Golding the tenacious

Ed Gorman finds out what it is like to live in the shadow of Ellen

Mike with his TJV co-skipper Marcus Hutchinson

The bottom line, then, is that Golding is going to go his own way and his continuing interest in both the Around Alone and the 2004 Vendee Globe are not linked to Ellen's decision to skip both of them. Golding says he is only "50-50" about doing the Around Alone and is clearly considering the Route du Rhum as an alternative, as are many of the top French skippers. One suspects he has concerns about the quality of the prospective field for the Around Alone and some other aspects of the event, concerns which he definitely does not have about the 2004 Vendee Globe.

"As far as the next Vendee is concerned, I would certainly do it, definitely, " he said. "I'm a player for the Vendee in a new boat - that's the only way to do it." But while Ellen has just signed a new five-year deal with Kingfisher, Golding is in the more uncertain predicament of having recently ended his 10-year relationship with Group 4. Although he has valuable support from Ecover, he now needs another major sponsor if his Vendee ambitions are to be realised.

Golding admits he is finding it hard to adjust to life without a big backer. "I'm almost shy to say I'm not sponsored - it's an odd feeling," he said. While Jorgen Philip-Sorensen, the Group 4 chairman, is still there in the background, Golding denies that he alone will be able to land a major deal for his favourite skipper. "He's still there but he's not Peter Harrison - he's not going to bail me out to the tune of millions of pounds."

Helping him with the hunt is Di Gilpin who joins Golding's team from a background in Formula 1. So far they have found the business climate more positive than one might have guessed after the shock of September 11th. "People are very receptive to talk about things - they just haven't given us any money yet," quipped Golding who remains positive that his search will soon bear fruit.

Apart from the Vendee, other plans include purchasing or chartering a 60ft trimaran after the Route du Rhum and campaigning it for a year before commissioning a new one the following year - that's 2004, the same year that Ellen will be building hers. "The idea would be to do a UK education programme, if you like, to try and introduce the mulithull scene a bit more. The sailing world here knows about them but the general public still doesn't, so we want to use the boat productively during that year to both educate sponsors and the public about what they are like," Golding explained.

Another possibility is a Jules Verne campaign, something Ellen is already committed to early next year in a chartered Ollier-designed maxi-cat. "I'd love to do it," said Golding. "We have developed a little plan. It's not the core of our campaign, but a special project we'd love to do."

Few can deny that Golding has a difficult hand to play in a world dominated by Ellen. But he has always been a gritty performer and a man who has never shirked a challenge. While she has been blessed with good fortune, he has had to fight back against an unreasonable tide of bad luck. He's got another struggle on his hands to get the next phase of his career on track. However past experience suggests he may well get there and perhaps, in these next events, the results he so richly deserves will finally come his way.

Mike Golding's Open 60 Ecover , sailing with full crew