Eric Bellion finishes 9th and first rookie in the Vendée Globe
by Andi Robertson 13 Feb 2017 18:38 GMT
13 February 2017
From one of the most prolonged and challenging storms encountered by any of the 29 skippers who left Les Sables d'Olonne on Sunday November 6th last year, French solo skipper Eric Bellion emerged triumphant, securing a remarkable ninth placed in the Vendée Globe solo round the world race when he crossed the finish line at 1658hrs UTC.
Bellion took 99 days 4 hrs 56 mins for his actual 28,048 miles route, averaging 11.78 kts. He is the first 'rookie' solo skipper – someone who had never before started the Vendée Globe - to complete this eighth edition of the solo round the world race.
Although he is a vastly experienced sailor in his own right with a circumnavigation already to his credit, he only raced an IMOCA 60 foot race boat for the first time 15 months ago. For a skipper who set out largely to see if he could complete this race, one of the toughest challenges in global sport, his ninth place is well ahead of all his pre-start hopes and wildest dreams. Bellion's odyssey is a classic tale, revealing a huge increase in personal confidence and solo racing ability but is a result which comes neither by luck nor by accident. An accomplished and inspirational leader who assembled an excellent support team in cooperation with double Vendée Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux's company Mer Agitée, Bellion's Vendée Globe started relatively slowly but saw him faster and faster during his first time racing in the 'big south', dealing strategic and mental challenges of a slow, light wind South Atlantic climb, and the final big hurdle – a vicious four day North Atlantic storm which ripped a section of his mainsail mast track off and which left him racing the final miles upwind across the Bay of Biscay with just his J3 jib and no mainsail.
Bellion's CommeUnSeulHomme (meaning Stand As One) project promotes positive roles for people of diverse abilities, encouraging companies and organisations to embrace less able workers and realise the positive contributions made. Under the banner #appelpourladifference he has mobilised hundreds of thousands of followers to realise his positive messages. Fourteen different companies with more than 80,000 workers have supported his programme.
Before the start Bellion said: "I'm approaching it with a real sense of pleasure. Sailing is my passion and I feel at home in the middle of the ocean. Sailing in solo configuration is not something I've ever done before so it's a big challenge. This Vendée Globe is a gift to myself for my fortieth birthday! I position myself among the non-professional sailors and I'm here as an amateur and an adventurer. I'm not putting myself under any pressure. I'm just aiming to sail a clean race and be proud of myself at the end." Explaining the roots of his passion for diversity and inclusion he explained: "As a child, I was taunted about my father's stuttering and I didn't understand. Later on, I sailed with mixed crews of able and less able-bodied sailors and there I understood that difference is a key factor in a team's happiness and success. Being different is one of the hardest things to live with, but if we want to be happy and grow together, it is the only way forward."
Bellion's partnership with his boat, the Finot designed former DCNS, grow stronger with every mile. In fact his boat had never finished a major IMOCA race, indeed had never made it across the Equator until he and young British skipper Sam Goodchild raced the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2015, as Bellion's first big race. They finished seventh and the French skipper learned a lot. Goodchild said today: "Eric was clearly a very experienced sailor with many ocean miles under his belt but he knew nothing about an IMOCA or solo racing when he started. But he always made it clear he wanted to learn. It was impressive to see how quickly he learned though. Most of all it was fascinating to work with him, he is incredibly inspirational. Three years ago he basically enough to be safe at sea in any conditions, but now here he is finishing ninth in the Vendée Globe. He had a dream and he set out to achieve it. Behind the scenes he has a very happy, hard working team who have prepared the boat so well and that is an insight as well into how he manages and inspires everyone to do their best work. At first he struggled with the whole thing, how to sleep when your boat is doing 20kts for example, that was one of his biggest hurdles for him initially. But, like he does with everything, he worked at it and found solutions."
