August 13th, 2024 – Canada Ocean Racing – Be Water Positive Sailing Team today announced the launch of the Canada Ocean Racing Pathway Program, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at promoting offshore sailing and nurturing new talent within the Canadian sailing community. The inaugural event will take place from September 27th to 29th, 2024, in Collingwood, Ontario with more events planned in the future.

The Canada Ocean Racing Pathway Program is an extension of the Be Water Positive Sailing Team IMOCA campaign skippered by Canadian sailor Scott Shawyer. The program offers participants who are Canadian residents, aged between 18 – 25, an opportunity to engage with seasoned professionals, gain hands-on sailing experience, and explore potential career pathways in offshore racing. The program promises to be a transformative experience for aspiring members of the Canadian sailing community.

Please note that you do not need to be entirely focused on sailing to apply. If you are looking for a shore-based career in the sailing industry then this program is also for you.

Application Process
Application Period: August 13th – September 6, 2024
How to Apply: Submit applications to hello@canadaoceanracing.com with your
age, location and why you would like to be included in the pathway program. Selection Process: Applications will be reviewed, and shortlisted candidates may be
interviewed. Final participants will be notified by September 10.

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Prior to the start of the New York – Vendee yacht race, a motion and structure was put in place to enable Canada Ocean Racing to take full control of the management of Scott Shawyer’s 2028 Vendee Globe campaign and all plans and projects related to Canada Ocean Racing and the Be Water Positive Sailing Team.

The onward campaign planning and strategy going forward shall be directed by President and skipper Scott Shawyer, company/campaign CEO Nick Moloney, and our project stakeholders.

Canada Ocean Racing has big onward plans, including the 2028 Vendee Globe and many other IMOCA class events such as the Transatlantic and longer haul classic ocean races. 

For now, the Owen Clarke IMOCA, which has served Scott and the team well for the past 2 years, is for sale in order to make way for a newer generation foiling IMOCA yacht. For any boat or onward Canada Ocean Racing – Be Water Positive Sailing Team enquiries please contact Nick Moloney nick@canadaoceanracing.com

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Scott Shawyer, the skipper of the IMOCA Be Water Positive, has completed his first solo transatlantic race from the US to France. By crossing the finish line yesterday evening, the Canadian also became the first from his country to complete the New York Vendée race.
After 14 days of racing, Scott Shawyer covered the 3,100 nautical miles that separated New York from Les Sables d’Olonne, France. This first participation in the New York Vendée marks an important performance milestone in Scott’s project and affirms the team’s commitment to sustainable water management with his partners H2O Innovation and IDRA.

 From the pontoons in Les Sables d’Olonne Scott reflected on his first solo race:

“Due to the weather patterns, we experienced in this race, the time spent at sea was longer than initially expected. I had mentally prepared myself to be at sea for anywhere between 10 to 13 days, but once the race was underway, I was immediately immersed in the competition and the days began to simply peel away.

There were many periods during the race when my nerves and patience were greatly tested, but for the most part, I found enormous motivation and reward in both my performance against those around me and my connection to the ocean and solitude.

 I started this race after having trained hard, I had a lot of personal belief and specific goals. I can openly say that I have exceeded the expectations I placed upon myself. My confidence grew enormously every day, as did my feeling of belonging—not just in this fleet, racing among the best solo offshore racers in the world, but also in the peace I found in solitude and the beauty of being so connected to the sea and the elements. Without over-romanticizing the experience, over the past 15 days, I have genuinely lived out my vision and dream: competing in this sport, among this fleet, in these boats, immersed in nature upon a vast ocean.

 For a very long time, I wondered what it must be like to race solo across an ocean, and now I know. I have shared an incredible adventure and experience alongside my fellow competitors and have planned and executed a huge personal goal with the support of my family, friends, sponsors, and team. This is an experience and memory that I will treasure forever.”

 Now the team will return the boat to their base in Gosport, UK and Scott will take a well deserved rest.

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Tuesday, June 5th, was a day filled with challenges for Canada Ocean Racing / Be Water Positive skipper Scott Shawyer. On Day 6 of the New York to Vendée France solo transatlantic yacht race, Scott faced multiple unpredictable setbacks.

