Tipping Your Captain

What is this sailing vessel doing upside down in the RCYC City Side basin at the foot of Parliament Street? It's the carbon fibre Spirit of Canada, which was performing a mandatory test yesterday before Skipper Derek Hatfield qualifies to take the boat more than 27,000 nautical miles non-stop around the world—alone. Only 126 sailors have accomplished such a trek successfully. By comparison, more than 1,800 mountaineers have reached the summit of Mount Everest.

The exercise found Hatfield locked inside the airtight compartment during the test, upside down and in complete darkness after a crane tipped the vessel. Hatfield has previously battled 60-foot waves at Cape Horn during a previous trip around the globe, and needs to be able to right the boat alone if capsized. When upside down, Hetfield has to jump on the ceiling and then onto a shelf unit to tip the 8,000-pound hydraulic canting keel about 15° off-vertical, which should then cause the boat to right itself.

The previous 'round-the-world Around Alone race saw Hatfield's boat dismasted when it flipped in the dangerous southern seas, throwing him into the frigid ocean and then scooping him up up again as it righted. After four weeks of repairs, almost 29,000 nautical miles and eight months at sea, Hetfield crossed the finish line in an impressive third place (Class II) on May 31, 2003.

The former Bay Street fraud squad officer leaves for his lonely three-month non-stop race in November 2008 from the shores of Les Sables d'Olonne, France following years of planning. In this particular race, The Vendée Globe, sailors aren't allowed to stop and make repairs, nor is outside assistance permitted. He's also looking for sponsor support, so if you've got some coin or just want to learn more about the Hatfield and his 60-foot sailboat, visit the Spirit of Canada website.

Photos by fisso416 from the Torontoist Flickr Pool