The race down the Atlantic
Eric Bellion began the race with a lot of questions of himself, sailing at the rear of the fleet. CommeUnSeulHomme went a long way west to get across the Doldrums, where he met Romain Attanasio (Famille Mary-Etamine du Lys), who was to sail alongside him for a long time. They headed south together talking on the VHF. Gradually, the skipper saw that his boat could do better than finish 22nd, but he wondered about his own ability. "It doesn't come naturally to me like it does for the experienced solo sailors. I'm trying to keep the brakes on, but the boat wants to speed up." Bellion took his race step by step, building confidence on the way down the Atlantic. His chance came west after he and five other skippers grouped together, holding back to allow a big storm to pass in front of them. When they emerged Bellion sailed steadily in the north of the group but built in confidence in the way he could sail his boat, finally deciding to sail it how he felt he wanted to and not trying just to follow the advice he has been given by Desjoyeaux, Goodchild and others. From that point he sailed faster and faster and was one of the quickest in the fleet mid December and in the Pacific.
Discovery of the southern ocean
Bellion tested various ways of trimming and got used to his boat. He was following in the wake of Arnaud Boissières, when in a strong gust, his boat was knocked down causing his rudder stock to break. There was a repair session for twelve hours, but in the end he was able to get back in the race, feeling much more confident. At Christmas, in order to avoid a big storm, Bellion slowed and encountered Alan Roura and Enda O'Coineen. He gradually stepped up the pace in the Pacific, and overtook the group formed by Fabrice Amedeo, Arnaud Boissières, Rich Wilson and Conrad Colman. In ninth place at the Horn on 11th January – two days behind Nandor Fa and nineteen after Armel le Cléach – Bellion was enjoying himself. "I'm not the same man. There has been a radical change. The lows used to scare me, but now I love fighting them."
Tiring climb back up the Atlantic
Bellion had to remove weed from his keel and avoid the horrible calms and deal with violent gusts, before facing the lows in the North Atlantic. "I am going through hell. This final part of the Vendée Globe is the toughest. I wasn't expecting that." During his final week, his engine refused to start and he had to save energy and repair his water-maker. He faced hellish conditions 48 hours from the finish with 70-knot winds. His mast track snapped off on CommeUnSeulHomme, forcing him to finish the race under reduced sail.
Eric Bellion's race
On the day of the start Eric Bellion declared: "One thing at a time. The exit from the harbour to start. I'm not aiming to win. We're going to try to enjoy ourselves."
After ten days of racing: "I'm a bit special in this race. I'm not interested in the rankings. I'm sailing my own race. I enjoy every day out on the water. I'm feeling more and more confident. I hadn't imagined so much emotion at the start. It took me 5 or 6 days to get over that. This is my third solo race and it's a big one. I feel alone, but not like back on dry land. We're kept busy with our boats around the clock. This is the first time I have been alone for so long. I'm friends with Isabelle Autissier, who told me that the Vendée is one mile, then two, then three. I'm taking advantage of every day, as I know it could all end tomorrow."
6th Dec - rudder damage: Éric Bellion informed his shore team at 1720 UTC that his starboard rudder had been seriously damaged. He had been sailing in heavy seas with winds averaging thirty knots. The boat was knocked down in a gust in excess of fifty knots. Due to the violence of the crash, the rudder stock twisted. The rudder blade is still joined to the boat, but cannot be used. He is heading for 47 degrees (NE) under reduced sail to find calmer seas which he should reach late in the morning. That is when he intends to carry out repairs and fit his spare rudder.
13th Dec - 400 miles NW of Kerguelens, headed further NE to avoid big storm.
24th Dec - sails close to Alan Roura and duet.
8th Jan alongside Conrad Colman, moves up to ninth.
