Making Waves – serie

The Last Sea Dog tells the story of Jean-Luc Van Den Heede’s life and his many sailing adventures, focussing on his triumph in the 2018/19 Golden Globe Race.Jean-Luc has rounded Cape Horn 12 times and completed six solo circumnavigations. These have resulted in five race podiums and one world record, which he still currently holds: He has been on the podium twice in the Vendée Globe single-handed race around the world, coming third in 1990 and second in 1993. More recently he won the Golden Globe Race in 2018/19 at the age of 73. This race was run as a fiftieth anniversary of the 1968 race of the same name won by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. While the restriction of no assistance and no stopovers were not particularly unusual, more challenging were the requirements to sail the race ‘as in 1968’ with yachts similar to those available in that year and, except for safety equipment, no modern technology allowed. No satellite-based navigation aids were available to the sailors and they had to use a sextant to navigate around the world as Robin had done fifty years previously.Jean-Luc was born in Amiens, far from the sea, and he became a maths teacher. Nevertheless, he developed a passion for competitive sailing. He is friendly and easy to approach, but he is also a formidable competitor with an abundance of courage and perseverance.This personal account of his life and the Golden Globe Race is an amazing story of a man who has faced the toughest times and sea and won through.

Looking back at the lives and sailing careers of some of our lifetime’s finest yachtsmen, this collection of eleven original, moving accounts is just as much a celebration of the good – tales of hope, achievement and courageous spirit – as it is an account of their tragic final voyages. Included are world-renowned racers, like Eric Tabarly and Rob James, highly experienced cruisers and adventurers, like Peter Tangvald and Bill Tilman, and the notoriously ill-prepared Donald Crowhurst, as well as other famous and some less well-known sailors. Starting with the sad loss of Frank Davison and Reliance in 1949, the book concludes with the amazing last voyage of Philip Walwyn in 2015 – crossing the Atlantic single-handed in his 12 Metre yacht Kate. All of the men and women described were friends with or known to the author, Nicholas Gray, who himself competed in several short-handed long distance races, where he met and raced against many of these fascinating characters. Peppered with photographs showcasing the sailors and their yachts, this is a refreshing look at those who have helped to shape this sport’s history, honouring their lives and accomplishments before detailing their tragic last voyages.

At five out of the last six Olympic Games team GBR has been the top nation in sailing, a result of strong leadership from the Royal Yachting Association and very talented sailors and coaches. But Barry Pickthall, formerly the Yachting Correspondent of The Times observes: “If one man deserves recognition for Britain’s remarkable success within the sailing Olympic arena, it is Jim Saltonstall – the coach who has cajoled, encouraged and inspired so many youngsters towards world stardom over the past 3 decades.”This is the story of Jim Saltonstall and his contribution to the success of British sailing. It starts in his home county of Yorkshire and the seaside town of Bridlington where he learnt to sail. It goes through his experiences in the Royal Navy, which he joined aged 15, with tours all around the world but, particularly, sailing with the Royal Navy team and becoming the Royal Navy Sailing Coach. This led to his appointment as the first RYA National Yacht Racing Coach, the development of the GBR Race Training Scheme and, in due course, great success at youth, world and Olympic levels. The 24 Olympic medals won by the 14 sailors who give glowing praise to Jim in the Foreword confirms his contribution to this success.Jim retired from his Team GBR role in 2000, after the Sydney Olympics, but it is a testimony to him that two of the gold medallists from Tokyo 2020 (which took place in 2021 – in elite sports a lifetime since Jim retired) credit him in their success, saying he was ‘a huge inspiration’ and ‘couldn’t help be motivated’ by him.The story is told as modestly as a Yorkshireman can, and is interspaced with tales of cars, car journeys and one or two parties!Jim also takes time out of the story to give his thoughts on all aspects of youth training, competing internationally and coaching. Anyone involved in race training will benefit from the wisdom he provides in these pieces.

Golden Lily is the fascinating autobiography from Asia’s first ever dinghy sailing gold medallist.It tells of her learning to sail and becoming a full-time athlete at just 10 years old. At that age Lijia Xu was taken away from her parents and enrolled in the gruelling Chinese training regime, a programme meticulously prescribed across all sporting disciplines to catapult the nation’s talented youngsters to international champions. It is a rare insight into a shocking world of relentless physical training and unquestioning mental compliance. Lijia’s honest and heart-felt account takes you on her journey from physical disabilities and debilitating injuries to learning to think for herself, eventually going on to achieve her dream of becoming an Olympic gold medallist. Now, ten years since its first publication, Lily has updated the story. She tells of her third and final Olympic campaign at Rio 2016 and then training to be a sports journalist and covering Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 as a reporter. Lijia opens up about her secret relationship with her English coach and their subsequent marriage, as well as talking about her post-Olympic sailing including IMOCA 60s, M32s, J80s and Waszps.This is an inspirational story of a young woman’s will to succeed despite all that her background threw at her.