LT-GOVERNOR Sir Fabian Malbon has spoken of his pride at his son’s efforts in the Vendee Globe single-handed round-the-world yacht race.
Jonny Malbon, 34 (pictured), was forced to retire from the race at the weekend because of a metre-long tear in the mainsail on his Open 60 Artemis II.
He was about 300 miles south of New Zealand’s South Island when he made the decision and Sir Fabian said his son had had no choice but to call it a day and head for Auckland.
‘It was a hugely difficult decision for him because he really wanted to finish,’ he said.
‘But the positive side of it is that he now has about 17,000 miles solo and, by the time he gets to Auckland, he will have done 60 continuous days at sea by himself.
‘All of that is going to prepare him for the next Vendee in four years’ time.’
Sir Fabian said Jonny had already expressed his desire to take part in the race again.
‘He must be mental,’ Sir Fabian joked.
‘Sometimes, when he has phoned me and described the 30ft waves, I have been amazed at it all. I know I couldn’t do it. But he really wants to do it again.’
Sir Fabian said he and Lady Malbon were obviously sad that their son could not finish the race.
‘But we are both extremely proud of him and we think he will have got a lot out of the experience,’ he said.
Jonny had experienced many difficulties with his yacht before he even started the race.
‘It was a real trial to get the boat through the qualifying trip because the building of it was late and there were other problems,’ Sir Fabian said.
He added that Jonny had also coped with some very rough weather conditions.
‘There was a huge storm two days into the race, which caused him some damage, and then he hit the whale in the South Atlantic,’ he said. ‘To finally be felled by this mainsail, which has been falling to bits, is very disappointing.’
Once he gets to Auckland, Jonny and the boat will return to England.
‘They want to get the boat back to sort it out so they can take part in the coming season’s events,’ Sir Fabian added.
‘It was a very hard decision for him, but in the end they decided it would have been foolish to continue.’
Article posted on 6th January, 2009 - 11.30am
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