11th Jan – 90 miles ahead of Conrad Colman: "I rounded Cape Horn for the first time 12 years ago," Bellion said. "I was excited like a kid at Christmas, and it's the same again this time, but it's not the same when you're sailing solo. I know what Cape Horn looks like, but this time the approach to it is different. I can tell you that it's quite tricky here. I got hit by a 45-knot squall with some hail and huge waves. If the Vendée Globe is an Everest, it is the Horn that is at the top and the road to Les Sables d'Olonne is be the descent to the base camp."
Bellion, one man and his boat: First words
Huge crowds braved the Monday evening rain and wind to show their appreciation for Eric Bellion's Vendée Globe. The 40 year old skipper who had only sailed two, separate weeks solo before he started the longest, toughest single handed race there is exceeded all expectations, perhaps most of all his own, as he crossed the finish line in ninth place. He is the first rookie, Vendée Globe first timer, to finish this edition of the race.
Eric Bellion 9th in the Vendée Globe, first rookie
Significantly he saved the lions share of his celebratory Mumm Champagne for his boat, his partner in the race. Like the skipper, his boat was relatively unproven and had like him had never raced in the big south. But they learned together and looked after each other. Bellion communicated brilliantly. His transition from Vendée Globe 'beginner' to accomplished soloist worthy of his place in the top ten of this challenging eighth edition was shared by tens of thousands. He transmitted his passion, his drive and his humility - as well as his ready sense of humour - with each of the many videos and calls. He spoke on the dock and on the podium of how his confidence grew. He reaffirmed that only once he stopped trying to sail his boat like others wanted him to, like he was perhaps too tied up in thinking of their ways and instead listening to what the boat wanted, that he really started to be able to sail fast. He spoke of the technical problems which he overcame. He fixed his engine and his hyrdogenerators, sails and most notably of all replaced his rudder in the face of a building storm. He told again how he knew he just had eleven hours to complete the repairs before the next, huge low pressure would hit him, a fix which might normally take two or three shore crew to complete. He struggled for hours to remove the broken blade before finding a solution. The solitary nature of the race did not bother him so much as the sudden and ongoing requirement to make all decisions, small and large, by himself. Solo. And that was what weighed most heavily on his shoulders. He said the last few days with no energy, no engine and winds to 70-73kts were the hardest part of the race for him.
"I have changed. I'm not the same person, but I don't really know how I have changed. I know myself better now. I discovered I had strengths within I didn't know I had. In 3 months I experienced 3 or 4 years of normal life. When I was growing up I saw people doing the Vendée Globe and thought they were superhuman. Now I have gone all the way. It's going to take me time to grasp this. In the past three months, the world has changed. I think we need to react to show that doing things differently can be useful. Unfortunately hatred and fear tend to spread quickly. Love on the other hand… I don't come from the world of ocean racing, so I didn't know much about this. In the final low, I felt really alone. Totally alone. When you have overcome that it's extraordinary. You have finally understood something. The Vendée Globe is something everyone can do, if they really want it. I took it to the limit of fear, suffering, happiness, joy… There is only the Vendée Globe that allows you to do that"
"I thought this was something crazy and yes, sailing around the world on these boats is crazy. I wasn't expecting it to be so difficult. Finding myself alone taking decisions that would affect my life and my boat. Whether it was in the Southern Ocean or off the coast of Portugal. From the start I became someone different. I hadn't prepared myself for that. It took me three or four days to get over the tart. In the south, there were some difficult choices. I was lucky to get back up with Romain. The difficulties are in the Southern Ocean when you can't say, I'm turning back. The big change was when I replaced the rudder in a 3-4m swell. But the real moment was when I decided this was my adventure. I started to listen to my boat and be Eric. I met Isabelle in Patagonia with my friends in Patagonia. She has become my mentor, my friend. When Isabelle Autissier says it's going well, you are telling great stories, that really helped. My boat really has the name of the one, who rules in Polynesia. I should thank the 14 firms. You don't see them much on the boat, but they understood that difference is a way to perform well and create. You can create something different. You shouldn't look backwards but to the possibilities of the future. Difference is important. It's not looking towards fear that you can feel good."
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