Didac Costa gets the rating for the Vendée Globe

Didac Costa, with the stage of Colón at the bottom, in the Puerto Deportivo of the Real Club Nautico of Barcelona after obtaining the qualification. Photo: Sergio Patricio

The Catalan transoceanic regatist, Didac Costa, is getting closer to his dream of participating in the Vendée Globe 2016, which will start next fall from Les Sables d'Olonne (France), in which it is the return to the world alone par excellence.

Costa knows it's going to counter the clock, but step by step, to achieve its great goal, managed a few months ago, with more illusion and gain than money. It's still in the final line of being the only Spanish on the starting line, right now it's either him or none.

After preparing during the last few weeks the mythical IMOCA60 Kingfisher, with which Helen McArthur He turned the world around more than 15 years ago. A ship that you know very well since in the past Barcelona World Race, the one of 2014- 2015, ended up going around the world with his fellow fatigue, Aleix Gelabert like One Planet, One Ocean & Pharmaton.

After hundreds of hours in the hangar setting up again, stick, keel, electronics, etc; and with a team led by Jordi Griso, Didac has managed to put the 'new' OPOO in the water to make the 1,500 nautical miles in lone rating required by the organization of the Vendée Globe to be able to register definitively.

1,500-mile solo tour made by Costa to get the rating.

It was eight days of navigation along the Mediterranean and in which Costa has been able to do all kinds of tests with all kinds of winds and sea, sailing movement, turning and transfered protocols, sleep management and configuration of different alarms to awaken the least sign of loss of ship performance.

He is prepared for it, now only the economic push that will take him to the Vendée Globe is missing.

Text: Jaume Soler
Photographs: Sérgio Patricio