VDH makes it home

Jean-Luc van den Heede returns to France after aborted record attempt

After 64 days and 18,000 miles at sea on his own, Jean-Luc van den Heede made it back to his home port of Les Sables d'Olonne yesterday afternoon aboard his aluminium 26m yacht Adrien.
Van den Heede (VDH) had set off on 12 October in an attempt to break the singlehanded round the world record the Chay Blyth way, ie westabout against the prevailing winds, but was forced to retire when, after rounding Cape Horn, he noticed that the yacht's keel trunk was working fore and aft. In an extraordinary feat of seamanship instead of putting into Chile, VDH nursed his boat all the way back to France.

This was the 56 year old four time solo circumnavigator's second attempt to become the fastest person on what is unquestionably the world's toughest passage. In 2000 he set off to better the record at the time held by Mike Golding. However the carbon fibre hull of his Open 60 yawl started to delaminate after striking a submerged object inconveniently as she was midway between Cape Horn and New Zealand. The tall bearded Frenchman was forced to nurse his boat back to Chile.

Following this fellow Frenchman Philippe Monnet broke Golding's record establishing a new record time of 151 days 19 hours and 54 minutes on 9 June last year. Refusing to be beaten, over last winter and this spring VDH had a purpose-built boat constructed for the task - the 26m long Gilles Vaton design, Adrien.

After testing the boat this summer - those with a keen eye may have spotted her in the Solent during the America's Cup Jubilee regatta - VDH set off from Brest on 12 October at 1251 GMT. To break Monnet's record he would have to recross the line between the Ouessant lighthouse and the Lizard by 10 March 2002 and 0844.

Over the first week, in his longer yacht, VDH was consistently gaining miles over Monnet's passage 18 months earlier. But as he passed the Canary Islands - at much the same time as the Mini-Transat fleet was racing south to Brazil - he too experienced light, fickle winds at a time when he should have been basking in brisk Trades winds. He was faced with the decision whether or not he should turn back for France and start again in more favourable conditions. Fortunately the elusive Trades finally materialised on his ninth day at sea.

Adrien sets out from Brest