In the last few days I read articles and comments that define the Vendée Globe for certain skippers like a form of an holiday”. I’ll try to describe what this race is.
Given that life can be much harder than facing a round the world solo, here we are talking about sports and adventure, we’re not doing a ranking of human suffering.
First, there are fewer people who have been around the world solo, how many have gone into space. The comparison may sound bizarre, but in fact the southern oceans are still the least known and inhospitable place on earth.
The boats run through routes that pass to thousands of kilometers from earth, not battered by commercial vessels. In case of need, you can obtain help only from large military ships that often take days to arrive.
The first priority of every skipper is to preserve health. Imagine a cut that needs suture to stop the hemorrhage in a point of your body where you can not “sewing” alone, such as the back, could become fatal. Imagine that you go something wrong, or something in the eyes, in short, all those things that happen in everyday life can not lead to particular consequences, as opposed to an extreme solo sailing could lead to fatal consequences.
I can assure you that such cases are not rare: in the last VG Yann Elies was the victim of an accident that has caused several fractures that did not allow him to go below deck, waited several hours outside, relief hypothermia and dehydration. Years ago, Bertrand de Broc has repaired his tongue himself, not counting broken teeth and accidents. This is the real difference between the two and lonely: when you really need someone, there will be none!
I want to make a comparison with soccer: imagine that instead of a 90 minutes game, they play for 90 days.
For ninety consecutive days, players can not leave the field, they have to sleep on a bench for half an hour at a time, they must use a bucket as a toilet and can not receive any kind of assistance. Hard to call this a holiday!
If that’s not enough add: the unconscious fear that comes from not being in our natural environment, the distance from the parents and loneliness in general.
The smiles and serenity we often see in videos and photos posted from the skippers show us the professionalism of the men who are aware of the good fortune of having chosen the “sufferings” to which undergo. Life rarely gives us this privilege.
As modern gladiators of the sea, offering a show, sometimes dramatic, but always intended to seduce us with incredible adventures away from the real problems of life.