The day began with an autopilot failure while Scott was below deck, leading to a wild crash gybe. For those unfamiliar, a ‘crash gybe’ is one of the most feared unintentional manoeuvres in sailing that often results in a sailboat being pinned on its side with the sails locked to windward, pushing the boat to a 90-degree angle or more, with the mast horizontal and the deck vertical. This not only disorients the sailor but also puts extreme stress on the mast, sails and general equipment.

If you have not seen the footage Scott captured during this incident, it is available on Canada Ocean Racing’s social media channels. The degree to which the boat is heeling over is initially hard to comprehend until you see Scott in the picture. The content is impressive, to say the least.

Despite the scare, Scott and the boat were relatively unscathed. After about an hour and a half of sorting out the mess, Scott was back on track.

However, a few hours later, a mechanical device at the base of one of Scott’s largest sails exploded into three pieces. This device is essential for rolling up the sail, making it manageable for a solo sailor to hoist and retrieve. It also attaches the sail to the front of the boat. The failure sent the sail skyward, with 300m2 of high-tech fabric flapping wildly from the mast. To create some perspective, this sail’s surface area is larger than a singles tennis court, which is 195.65m2.

Using the lines attached for shape control and by carefully lowering the halyard (the line used to hoist the sail), Scott managed to wrestle the lower section onto the foredeck and into an open hatch. Unfortunately, a wind increase caused Scott to lose control of the halyard, and the main body of the sail ended up in the water. Despite his best efforts to pull the sail back onboard, the loads were too extreme. Scott turned the boat into the wind to stop his forward progress, cut the halyard with a knife, and gradually retrieved the full sail, which he then safely stowed in the yacht’s bilge.

This ordeal was both dangerous and exhausting. To say that Scott was physically broken at the end of this challenge is an understatement. Additionally, the earlier autopilot failure had significantly restricted his ability to sleep or even rest, pushing Scott to his physical and mental limits.

After retrieving the sail, Scott immediately deployed a substitute sail to minimise his losses against the fleet and his immediate competitors. His next goal was to recover from the ordeal and while setting up to charge the boat batteries using the main engine alternator, the engine gear linkage engaged, causing the propeller shaft to rotate momentarily. Drive shafts on all boats in the fleet are locked and sealed with a tie that has an identification number. Although breaking these ties is not uncommon, it carries an automatic penalty. The penalty is cleared by not progressing beyond two waypoints established by the race organisation, remaining stationary on the course for a period of 70 minutes. As Scott put it, this was ‘a bit of insult to injury.’

Despite what was one of Scott’s most challenging days at sea, he only lost one fleet position due to the setbacks and his time in the penalty box. Scott used his penalty time to regroup, sort out the mess of broken pieces, and stow away meters of sailcloth and control lines strewn above and below deck. He found a better mode where his autopilot seemed more reliable, which allowed him to finally get some much-needed rest and begin his recovery.

Days like this are not unheard of in the IMOCA class. While the individual issues Scott faced have been experienced by most solo offshore sailors, the combination of cascading setbacks in such a short period of time is rare. Scott’s elite-level fitness and hard training in preparation for worst-case scenarios enabled him to manage these complications, quickly restore order and minimise his race performance losses.

The amazing footage of the crash gybe captured by the boat’s onboard media system has been widely circulated throughout the sailing and mainstream media, prompting a spike in supportive comments across various media channels and threads, including encouragement from some of Scott’s competitors in the fleet.

Today (Day 8 of the race) Scott continues to recover, aided by relatively stable wind conditions that permit the opportunity to sleep more frequently in short periods. Scott is still working hard,he has regained his 3rd place daggerboard/non-foiler fleet ranking and is progressing well through the overall fleet. He is now half way through this race and is expected to arrive in Les Sables d’Olonne, France in around 7 days time.

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As the fleet claws its way towards the end of day four in the New York–Vendée solo transatlantic yacht race, competitors are flooding their communication and social media channels with expressions of frustration. I have empathy for the struggling sailors who are battling fatigue and exhaustion, and concern surrounding the weather synopsis affecting the entire North Atlantic race course.

“I have never seen anything like it. The world is upside down. I am tearing my hair out!” commented Charlie Dalin, one of the fleet’s best weather strategists, who is currently vying with Boris Herrmann for the race lead.

