Question asked by Jamie:

Rich, How’s your mainsail holding up after 70+ days?

Answer:

Our mainsail is doing OK. So far so good. It is a much “beefier” sail than those used by the other Vendée skippers. A sailmaker in France commented that our mainsail weighs about 70 kilograms (kg) more than the others’ mainsails, which weigh about 125 kg. This makes it harder for me to hoist, simply because its heavier. But that heaviness also translates into durability, so maybe that’s a good tradeoff. It’s discouraging what happened to Jonny Malbon and Dee Caffari’s mainsails–both coming apart–even though both sails were brand new at the beginning of the race.

Thanks for the question,

Rich