The little town of Les Sables d’Olonne shouldered aside every other city and hamlet in France and became, for this one day, the capital of the French sporting world. November 9, 2008, would be the start of the Vendée Globe Around The World race. It seemed like the entire countryside within Pays de-la-Loire was lifted up on one side and its citizenry all tumbled through a funnel that poured into this seaside town.
At dawn, cars were vying for parking places along streets over a mile from the Vendée Globe village. Camper vehicles that had arrived the night before dotted the roadside. Driving in from his accommodations several miles from town, Rich Wilson began to fidget at the wheel as traffic began to crawl. This was the last time he’d be piloting an automobile for a long, long time.
Getting to the marina put him in the mindset he will live with on Great American III for the next three months at sea - go as fast as possible without breaking anything.
The sky at the horizon lightened to a steel gray as we pulled into the parking lot designated for the racers and organizers.
Rich and Ellen had a few last quiet moments...
and ptatlarge wishes GAIII good luck.
After days tinkering, checking, double-checking, stowing, and arranging, time was up.
The last freshwater rinse for the foredeck...
as Rich's crew attaches halyards to mainsails...
and readies the wind generator.
An eerie calm settled over the dock like the fine mist that was falling from the leaden skies. Goodbyes were said. Akena Vérandas skipper Arnaud Boissière holds his son close for the last time till around next spring.
Rich wishes his friend Unai Basurko, Spanish skipper of Pakea Bizkaia, good luck...
then waits for his turn with the French crew he's known for decades...
until it's his turn.
Shortly after 9 am, at four minute intervals, the thirty Open 60 monohulls were towed by from the dock, through the fishing and commercial fleet in the harbor. A tremendous hullabaloo erupted as each boat passed - cheers, air horns, boat sirens - as helicopters hovered overhead.
The population of Les Sables d’Olonne is 15, 000. By 1:00 pm, an estimated 300,000 men, women, and children were squashed into every possible space along the harbor and the stone-lined narrow channel that connects it to the Atlantic Ocean. For today, this was World Cup Soccer and the Tour de France all rolled up into one. No one in this part of France wanted to miss the spectacle.
Team members were allowed to stay aboard and assist with raising sails for the start three miles offshore and take photos of the engine shaft which had to be sealed. By thirty minutes before start time, the crew had to have leapt into the Zodiacs that had escorted the boats out.
Moment for GAIII... Halfway down the channel, a crowd sees the American flag fluttering from Great American III’s stern and begins to sing the Star Spangled Banner. The French know the first verse and sort of hum the rest.
Rich, standing on the bow, gestures to the crowd, hand over heart, a big lump in his throat. The improvised banner reflects the French elation at the election of Barack Obama. From the comments he received on the dock, Rich knew he was riding a wave of goodwill generated by the election of Barack Obama a five days before this Sunday, November 9, 2008.
Once GAII disappeared from view, ptatlarge headed for the pressroom...
to watch the race on national TV.
An hour after the sleek Open 60s departed, it was a shock to see the pontoon dock bereft of the millions of dollars worth of the world's fastest monohulls. As in Cinderella, the clock had struck and the world at Les Sables d'Olonne had lost its magical luster...
and the channel to the sea returned to the normalcy of commercial and fishermen's traffic...
while just outside the harbor, the skippers jockied for position at the starting line just off the coast.
Photos, unless labeled "Ouest-France" in right corner, are by ptatlarge
Vendée Globe Statistics: _• 15,000 spectators on the water in 100 passenger boats, and 300 recreational boats;_• 300,000 people on the ground_• 1,200 media and journalists including 380 overseas. _• At the start time 150,000 people were connected to www.vendeeglobe.org
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