Sailors have been yelling to the sky, shaking their fists at the wind gods, and doing their best to not let negative thoughts grow wings.

About one third of the race is completed, and the fleet is split into two main packs with around 2,000 nautical miles to go. The lead pack is edging its way into more consistent winds further east, while the second pack still has a way to go before experiencing similar stability in wind direction and speed. From the lead pack, Charlie Dalin also expressed, “The weather doesn’t correspond to anything. From one file to another, it changes everything. Systems are not where they are supposed to be.”

Scott is placed in the second pack battling with his class of non-foiling designed boats. He has just completed his daily media commitments with the race organisers, expressing how gruelling and challenging the race has been and how the weather is not aligning with the forecasts. Yet, through his struggle, Scott has impressed me tremendously over the past four days. He left Newport, RI (USA), in a great place mentally, and on his passage toward the start line, he texted me, “I’m feeling ready for this” – an expression of confidence crucial for facing such an intense personal and sporting goal.

For those of us onshore, we monitor our skippers and the fleet around the clock. On day one, Scott made it clear he was determined to give this challenge his all. He manoeuvred and changed sails in sync with the wind shifts, attacking the race with focus and energy, rewarded by a good period in the top 10 ranking, and a stint in 4th position among the 28 starters.

From a coaching perspective, we have worked on a process known as ‘knocking off the hills and filling in the valleys’. The aim is to develop a mindset trained to retain a consistent mood. If you have a great few hours and pass a few boats, restrict yourself from peaking with excitement, remain calm, and take the success in stride. Conversely, if you lose places, have damage, or get caught in a windless hole, restrict the depth of your low mood response. High peaks in emotions can lead to deep lows, and the aim is to remain as emotionally level as possible.

 

Scott has a natural calmness. He has always impressed me with how unflappable he can be, and despite the last few days being a huge drain on his tolerance reserves, he has remained incredibly composed. I won’t try to paint a perfect picture; he has been frustrated and has cursed, but he has remained focused on the task at hand. This focus has allowed him to stay positive, make strong decisions, tend to inevitable small onboard issues, and change and adjust his sails when required.

We also need to keep in mind that the unstable weather has driven these sailors into a state of severe sleep deprivation. Securing a total of 3 hours of sleep in broken cat naps is doing well, and even in this deteriorated state, Scott is maintaining good consistency. He seems to be revelling in this challenge, even bizarrely loving it.

One aspect that helps balance emotions is self-belief, which can come in many forms. Scott has trained hard for this race, resulting in a healthy level of belief. Every time he passes a competitor or makes a positive change to his setup that enhances his position or speed, this belief increases.

Although this is a solo sailing race and the physical distance between us and these brave athletes can seem far, the messages of encouragement and support fed into Scott’s and Canada Ocean Racing’s social media platforms provide incredible emotional support, fuelling motivation, reducing the feeling of loneliness, and increasing belief in oneself and the purpose. I know Scott is incredibly humbled and grateful for this support, so please keep these amazing messages coming.

As Scott’s coach, I am extremely proud of him right now, I am genuinely inspired by his tenacity, focus and determination, and I know that the same pride and admiration are shared by our team and those in his corner.

In a world of unknowns I am excited about what the next 10 days of racing may hold for our fearless, humble and talented leader. Onwards Scott, you deserve every positive break that comes your way.


— 

Nick Moloney is Scott Shawyer’s performance coach. He has competed and coached in the America’s Cup, sailed around the world three times, and set over 15 World Sailing Speed Records including the fastest non-stop and unassisted circumnavigation of the planet under sail. He is also an executive coach, working primarily with Founders and CEOs drawing upon his experience in high performance sport and the analogies between sport and business.

The post Coping with an upside down world with coach Nick Moloney appeared first on Be Water Positive.

According to the weather forecasts from his coach Nick Moloney, the starting conditions look good for Scott. The skippers will start with a light wind that should gradually strengthen over the following days with the arrival of a depression within 48 hours, which will bring strong winds. The workload will be heavy for the first 3-4 days, before some uncomfortable yet fast sailing across the mid-Atlantic sector.

