A Collingwood, Ont. man is well on his way to becoming the first Canadian to complete a worldwide sailing race. President and Skipper of Canada Ocean Racing Scott Shawyer, 54, is planning on setting sail around the world in a couple of years on the Vendée Globe aboard a gigantic sailboat. Non-stop, solo and unassisted, he calls it the “most challenging sailing race on the planet” and “arguably, the most challenging sporting event in the world.” Despite having nothing but himself to rely on and a boat with a “bucket and chuck it” situation for the bathroom and something called a “coffin bunk” for a bed, Shawyer says while the conditions won’t be the best, the journey will be well worth it for him. Fresh off the summer in Collingwood where he introduced his friends and family to the IMOCA—the boat he’ll be racing on—Shawyer has some races lined up ahead of the big one, which he plans to set out for in 2028. The race happens every four years and takes three to four months on average to complete. How his love of sailing began Shawyer tells CTV News he’s been sailing ever since he was a kid when his parents bought a cottage in Parry Sound. He admits, while his parents didn’t share his love of sailing, he relished the freedom and capability a boat gave him. Shawyer found himself out on the water a fair bit on a laser dinghy—a single-handed sailing boat. The journey Shawyer describes the route he’ll be taking like he’s giving simple directions to someone heading to the local coffee shop, but the journey is anything but. He says he’ll leave from France, make a left turn, go south down the Atlantic to the bottom of Africa, turn left, circumnavigate Antarctica and go under Australia and New Zealand. He’ll head south of South America, take a left again, up the Atlantic to the north and finally, turn right back to France. No biggie, right? It spans a total of 42,000 kilometres. He’ll be sailing a large part of the race in the Southern Ocean, some of the most remote areas in the world, with waves regularly 40 to 50-feet high, temperatures below zero at times and icebergs to dodge. Shawyer was first inspired to take on the feat when he saw the skippers set out to sea at the start of the 2020 Vendée Globe. “I just felt this freedom and sense of adventure I haven’t felt in years,” Shawyer says. Two Canadians have attempted the race but one was lost at sea in 1996 and another suffered a knock-down, broke part of his mast and had to retire midway through in 2008. But that didn’t deter Shawyer. He says the more people he talked to, the more he heard the ways in which it wouldn’t be possible like that it’s too challenging, Canada doesn’t have the boats and no one will sponsor a Canadian sailor. “The more I heard that, the more I thought, that’s a shame, somebody’s gotta do this. Why can’t we do this? There’s really no good reason why we can’t do this,” Shawyer says. “I’ve always probably had an unrealistic confidence in my ability to do things,” Shawyer says. “I kind of feel like if somebody else can do it, why can’t I?” As an engineer, with a degree in psychology and a background in business, Shawyer says a methodical approach is what will make him successful. Methodical approach His training involves everything from creating planning spreadsheets to mobility and stamina and knowledge of weather systems. And while Shawyer will be by himself in the middle of the ocean, he says the boat has Starlink, so he’ll be able to contact family and friends. But that comes with its own psychological challenges. He says he’s heard from people who’ve done the race and the loneliness can start to settle in after a phone call back home. “When they hang up, the silence is deafening,” Shawyer says. “The most lonely you ever feel is following a phone call from a group of friends because it’s just so quiet – to realize you’re in the middle of the ocean on your own.” The boat The IMOCA is an open class, 60- by 18-foot sailing boat, with a mast that’s 100 feet tall—that’s the height of an eight or nine-storey building. The keel, which is the part of the boat that extends from the bottom and submerges into the water, goes down below 15 feet. If the sail was laid out, Shawyer says, it would cover an entire NBA basketball court, plus the front-row seats. When it comes to operating the boat, everything is manual, using something called a pedestal grinder. Throughout the journey, at times, Shawyer says he’ll be zipping along at a top speed of roughly 40 knots per hour – the equivalent of 75 kilometres per hour in a vehicle. A stripped-down, race boat, built out of carbon fibre, Shawyer describes the boat as “bare bones living.” There are no basic amenities like a fridge or toilet. Instead, Shawyer will survive off of freeze-dried food, as it’s light and stable. It’s important not to add weight to the boat. “A lot of it ends up like porridge at the end of the day,” Shawyer says. After all, he says he’ll burn between 5,000 and 7,000 calories a day. There’ll also be a small water maker on board, which desalinates and filters ocean water. The boat is equipped with two beds—aka the coffin bunks—that just barely fit Shawyer’s frame. There’s one on either side that both tilt to match the angle of the boat, so he can sleep relatively flat, considering how much of a bumpy ride it will be. Finally, the “bucket and chuck it” washroom situation is exactly as it sounds. Do your business in a bucket, put it into a biodegradable bag and throw it out to sea. “Not glamorous living, but it’s living,” Shawyer says with a chuckle. He’s quick to explain some of what will make the journey well worth it. “But you get some of the best sunsets you’ve ever seen, you’ll see the milky way like you’ve never seen it before,” Shawyer says. “I mean, you see some fantastic things out there, so it’s worth it.” What he wants to accomplish Shawyer wants Canada Ocean Racing to continue beyond himself. “I’d like to inspire others to take on their own challenges in life and have the confidence to do hard things,” he says. “There are so many opportunities in life and I think, in general, as people, we can do more than we think we can.” “You have to have the courage to step up and do something well before you have the confidence that you can actually do it.”
