3 - Mike Golding

Home Port: UK
Boat Type: Sailboat
Manufacturer: Hakes Marine Construction
Boat Model: Open 60
Boat Length: 60
Boat Year: 2007
Boat Designer: Oliver

ECOVER 3 - Mike Golding Crew:

Mike Golding

 ECOVER 3 - Mike Golding's Gallery (click thumbnails to view boat photos and videos):

 




ECOVER 3 - Mike Golding's Recent News, Blogs, Polls, and Forum Posts:

 

Vendée Globe Week 7 - Half Way There!



22 Dec

Six weeks in now, and the attrition rate in this Vendée Globe has been as predicted:  Devastating.  Now only 18 of the original fleet of 30 are still in the race, and with half the course to go, several of the remaining yachts and sailors are having trouble of one sort or another.  There's good reason why this race is known as one of the toughest competitions in the world; sailing solo around the Pole, at breakneck speeds, these contenders are pushing technology and human endurance to the limits, and as we saw last week, sometimes over the limits.

 

Vendee Globe Race

Mike Golding Dismasted Sailing in the Vendee Globe - UPDATED with Video



17 Dec

Southern Oceans - Mike Golding, a favorite to win this year's Vendee Globe around the world yacht race, has been dismasted.  Mike was leading the fleet, sailing his Open 60 yacht Ecover about 830 miles south of Cape Leeuwin, Australia Tuesday morning when the damage occurred. "I was below deck when a squall came through with winds of 55 knots" said Mike to his shore team.  "It basically went from being a near gale to a hurricane, and the mast didn't like it."

Mike Golding Ecover 3 Vendee Globe

Vendée Globe Week 6 - Dropping Like Flies - News and Video



15 Dec

Southern Ocean - After five weeks, the fleet has entered the toughest waters of the world, in the toughest race in the world. The 2008-2009 Vendée Globe fleet is in the snow and ice, with up to 60 knot winds buffeting the craft and waves that look like giant blackened teeth, ready to chew these boats up, and spit them out. Three more yachts fell out last week, meaning that nearly a third of the fleet has retired from the race, and its less than half over. This is sailing writ large, and it looks like things may get worse before they get better.

 

Vendee Globe Photos

Vendée Globe Week Five - "Chasing the Dawn"



08 Dec

The Vendée Globe sailors have made the turn to the East. At the beginning of week five, the fleet is now down to 24 boats, as Unai Basurko aboard Pakea Bizkaia has officially retired from the race with rudder problems. The yachts are in the South, and the trip around the pole has begun. If the first part of the race was the shakedown, and the last part is the sprint, then what the fleet is doing now is running the gauntlet. It's make or break time in the Vendée Globe.

 

Last week's Vendée Globe highlights:

Vendee Globe photos

Vendée Globe - Week 4



01 Dec

Three weeks into the Vendée Globe Race, and 25 boats remain from the fleet of thirty. Delta Dore officially joined the ranks of the bruised and battered when Jérémie Beyou resigned from the race with unrepairable damage.  The pack is tight, the winds have shifted, and the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe is nearing the Southern Oceans.  The first

Vendee Globe

Vendée Globe Week 3 - Hitting Below the Belt



24 Nov

Equatorial Atlantic - Two weeks in, and most boats in the Vendée Globe fleet have now crossed the 0° line, finding themselves solidly in the Southern Hemisphere.  Foulies have given way to swimsuits (or birthday suits), Neptune has been appeased with champagne and goodies, Winter is in the wake, and the South Atlantic awaits.

 

Vendée Globe

Vendée Globe Race - Week Two



17 Nov

Eastern Atlantic - Amazing that it's only one week in, and nearly a third of the boats sailing in the Vendée Globe fleet have had to turn back.  Tough storm conditions and bleeding edge boats don't always mix well, and in the rush for last-minute preparations, some of the IMOCA Open 60's simply weren't ready.  Luckily, though some of the boats are in bad shape, the injuries reported were mostly in the form of bangs, bruises, wrenched muscles and tired backs.

 

Vendée Globe 2008-2009

Vendee Globe 2008-2009 Start with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston



09 Nov

Les Sables d'Olone, France - Around Alone:  Two words that every sailor understands to be the ultimate challenge.  To circumnavigate solo is so difficult that more people have traveled in outer space than have sailed non-stop around the world singlehanded, and far more have climbed Everest.  There is no greater test of a person and a boat, and those 30 sailors that set out today on the Vendée Globe race will be racing against themselves as much as each other.  As nearly every one of them we spoke to has said, they'll be l

Vendee Globe 2008 2009

Vendée Globe Skipper in the Spotlight - Mike Golding



19 Oct

There are good sailors, and then there are great sailors. The ability to overcome adversity is key to ocean sailing, and often absolutely critical in ocean racing, and you have to be good to make it out there. "Greatness," however, is only apparent when things are at their worst. If, for instance, you can lose your keel, and still finish a race, you're a damned good sailor. If you can do that in the Vendée Globe 'round the world race, and actually make it to the podium, you're a Great sailor, and your name is Mike Golding.

 

On the Velux 5 ocean race, Mike heroically turned into a storm and sailed back 90nm to rescue fellow sailor Alex Thomson, putting himself in harm's way and causing enough damage to take him out of the race as well. On the last Vendée Globe, he placed third despite having no keel on his IMOCA Open 60 (risking constant capsize). Now on a brand new boat (Ecover 3), and with two Vendée Globe races behind him, Mike is one of the favorites to win this year's event, and he spent some time this week giving YachtPals the inside scoop on the

Mike Golding Vendee Globe Skippers

In a Familiar Town - Mike Golding

Mike Golding's picture


We set out from Southampton on Monday after taking Sunday off to enable the team to regroup and rest after the preceding weeks push to get the boat finished and loaded. Our goal has always been to leave Southampton for LSD ( Les Sables D'Olonne) with ECOVER 3 fully cocked and ready to leave on the Vendee Globe and by-enlarge we have achieved this goal. Fuel, food, spares and equipment are now all aboard and the boat is fully in Vendee trim, this is important as the boat is seldom so heavily loaded when racing and will naturally perform slightly differently.
 

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 ECOVER 3 - Mike Golding's Boat Information:

Boat Name: ECOVER 3 - Mike Golding
Boat Type: Sailboat
Boat Manufacturer: Hakes Marine Construction
Boat Model: Open 60
Boat Length: 60
Boat Year: 2007
Boat Designer: Oliver
ECOVER 3 - Mike Golding's Home Port: UK
Boat Kept: Marina Boat Used On: Open Ocean
Boat Hull Material:
LOA: 67 Draft: 14.5 Beam: 19
LWL: 60 Displacement: Bridge Clearance: 98
Tankage Fuel: Water:
Upgraded/Added Gear:
Boat Speed Cruising: Max:
Engine Type: Engine HP:
Engine Manufact.: Engine Model:
ECOVER 3 - Mike Golding Crew:
Mike Golding

ECOVER 3 - Mike Golding Scrapbook Pages (more about the boat):


Yacht Ecover 3 - Mike Golding

Mike Golding's picture


Ecover III Background:
The objective was to design and build the winning boat for the Vendee Globe 2008. The team have spent a lot of time reviewing all aspects of the design to make a more efficient race boat but without forfeiting toughness.

The extensive R&D programme included 1/7th and 1/3th scale models and a computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for all the foils.  OCD carried out a complete, computer modelled review of the rig and sail design working with Southern Spars and North Sails.

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