Overall, a challenging weather scenario in the beginning, with a major transition on days 3-4, the Canadian skipper will have to adapt to these changing conditions while making the most of the potential of his boat for this Atlantic crossing.

A few hours before the start, Scott explained “the pressure is mounting! I feel a mix of excitement and stress. I’m quite confident, I’ve trained well in recent months, I know the boat well, I know the electronic systems well. I can’t wait to take the start.”

The post Scott Shawyer takes the start of the New York Vendée appeared first on Be Water Positive.

Brewed by the masterminds at Evil Twin Brewery in NYC, Revival Beer is a truly unique offering that pushes the boundaries of sustainable brewing. This 3rd Edition is a one-of-a-kind batch, crafted with a remarkable twist and like other editions, it’s made entirely from recycled water.

The water used in this exceptional brew comes from Monterey One Water, a pioneering facility that transforms wastewater into a safe, reliable, and sustainable water supply. Through a cutting-edge, multi-barrier process, the water undergoes primary and secondary treatment, followed by an advanced purification process that separates water from pollutants.

Using some of H2O Innovation technologies, this rigorous process ensures that the recycled water used in Revival Beer meets or exceeds strict State and Federal drinking water standards, making it not only sustainable but also safe for consumption.

With its unique origin and the expertise of Evil Twin Brewery, Revival Beer – 3rd Edition promises to be a truly remarkable and sustainable drinking experience.

Raise a glass to the future of brewing and savor the taste of innovation with every sip.

The Liberty Race: A Spectacular Preview before the New York Vendée

Tomorrow will take place the Liberty Race, an exhibition race of one nautical mile in New York Bay. This race promises breathtaking sights, with the IMOCA yachts sailing past the iconic Statue of Liberty. The event serves as a prelude to the New York Vendée – Les Sables d’Olonne, a transatlantic qualifying race for the next Vendée Globe in November 2024. No fewer than 29 skippers participating in the around-the-world race will take part in this New York sprint.

Starting at 11 AM, the speed runs will commence with the first group setting off on the one-nautical-mile course in New York Bay. Four groups will race successively until 3:30 PM, with start times staggered by a few minutes. This event offers a warm-up before the great Atlantic crossing to Les Sables d’Olonne.

A unique experience not to be missed for beer, environment, and sailing enthusiasts!

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Undoubtedly, two of the biggest challenges of racing these high speed yachts alone include; managing sleep and getting adequate nutrition.  The constant and often violent movement of the boat combined with the noise of the hull hitting the waves, makes it very difficult to get any rest and sometimes makes it impossible to eat. Food and sleep are vital to the skipper being able to remain alert to help critical decision making.  It’s therefore vital to be well prepared with suitable food for the race that is easy to eat, nutritious and you like to eat! It’s also vital to have a comfortable and safe place to sleep aboard the boat, that could be moving at 30 knots through 5 metre waves.

Nutrition.

Each skipper has to prepare their meals in a confined, moving space – using only a ‘jet boil’ to make hot water.  The importance of eating nutritious meals during this race will provide not only a morale boost, but the necessary energy and nutrients for Scott to maintain physical endurance and mental focus in the demanding conditions of offshore sailing. Offshore sailors tend to take some fresh supplies with them for the first few days, snacks and a range of freeze dried camping food that is rehydrated with hot water or vacuum packed ‘wet meals’ that can be eaten straight from the packet.  Scott ‘s preference is a mixture of these ready made meals, supplemented by his own home made recipes that he freeze dries himself for the race. Scott’s go to snacks are granola bars with nuts and chocolate.

“For food, I’ve studied my nutritional needs and designed a diet adapted for on-board, while planning for possible seasickness.  For food, I snack throughout the day and try to prepare freeze-dried meals when possible.”  explains the skipper.

Sleep.

The constant demands of monitoring the boat’s performance and conditions leave little time for rest, requiring disciplined and efficient management to maintain performance and safety during the race. 

“It’s difficult to sleep well on the boat because it’s always moving. It’s also complicated to eat well and rest. There is so much to do that time seems to fly by. So I try to plan my sleep and rest periods according to the workload and sea state, grabbing naps of 30 to 90 minutes..”

