Vedran Kabalin and Slobodan Dado Velikić are about to participate in the notorious transatlantic solo regatta.
What's the craziest thing you have ever done? The most daring, courageous, bold, adventurous thing? Or, to put it another way – what's your longtime wish, something major you could do that would make your heart beat faster, make your dreams come true, make you able to cite it as one of your greatest accomplishments in life?
How about sailing across the Atlantic Ocean... alone?
All the listed overused clichés click into place and start to seem very appropriate for the occasion once you hear two Croats are about to set off for an incredible journey. At the moment this article was written, Vedran Kabalin from Lošinj and Slobodan Dado Velikić from Rijeka have already departed for France, where they will spend two weeks in final preparations for a transatlantic regatta, one of the most dangerous, challenging sailing trips one could ever sign up for.
The Mini Transat 6.50 is a solo transatlantic race carried out with Mini 6.50 sailboats. The concept was developed by Bob Salmon in the 1970s, and the first Mini Transat was organised in 1977, continuing to take place every other year to this day. The race is widely considered as a perilous feat, as it calls for sailing across the ocean alone in a 6.5-metre boat, without any kind of outside help and no communication devices at hand. Even if we put the technical challenges aside, spending almost a month at the open sea by yourself, without any human contact and no land in sight, can't be easy neither on the body nor the mind.
Vedran and Dado / YouTube screenshot
The only Croat to have ever participated in the Mini Transat so far was Šime Stipaničev in 2007. Almost a decade later, we have not one, but two men representing Croatia in the daunting race. Kabalin and Velikić will depart from La Rochelle in France on October 1 for the first leg, measuring 1350 nautical miles, to Las Palmas on the Canary Islands. The first part of the journey is supposed to take them around ten days, followed by two weeks of rest and preparations for the second leg. Twice as long as the first, the second route stretches 2700 nautical miles to Le Marin in Martinique. The Croatian adventurers will compete with 83 other participants coming from 14 countries in a race whose only goal is also the ultimate reward: crossing the finish line. Without any tangible reward at stake, the sole point of doing the Mini Transat is to complete it successfully, reaching that unimaginable level of personal accomplishment, satisfaction, and pride.
As it usually happens with lesser known athletes or competitors of any kind, you'll be hearing about them only after they've got that medal, set that record, finished that race. The tiresome preparations and the sheer force of will required to even get into shape for a challenging undertaking often go unnoticed, so it's only right we do our part in drawing the attention of the public to the two brave guys before they depart. After all, once they reach that finish line – and we're keeping fingers crossed for everything to go smoothly – the media will suddenly get interested and dub them national heroes. Let's take a quick look at what they've been going through in the last couple of months.
Kabalin on his sailboat Eloa
According to Kabalin, practising for the Mini Transat entails both physical and psychological preparations. Obtaining all required equipment was a massive financial burden in itself; he managed to raise required funds with the help of sponsors and a lot of hard work. The Specialty Hospital Medico from Rijeka offered to be his official sponsor, and multiple specialised companies provided various parts of equipment for his beloved boat Eloa. He then faced the year-long process of getting into shape for the race: as solo sailing doesn't exactly allow for 6-hour stretches of sleep, Kabalin had to practise shifting from the regular monophasic sleep to the polyphasic, one that enables him to get by on multiple 30-minute naps throughout the day. He was also supervised by a doctor and a psychologist to mentally prepare for the isolation he'll be facing.
On Thursday, September 14, the Sailing Club Galeb in Kostrena housed a touching event, as Kabalin's family, friends and colleagues gathered to celebrate and to wish him luck before he set off to France the following day. As Kabalin himself stated, after such a long period of planning, he was more than excited to finally depart and face the challenge he's been preparing for; he gave a short but emotional speech, thanking everyone for their support and for being a part of his upcoming journey.
With sharp focus and relentless will, our two sailors are about to carry out a feat most of us can hardly imagine. We'll make sure to bring you updates as they sail towards their goal; in the meantime, we also wish to pay tribute to their families, as they're about to face two restless months back home.
There are only two things left to say to Vedran and Dado – best of luck, and mirno more!
