Saturday, 8th April 2017
“Melbourne to Cape Horn – well almost!” – was the title of the address given by Shane Freeman as a Recreational Boating guest speaker on Wednesday night. In front of around 130 members and guests, Shane outlined his quest to join the Golden Globe Race in 2018 and how he had prepared his boat for the journey to sail solo to the start line in the UK.
Setting off in mid December last year, Shane had sailed nonstop across the Southern Ocean and was 10 days from rounding Cape Horn when a rogue wave knocked his 35 foot boat down and dismasted it. Shane described how he’d spent a harrowing night cutting the rigging free before making a considered decision to scuttle his boat and take up the offer of being picked up by a tanker which had been diverted to his position.
Apart from describing in detail about his rescue, Shane also shared insights as to how he’d coped with his 70 days of isolation at sea and outlined what he’d learnt from the experience. The address included a number of video clips, which Shane had shot during the voyage. One of them showed the deployment of a Series Drogue, something that’s been attempted by very few.
Following the address, a number of questions were asked by those attending and it seemed that everyone had found Shane’s story of interest. Many thanks to Shane for his time and we wish him the best for the future.
Shane continues to post regularly on his blog http://freemansailing.com
Ian MacWilliams