Regarding his ‘sleep’ training, the Canadian skipper jokes that his wife has been preparing him for years due to her light and restless sleep. “My wife has kind of trained me for the sleep part over the years! I sleep in a fragmented way at night, which helps me adapt offshore.” 

During the race, Scott Shawyer will increasingly try and shift into a polyphasic sleep pattern (breaking up sleep into multiple short naps throughout the day and night), rather than having one long sleep period. 

Scott Shawyer is well prepared, confident and eager to start the New York Vendée on May 29th. His goal is simple: to complete this Atlantic crossing in the best possible conditions.

——

About Be Water Positive

Scott’s IMOCA racing yacht proudly displays the livery of the Be Water Positive campaign, reminding everyone of the crucial issues related to sustainable water management. The “Be Water Positive” initiative aims to promote the responsible and efficient use of water resources. 

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The New York Vendée Transat race is open to 60-foot monohulls from the IMOCA class of racing yachts. This is the second edition of the race, and the 3,200 nautical mile course connects New York to Les Sables-d’Olonne – the home of the legendary Vendée Globe race. 30 skippers will be on the start line, representing 14 different nationalities, with  Scott being the only Canadian.

Meticulous preparation 

In the lead-up to the race, the Canadian skipper has ramped up his training, alternating between time at sea and physical and mental preparations on land. To him, physical preparation is nothing without mastering the mental game.

“Mental preparation is the key for a race like this“, affirms Scott. “You have to have absolute confidence in your abilities while still remaining humble in the face of the ocean’s power.”

Scott knows first-hand that his race will push his limits and that he needs to be ready to fend off fatigue and the possibility of seasickness that may become a feature once he has crossed the start line. “It’s a constant battle out there, but that’s what makes this journey so exhilarating“, he confides.

Mental training

Scott has carefully developed a mental training routine to be prepared to face this challenge. “Just like physical preparation, you have to work on your mind daily. When you are alone at sea, your mind can play tricks on you, and you need to try to control it.“

“So when I go to the race start, I can be prepared to then prepare for the actual race and have everything buttoned up at home. At that stage, preparing for the race is working through the boat and making sure that I’ve got all my questions answered about things that need to be done onboard. Also, I want to talk through various scenarios to make sure that I know what to do if they occur. I want to run through race strategy and then move into the weather as we get closer to the start date. In the last phase it’s really about heading out to the start line and modeling the differing start options that I might have.  I know my nerves will be high, adrenaline will be pumping and it’s just understanding and accepting that.    I need to view this race start – as an easy start, and then once I cross the line I can start to push. I am prepared for seasickness and making sure that I’ve got a good plan in case that happens. I’ve done enough seasickness management  this year that I feel like that’s going to be under control.”

Scott has added meditation, deep breathing and visualisation to his routine and these techniques help him to remain focused and balanced, even in the most intense situations. “These exercises and strategies help me keep my calm, even when a storm is raging or when I am frustrated by a lack of wind“, he confides.

However, Scott also knows the importance and unconditional support of his technical and shore team. “Their hard work,  trust in me, and encouragement will be crucial for getting me through the tough times at sea“, he emphasizes.

Racing for a purpose

Beyond his participation in the New York Vendée race, Scott carries a strong message: promoting a “Be Water Positive” approach to preserve the world’s water resources. He explains that his project aims  to “raise public awareness about the importance of understanding the impacts of water scarcity and encouraging sustainable practices to protect this precious resource.”

“On Be Water Positive, I think it’s an important message to carry and a concept to understand. It’s about raising people’s awareness of water scarcity. And I’m looking forward to telling people more about it after the race and to carry that message through this race. It’s something that we take for granted being in Canada, surrounded by so much fresh water, but  I have realised that when I’m out there sailing, there’s no fresh water around, and that’s what a lot of the world feels like with their water situation. So I think it’s an important message and one that we’re trying to raise awareness for. I also rely 100% on my watermaker at sea to take the salt out of seawater and make it drinkable  – this is desalination in action.“

Scott’s  IMOCA racing yacht proudly displays the livery of the Be Water Positive campaign, reminding everyone of the crucial issues related to the sustainable management of water.  The team formed an alliance with the International Desalination and Reuse Association alongside their team partner, H2O Innovation, to develop and spread the key messages about water positivity.

