Britain’s Pip Hare has finished the Vendée Globe in 19th place fulfilling the dream she has held since she was a teenage sailor in East Anglia. After 95 days, 11 hours, 37 mins and 30 seconds of racing, Pip was the first British skipper to finish, and only the eighth women ever to finish the Vendée Globe.
Her performance on a 21-year-old IMOCA, the oldest boat to finish to finish so far, has drawn admiration from all corners of the world, not just for her high level of motivation and drive throughout the race but for her intelligent, efficient courses and her ability to push her elderly but evergreen boat hard all the way to the finish line.
Her race was not without drama, and she overcame a significant technical problem in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Replacing one of her rudders in big seas and 25knots of wind allowed her to stay in the race and to still remain close to a group of four faster rivals, all sailing a newer generation of foiling boats.
Even in the final stages, just over a month on from her rudder damage, Pip was still pushing to close every last mile on the pack ahead of her, and was less than 50 miles from 18th placed Stéphane Le Diraison at the line, having pulled back more than 100 miles in the final 36 hours.
She had faced a challenging final few days when a failed halyard lock strop dropped her Fractional Code Zero to the deck and into the water, damaging the pulpit of Medallia. But the British skipper remained in excellent spirits contemplating the conclusion of the Vendée Globe which had been her dream since being inspired as a teenager by the exploits of Florence Arthaud.
Pip’s performance is all the more remarkable considering her first IMOCA class race was in August 2019 with the Rolex Fastnet Race.
PIP’S STATS: She covered the 24,365 miles of the theoretical course at an average speed of 10.63 knots. The distance actually travelled on the water was 27,976.87 miles at 12.21 knots of average speed.
