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From Russia and oceans, with love

Toby HusseyAlbany Advertiser
Igor Zaretskiy stopped in Albany to make emergency repairs during his around-the-world yacht race.
Camera IconIgor Zaretskiy stopped in Albany to make emergency repairs during his around-the-world yacht race. Credit: Toby Hussey

Skippering a crippled yacht and drifting through the Indian Ocean, last week Igor Zaretskiy had to make an important decision — should he press on or abandon his around-the-world race?

By this point, his yacht had been damaged for weeks and he was more than 200km from Albany.

The past few months of sailing had taken their toll on the Russian sailor.

Since setting out from France earlier this year, his mast had cracked, a cabin hatch had been lost and barnacles had accumulated to blanket the hull, slowing his progress to a crawl.

Now well into the Golden Globe Race, with ocean spray lashing his skin, Mr Zaretskiy, 67, made his choice — he would sail on.

The skipper was one of 18 entrants signed to the GGR’s 50th anniversary contest this year, which had a reputation for being treacherous.

In the first race, the world’s first non-stop solo circumnavigation competition, only one man would reach the finish line after seven entrants abandoned their attempts and one man drowned.

This year’s race has seen 12 entrants abandon their attempts.

Despite its dangerous history — or perhaps because of it — entering the race became Mr Zaretskiy’s childhood dream.

That dream was realised on a warm July day in western France this year, when the sailors launched onto a course charted under Africa, Australia, South America and back to France.

However, for Mr Zaretskiy, there has been little smooth sailing.

Within weeks, a cabin hatch was lost, permanently exposing his quarters to the elements.

Later the ship’s mast was critically damaged, for which he spent four hours atop the yacht performing makeshift repairs.

“(It has been damaged) about two months — 80 per cent of the Indian Ocean,” he said.

Last week, with progress cut to as slow as 2km/hour, he reached Albany for repairs.

Albany was an appropriate dock of choice, given its rich history as a stopover for worldwide voyagers.

Early European explorers stopped in its waters as they charted the West Australian coast, and later Charles Darwin dropped anchor with the HMS Beagleas he crossed the world.

It remains a regular stopover for international voyagers — tankers and cruise ships alike.

Upon landing in Albany, Mr Zaretskiy reflected on the mental and physical anguish he had lived during the race.

“After the fourth time I broke down, my first thought was probably I will have to stop and abandon the race . . . then after a couple of hours of thinking, I decided to go further,” he said.

“It’s pretty dangerous and pretty hard to have such problems on board on the ocean.

“It puts you down mentally . . . also physically it’s hard, because you have to work much more.”

Mr Zaretskiy is now in last place — about 17,000km behind the leaders after 169 days racing.

He is ineligible to win given his stop for repairs, but he hoped to continue his journey to the finish line this week.

Despite the setbacks, competing in the famous around-the-world race was satisfaction enough for the man who as a boy dreamt of taking on the world’s oceans.

“If my wife will allow me, I will do it another time,” he said.

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