The opposite fate of the two Golden Globe skippers: Van den Heede in triumph, penalty for Slats

The opposite fate of the first two Golden Globe skippers. Jean Luc van den Heede is disembarking on the docks of Les Sables d’Olonne., after his world tour as a ruler and great sailor (READ HERE), greeted by applause from the crowd. Meanwhile, second-place Dutchman Mark Slats, deprived in recent weeks of his HAM radio by intimation from Dutch authorities due to lack of a license, is forced to a forced stop just over 300 miles from the finish line for two reasons: a storm is coming over the Bay of Biscay, the Golden Globe race director has informed him that he has been given a time penalty. What happened?

Slats team manager Dick Koopmans, reading the Golden Globe weather warning advising Slats to hasten his pace to get to Les Sables and avoid the gale, deemed the information reported by the management to his skipper unsafe, claiming that the Dutch team manager’s weather sources indicated instead anything but, namely to stop in La Coruna or Brest, and also asked that Slats’ finish line be moved closer to allow him a safer finish. Koopmans’ request was denied, and according to the version provided by the race management (which would then be refuted by the lines that follow) the team manager then decided, breaking one of the Golden Globe rules, to contact on Slats’ satellite phone to provide him with his directions, i.e., to stop short. Slats then received outside help among those prohibited by the regatta rules, immediate came Don Macyntire’s notification of the Dutchman’s penalty. Koopmans’ action clearly could not bring any kind of ranking advantage to his skipper, so we decided to contact the Dutchman’s team manager to find out more about what happened in the last 24 hours.

What has happened in the last few hours?
The day before Marks tracking stopped and I asked Don about it. In the last part of the race with a lot of traffic, the tracker is a safety tool. Don first advised Mark to slow down for the storm then advised him to make speed, and when I questioned Don about this he denied having given this information.
The way he advised boats in the southern oceans was not always in line with my idea. I look more at the waves and less at the wind. Waves with a short period of time and a change of direction are, in my opinion, the most important factor. Then I sent Don a screenshot with the predicted wave height in the last few hours but he did not respond. I read his advice posted on facebook to make speed. In my opinion it was a dangerous situation for Mark to arrive so I called a weather expert ashore. I contacted Marks’ parents before sending a text message warning to Mark. This is not allowed, but since it was only a security message I was not worried about the consequences. Don said that I called Mark, but it was the other way around. It was then Mark’s decision to call me after the text message.

Why did you think the GGR weather bulletins were not reliable?
GGR always complains about having such a small team which also affects the weather part. The French sailing association banned calling it a regatta and more or less banned it. French sailing clubs are not authorized for assistance. Thus a large part of the experience is Don living in Australia without on-the-ground weather knowledge. I also lack knowledge about the area so I consulted an expert.

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How is Mark doing?
Mark seems confident of getting the boat to the finish line after the storms. He did not seem tired.

What do you think of Don’s decision to give him a penalty?
It is his right, but it seems strange to give a penalty to have him finish four days later.

Do you feel damaged by the race management?
Not all people with some knowledge of the sea think this is a balanced decision.

Some of Van den Heede’s audios have sparked much discussion: do you think the winner violated some rules? (READ HERE)
My French is not good enough to evaluate this. We shall see. If its impact on the race will be small, say less than 1% of the sailing time, I would not focus on it.

A final cryptic sentence from Dick Koopmans that, however, does not open up any new scenarios at this time. Mark Slats’ evidence from a seamanship point of view was outstanding, it appears perhaps too strict to apply the rules to the letter considering that telephone contact would have brought no benefit, for a race that had already been decided, but only a greater emphasis on safety.

Mauro Giuffrè

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