Early Monday morning, Nándor Fa rounded Cape Horn for a fifth time while circumnavigating the earth as a participant in the Vendeé Globe race.
Speaking to Hungarian news site index.hu, Fa said that he was quite tired of the Pacific Ocean, and that he had a hard time reaching Cape Horn. At first the sailor had no wind, but when a strong wind did arrive, it brought freezing temperatures with it.
In fact, due to the strong wind at his back, Fa was forced to zig-zag his way around the Cape in his vessel, The Spirit of Hungary, in order to keep the wind from damaging his sailing vessel. Fa made his way past the Horn 63 days, 18 hours and 36 minutes after the race’s start in Sables d’Olonne, France. The 63 year-old is currently in 8th place.
According to its official website, “The Vendée Globe is still the only non-stop solo round the world race without assistance.”
The Hungarian Skipper “crossed the cape 4 days and 23 hours after seventh placed Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée) and 16 days and 18 hours after the leader Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire VIII).”
The current location of Nándor Fa’s vessel, The Spirit of Hungary. Fa is currently in 8th place in the Vendée Globe (via vendeeglobe.org).
This is Nándor Fa’s third time rounding the Cape alone. The first time occurred during the 1990 BOC Challenge, which was also a circumnavigation race, and the second occurred during the 1992-93 Vendée Globe. He has also rounded Cape Horn twice with partners, first as part of the famed Szent Jupát expedition, when Fa and his partner József Gál together became the first Hungarians to circumnavigate the globe in a sailboat from 1985-1987. His second trip with a partner came last year, when he sailed with New Zealander Conrad Colman, who is currently in 10th place in the Vendée Globe.
It is also worth noting that Nándor Fa planned The Spirit of Hungary himself, and took part in the sailboat’s construction as well. The Spirit is nearly 2.5 metric tons heavier than the race’s current fastest boats, but Fa has never made a secret of the fact that his goal in this year’s race was not to win, but rather to finish in one piece.
Via index.hu and vendeeglobe.org
Images via vendeeglobe.org and spiritofhungary.hu