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The sailors seem up to their challenge. Desmond Hampton, 41, a handsome London real estate broker, has chartered the 56-ft. ketch Gipsy Moth V from the family of the late Sir Francis Chichester. Hampton's only companion will be a tiny stuffed koala bear presented to him for good luck by his daughter. Guy Bernardin, 37, a French business executive who will skipper the 38-ft. Ratso II, accepts the loneliness of the long-distance sailor. "For a race such as this," he says, "you must clear out all the responsibilities in your life. Anything can happen. You must clear your mind from all problems, even from your family." Tony Lush, 33, whose 54-ft. ketch Lady Pepperell is sponsored by the textile-manufacturing company, has taken a leave from his job as chief of laboratory testing at Hunter Marine of Alachua, Fla. Tom Lindholm, 57, of Hidden Hills, Calif., has left his law practice in the hands of his partner and son to take the helm of his 41-ft. sloop Driftwood. Dan Byrne, 53, of Santa Monica, Calif., is relying on his wife Patricia to provide shore support; she intends to meet him and his 40-ft. Fantasy in every port.
To be eligible, each contestant and boat had to complete a 1,000-mile solo voyage, a requirement that posed no problem to Frenchman Philippe Jeantot, who has already logged 25,000 solo miles. The weeks before the start were spent stocking provisions and spare parts, checking out radios (each sailor will be required to report his position weekly), and adjusting the self-steering gear that will allow captains a few hours' sleep a day.
David White, 38, worked furiously to get his 66-ft. Gladiator fine-tuned for the race, lamenting that he had too much to do. "I don't like it," he said. "It's the least prepared I've been for anything." Japanese Entrant Yukoh Tada made preparations of a far different nature. He had a Buddhist monk come to the dockside and bless his boat.
Fatigue is one problem all will face, but each man has his special fears. Richard Konkolski, 37, a rugged, bearded Czech, feels that the ice and fog encountered in rounding Cape Horn will be the most difficult challenge for him and his 44-ft. sloop Nike II. Britain's Richard Broadhead, at 29 the youngest contender, thinks that going over the side of his 52-ft. cutter Perseverance of Medina in the tropics would be the worst thing that could happen. "In the rough southern ocean you wouldn't last a minute," is his bleak forecast. "But in the tropics you'd stick around until the sharks came and got you." Paul Rodgers, 37, of London, whose 55-ft. Spirit of Pentax is the narrowest boat in the race, has some daunting memories: he was leading the 1980 OSTAR when his boat was rammed by a whale and forced to withdraw.
The greatest trial the sailors will face, however, is loneliness. Solo sailors since Slocum's days have written of the depressions and hallucinations that solitude can bring on. Many lone navigators report seeing islands and reefs that do not exist on the charts, and most find themselves, at one time or another, holding long conversations with imaginary passengers and crew.