The Last Sea Dog : 6 Solo Circumnavigations Resulting in 5 Podiums & 1 World Record by Didier Ravon

The Last Sea Dog tells the story of Jean-Luc Van Den Heede's life and his many sailing adventures, focussing on his triumph in the 2018/19 Golden Globe Race. Jean-Luc has rounded Cape Horn 12 times and completed six solo circumnavigations. These have resulted in five race podiums and one world record, which he still currently holds: He has been on the podium twice in the Vend?e Globe single-handed race around the world, coming third in 1990 and second in 1993. More recently he won the Golden Globe Race in 2018/19 at the age of 73. This race was run as a fiftieth anniversary of the 1968 race of the same name won by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. While the restriction of no assistance and no stopovers were not particularly unusual, more challenging were the requirements to sail the race `as in 1968' with yachts similar to those available in that year and, except for safety equipment, no modern technology allowed. No satellite-based navigation aids were available to the sailors and they had to use a sextant to navigate around the world as Robin had done fifty years previously. Jean-Luc was born in Amiens, far from the sea, and he became a maths teacher. Nevertheless, he developed a passion for competitive sailing. He is friendly and easy to approach, but he is also a formidable competitor with an abundance of courage and perseverance. This personal account of his life and the Golden Globe Race is an amazing story of a man who has faced the toughest times and sea and won through.
Binding: Paperback / softback