A Countryman’s Challenge: America Must Win the Vendée Globe

At the finishing like of the 2020-21 Vendée Globe

It’s been 33 years since Mike Plant was tragically lost to the Atlantic Ocean in the qualifying leg of the 1992-93 Vendée Globe. The nonstop, unassisted solo race around the globe was established by the Philippe Jeantot in 1989 as an even more diabolical successor to the BOC Challenge, the five leg singlehanded race of similar concept which was won by Plant in 1986-87. He disqualified himself from the inaugural running in 1989-90 after receiving assistance in recovering from washing up on the rocks in a storm near Campbell Island, NZ, after the failure of a minor rigging component. He finished the race as a non-competitor in 135 days, setting a new American singlehanded circumnavigation record at the time and garnered himself an honorable reputation among the French for his sportsmanship and commitment to circumnavigation.

In all ten runnings of the race, it has been won by a Frenchman. Plant remains the only American to have entered, or completed the race, and had his ambitiously designed yacht Coyote not lost her keel, leading to his death, he stood a real chance at taking the trophy in early 1993. We believe it is necessary, in the interest of advancing American individualism, industry, and sporting prestige, to mount a campaign for an American sailor, and a yacht of American design and construction, to claim victory in the Vendée Globe. Many will claim this to be an unachievable feat, a belief we find to be nothing short of insulting to resolve of the national spirit. Our culture of sailing, and racing will be doomed to continue in its current trajectory of atrophy and decay if we are without new heroes to define the future of the sport.

Mike Plant was among the greatest of those heroes, and his sacrifices for circumnavigation, and personal accomplishment are an inspiration to us daily. We sincerely hope that he may not be the last of his breed to grace the seas bearing the flag of the United States.