The post Scott Shawyer, preparing mentally to take on the Atlantic appeared first on Be Water Positive.

Canadian offshore sailor Scott Shawyer is 16 days away from the start of the New York (USA) to Vendee (France) solo Transatlantic yacht race, a passage estimated to take around two weeks, undoubtedly Scott’s greatest sailing challenge to date.

In this final phase of preparation, obtaining the correct mindset for Scott to take to sea is one of my main areas of focus as his performance coach. The process is in-depth and influenced primarily by three main stages over the next 16 days.

Stage 1: ‘Leaving the Nest’; this is a process of leaving home. It is a vital phase of preparation with the aim to ensure that the athlete’s house is in order. Yesterday, I sent Scott a reminder that in 10 days from now he will make the switch from his home in Canada to the race village in Newport RI (USA) and to prepare for the race start. I prompted Scott to consider his readiness for the transition, asking him to question himself in relation to being present now for those important to him and if he is comfortable with the state of his home and business affairs. Leaving the nest in good order will enable a quicker shift into race mode, this is a straightforward performance gain for any athlete, but often one that is hard to achieve.

Stage 2: ‘Managing the Hype’ when physically reconnecting with the team and the boat, as well as absorbing the atmosphere that surrounds the race village. This also includes pre-race formalities such as Scott’s commercial/sponsor obligations and media commitments. In this stage it is important that the individual elements amongst this process do not become detrimental distractions, or even frustrations; in the right frame of mind, all of which can be used as positive energy and competitive fuel. The mind is easily influenced and can quickly cultivate negative or positive thoughts. In this case, the athlete can train their mind to see commercial and media commitments as privileges, not burdens, for example.

Stage 3: ‘Narrowing the Focus’ is a state of mind that is also commonly referred to as ‘getting in the zone’. During this period, I aim to create a shield around the athlete. I also ask those around Scott to focus only on what will directly enhance his preparation. Within this bubble, Scott can concentrate on what is most important; final systems, equipment checks and onboard provisioning, final physical and mental preparation, detailed pre-start course and weather strategy, and last contact with loved ones.

The world of offshore sailing is volatile and unpredictable, yet the pieces within the above stages are aspects in preparation and readiness that we can control. To execute the above well and with the correct process can create a more organised and clearer mind, a mind that can absorb new knowledge more easily and adapt quickly to change. This in turn helps build confidence, and confidence is belief, belief is strength.

I also adopt a process known as ‘pebbles in the locker’. This was passed onto me by my mentor during the 1995 America’s Cup. The mindset behind this process is that every time you have a good training session, positive progress in any way, or you learn something new, that you theoretically place a small stone (pebble) in your locker. Then on race day, if there is any doubt as to whether you are ready to compete, you open your locker door and a pile of pebbles spill out. These small stones are indicators and reminders that you have done the work and that you are ready. I help identify and monitor the pebbles.

You also don’t just step up and start these sorts of races, there is a process that includes proving to the event organisers that the athlete is capable. There is specific seamanship licensing, medical and sea survival training that is undertaken in order to qualify, the process is rigorous. These are all ‘pebbles’. Over the winter we relocated our base to Portugal where during a four-month period we could access the most ideal sailing conditions in order to best prepare Scott for this specific race. Again, more ‘pebbles’.

On the 28th of May, Scott will leave Newport RI and sail to the offshore start line, a journey and pre-start process that will take around 10-15 hours. For this period, Scott will already be alone onboard but we will have contact with him to aid with any final performance information and tweaks such as new weather forecasts and how this information changes the immediate race strategy, but once the race starts at 14:00 EST on the 29th of May, our interaction with Scott becomes highly restricted. At this point, the core of our supporting roles needs to have been delivered, and as in any other sport, the time beyond the starting gun belongs to the athlete.

———-

Nick Moloney is Scott Shawyer’s performance coach. He has competed and coached in the America’s Cup, sailed around the world three times, and set over 15 World Sailing Speed Records including the fastest non-stop and unassisted circumnavigation of the planet under sail. He is also an executive coach, working primarily with Founders and CEOs drawing upon his experience in high performance sport and the analogies between sport and business.

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