Irish sailor Enda O’Coineen described the Vendée Globe round-the-world race as “a celebration of the elements; man versus the elements”.
But in the latest edition of this most gruelling of sailing races, the elements proved victorious as Galway man O’Coineen contemplates what might have been, as his mast-less boat drifts slowly through the perilous waters of the southern hemisphere, some 150 nautical miles south of New Zealand’s most southern tip.
O’Coineen’s race ended after his boat's mast broke in high winds over the weekend and the Irishman had to cut his rig adrift in the choppy waters to save the hull of the boat from being damaged.
"It’s tough. And now I have really landed myself in the manure business." - O'Coineen
Speaking on Today with Sean O’Rourke on Radio 1, O’Coineen admitted that he was lucky to be alive following the race-ending incident, as he now attempts to guide his boat towards New Zealand’s South Island.
“I’m lucky to have survived actually,” admitted O’Coineen, as he recalled the ordeal on this morning’s radio show.
And despite being out of this year’s race, the Galway man is still attempting to adhere to the rules of the competition by making his own way to safety without calling for assistance.
“I’m not in distress and I don’t want to declare an emergency, but I am drifting about 150 miles south of New Zealand. Like a space capsule, I have enough food to last me for a few weeks.
“The principal of the race is challenging the environment and the elements and I don’t want to call the rescue services, but I do need help."
The current benign conditions are allowing the sailor, aiming to become the first Irishman to sail, singlehandedly around the world, to contemplate his options, once he reaches a safe port.
“It’s not easy. I’m just waiting for the right wind and it’s just a matter of patience, and hopefully I can get up to New Zealand and sort out the boat.
“Hopefully I can continue around the world, or abort, I’m just not sure at this point.
“I have sail battens and I’ve rigged up an emergency sailing rig. I have an auxiliary engine, which you are allowed to use in distress. Unfortunately, ropes got caught up in the propeller and it is a bit too risky in this swell to dive and try and clear it.
“I’m coasting along at about a knot and a half, one and a half to two miles an hour, just trying to get a favourable wind to get towards New Zealand.
“So do the maths, two miles an hour, one hundred and fifty miles, it’s quite a long way away.
“This race is a celebration of the elements, it’s man taking on the elements. I’m privileged to be doing it, it’s one of the most extraordinary adventures you could ever imagine.
“But it’s tough. And now I have really landed myself in the manure business. I’m not sure where we go from here, but the main objective really is to survive and get to a port and try to sort the boat out.”
There is good news on the horizon, however, for O’Coineen as, ironically, high winds are forecast, which should see him to the safety of dry land.
“There is a gale forecast, forty-knot winds from the south. It sounds bad, but that would be good as it will blow me north and I can angle in towards New Zealand and try and find a safe port.”
