Update 8 September 2016: Jörg Riechers will not be taking part in the Vendée Globe. He was unable to secure the required budget.
"If we can only find a smaller budget, we will also sail the Vendée Globe 2016 with the current 'Mare'," says Jörg Riechers to YACHT (see video). The very good performance at the Trophée Azimut test regatta off Lorient/France was one of the deciding factors. Riechers finished fifth, but was able to hold his own for a long time against stars of the scene such as Francois Gabart and Michel Desjoyeaux, both winners of the Vendée Globe.
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This means that in three years there will be a first German participation in the regatta, which is considered the toughest in the world. The world's best single-handed sailors compete against each other every four years to sail around the world single-handed and non-stop.
The 45-year-old Hamburg-based offshore professional Riechers is currently preparing for the Barcelona World Race in autumn 2014, which he will be sailing together with Frenchman Sebastién Audiganne, and which will also be sailed non-stop around the world, but in pairs. Riechers' Mare Racing Team has purchased an Open 60 yacht for this purpose. The boat was built for the Vendée Globe in 2008, when French sailing legend Michel Desjoyeaux won the race with it.
However, in order to be competitive, modifications are necessary, which have just begun. "We are cutting the bow down to the centreboards and adding a new bow section," says Riechers. This will be modelled on the winning boat of the 2012 Vendée Globe, Fancois Gabart's "Macif".
This should make the "Mare" around three per cent faster on space sheet courses. The conversion will cost around 300,000 euros. "This is the cheaper alternative to a new build," says Riechers, explaining the team's strategy. The project is currently being financed solely by Mareverlag in Hamburg.
"The Vendee was the declared goal from the very first meeting with Jörg. Just to show that even a small publishing house, together with the perfect sailor and a clever strategy, can reach this Olympus of sailing," says publisher Nikolaus Gelpke.
But the reorganisation is only a kind of stopgap solution. A new building is planned for the Vendée Globe 2016, which would enable Riechers to win. However, another major sponsor needs to be found for this.
If this does not succeed, the big goal, the first German participation in the Vendée Globe, should still be realised. Hence the conversion of the older yacht. "According to the calculations, she will be fast enough to sail in the top group," says Riechers.
During the conversion, he is training with his team on his Class 40 "Mare". He will use this boat to sail the Transat Jacques Vabre from Le Havre/France to Itajai/Brazil from 3 November 2013.
YACHT sailed in the 24-hour long-distance regatta on board the "Mare" and visited Jörg Riechers at his training base in Lorient. You will soon be able to read the report in the magazine.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
