ECOVER 3 - Mike Golding

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.

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."

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.

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:

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

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.

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.

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

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