Jonny Malbon

Day 46 - Christmas Day

Christmas Day in the Southern Ocean is much the same as any other, windy, rough and brutal to sailors so life for the Vendee Globe skippers is not as much fun as being tucked up at home watching the box.  Spoke to Jonny this morning who was in good form, but very tired.  The sea state is still really testing and requires just about constant attention to to keep the boat on the tracks.  Every problem solved brings another new one to test the ingenuity of the skippers so there is not much rest.  Jonny’s latest post from the ARTEMIS site read:

CHRISTMAS ALONE AT SEA FOR BRITISH SOLO SAILOR

25 December 2008

Merry Christmas from Jonny and AORII!

 

For ocean racing skipper Jonny Malbon, there is no doubt that this Christmas will be a solitary affair. The British solo sailor is currently deep in the hostile Southern Ocean and his only focus for December 25th is to avoid the ferocious weather and survive the horrendous seas currently battering his IMOCA 60 Artemis Ocean Racing II. Malbon, competing in the Vendée Globe, the non-stop solo yacht race around the world, will need all his skills and energy to avoid the heinous and potentially boat breaking conditions.

Malbon, sailing east around 1,000 miles south of Australia, concluded “Christmas day is usually all about relaxing with your family, enjoying a big lunch and curling up in front of a warm fire. Christmas onboard my yacht Artemis is going to be everything but. It’s bad enough to be so far away from home without enduring the present weather conditions. I have a bag of presents which I will enjoy opening - it might be the only time I will hope to get socks!! And probably the first time I will not receive any!!”

“The sea state has been the big problem, with huge towering confused seas that destroy boat speed and any real fast progress. I have been sailing conservatively to preserve the boat, and although it is frustrating at times I know it is the right thing to do for both myself and the boat. We are still out here on the race course, still making progress, and still part of the event - long may it continue.”

Sailing legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston also sent Jonny a message of support, having given the young British skipper a bottle of Ben Romach whiskey in Les Sables D’Olonne just ahead of the start. Sir Robin concluded, “We will all be thinking of Jonny and toasting him on Christmas Day. It is hard not to think of home, family and friends on this occasion when isolated and alone in the vastness of the Southern Ocean.”

Christmas is day number 45 alone at sea for Malbon since the Vendée Globe race started from France on November 9. With well over 6,000 miles left to sail through the desolate Southern Ocean, before rounding Cape Horn and turning back to race the last 4,000 miles to the finish in Europe, Christmas day will be no different from a normal racing day for Malbon, with massive waves and ice cold rain and sea water crashing over his yacht.