It's one of the toughest sporting events in the world with only 114 sailors ever actually finishing it and, despite almost losing his life last time he competed, Kiwi Conrad Colman is one of them - and he's now ready for his second Vendée Globe.
The Vendée Globe is a solo, non-stop, unassisted round the world yacht race which takes place every four years.
Named after the Department of Vendée in France where the race starts and ends, it is considered by many in sailing circles to be the ultimate test in ocean racing.
“It is the longest event in any sport on this planet - 45,000 kms non-stop around the world without assistance without stops so that in and of itself is pretty intense," Colman told 1News from France.
“I don't have an outside navigator so all of the strategy, all of the weather analysis is done on board, whether it’s in the middle of a raging storm or sometimes in the middle of calm seas. But, for me, it's the ultimate expression of all of these challenges.”
And if anyone knows a thing or two about raging storms, it’s Colman.
His 2016 race was a constant battle with a faulty autopilot, an on board fire which wiped out his other instruments and a fateful storm that left him clinging for his life to a side rail of his seriously damaged boat.
After managing to get himself back on deck and navigate the scary encounter, Colman was then left with the aftermath – a boat as banged as he was.
“The rig failed just 800 miles before the finish and that was a brutal, brutal disappointment but it did allow me to sort of bring to the table all of my sort of technical skills,” he recalled.
“I was able to rebuild a jury rig and sail the last 800 miles to the finish, all of which was done without food at the end because with the delay of the mast going down, I ran out of food and ended up finishing the race 10 kilos lighter than I'd started!”
Colman believes his second entry starting in a few hours will be much smoother sailing.
"It feels different now, lining up for my second Vendée and my fourth race around the world as a skipper, because I certainly have no, no concerns about what's waiting for me out there.
"Kiwis, we're known for going overseas and making the world our own and, for me, this is a great opportunity to rally that that energy and that ethos."
And with New Zealand sailing in a golden era, Colman dreams of leading a Kiwi entry in the Ocean Race one day.
"I'm looking for Kiwi companies and Kiwi sailors and of course the general Kiwi public to get in behind this project and get the silver fern back into the ocean waves,” he said.
“We've still got a lot of talent in both building and design In New Zealand and, for me, it's time to turn that back to the ocean waves and not just inshore regatta sailing.
“I grew up with Peter Blake on TV1 calling in and then having this sort of crackly voice on the radio coming through and I remember just how powerful that was as a young boy growing up.
“Listening to that it made me feel like everything was possible, that the world was so much more than my immediate horizon.”
With the wind truly in his sails, Colman is ready for whatever those horizons hold.
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