God´s ways are mysterious, so they say. And sometimes it is really hard to believe that there might not be an unimaginable entity, weaving the threads of everything, bringing this wonderful orchestra to life that we call reality. Last week, I was roaming the pontoons of La Grande Motte „Multihull“ show, a man was standing at the end of one – looking me right into my eyes, smiling, raising his hand to a salute. I frowned. Did I knew him? Yes I did!
This man was Frederic Switala! Literally just returned from his circumnavigation. Literally just berthed his aluminium MAN OF WAR. Jumped off her deck. Took a shower and … went to this boat show. I was puzzled. Speechless for a second or two. We gave each other a hug, now that I understood that it was him. What an occasion! I had followed Frederic´s adventure around the world, had checked on his progress, read his posts and sent him a „welcome home!“-message a few day before when I realized that he was back. What a stroke of fate, what a nice coincidence meeting him here! So … Frederic, what was it like … sailing around the world, single-handedly?
From racing to surviving
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: „Frederic, tell me: Have you found what you had been looking for?“
Frederic Switala: „Well, my friend. It´s much easier than that. I went to sea to take part in La Longue Route because I wanted to discover the conditions apparent down there. In the Southern Ocean, I mean. And guess what? I found exactly what I had expected: It was cold, very, very rough weather.“
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: „I have published an article about your preparations for this race back in July last year. You started in September, right? What are the bare numbers of your circumnavigation, to begin with?“
Frederic Switala: „Yes, that´s right. I began the race in September and sailed a total of 30.127 nautical miles all in all. I completed to sail around the world in 194 days, which translates to an average speed of 6.5 knots. I must say that it took me much longer than I had expected, that´s mainly because of the fact that the last leg through the Atlantic Ocean back home was basically beating upwind almost all the time.“
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: „So, tell me: Was this really a race, like Vendée Globe, with hard sailing at the edge to win? Can such a venture be a regatta?“
Frederic Switala: „I can just speak for myself here. For me, La Longue Route 2024 was more of a personal challenge, not a race. I started from Port Saint Louis – Port Navy Service – where we both met for the first time a few years ago … you remember?“
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: „Oh yes! How could I forget? I was there to have a look at yachts to buy, you were working with an aluminium ychts-specialized broker and showed the still awesome Cigale to me …“
Frederic Switala: „… yes, long time, right? Well, back to the story: Setting sails from there, at least for the first couple of days, I was in full race mode. I wanted to be as fast as possible, like in the Global Solo Challenge, which is a regatta that is often compared to La Longue Route. My first leg to the Island of Minorca was great: 35 knots of Mistral, downwind rush. I did 240 nautical miles in 24 hours! But then the first mishap: I detected salty water in my aft crash box, the autopilot motor became very hot as well. So I decided to calm down a bit and switched to „cruising“ mode. This increased my chances of arriving at the finish line: Which was my aim. It was never about winning really. Things happened during the race which forced me to reduce speed and pressure, all the time. So for me it wasn´t about being as fast as possible, it was about arriving.“
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: „How long did it take you to find your rhythm?“
Frederic Switala: „It´s not that you find that one tranquil rhythm that guides you along. Depending on the sailing area I was currently traversing, the marine traffic and the weather of course, it changed several times during the race. So, for example, in the Mediterranean commercial shipping and fishing is very dense, especially along the African coast. Or in the Southern Ocean, where low pressure systems are flying by all the time, cold fronts passing stormlike, with occasional light winds. Alarms going off all the time, literally. It´s hard to speak of a rhythm, really. I found it rather stressful.“
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: „So, tell me, what have been the – let´s say – most impressive „Top 3“ of your circumnavigation?“
Frederic Switala: „Well, that´s not hard to tell. First and foremost that´s for me certainly the low prressure-stuff going on in the Southern Atlantic. It was awe-inspiring and intimidating! Weather forecast had announced some 28 knots – I got 45 knots and 8 meters of waves thrown at me! It was spring down there, late October. Secondly, I´d never expected the noise to be that loud! At one time during a low pressure, I got 60, 70 knots of winds in the Pacific Ocean … man, that sound in the rigging was outerworldly! And last not least – actually you cannot describe it really and pictures don´t tell anything – that´s these huge, huge waves! Waves like walls, I can tell you: When I rounded the Cape Horn I had some 40 knots of windspeed and experienced very steep, high and short waves. It was absolutely scaring the shit out of me. MAN OF WAR was sailing down those MFs with a top speed of 22.3 knots … can you imagine that?!“
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: „Well, that sounds awesome and horrible at once, to be honest. How did you cope with the stress? Did you experience sleep deprivation or loneliness, maybe boredom?“
Frederic Switala: „No, loneliness wasn´t a problem at all. I like being alone, you know. It´s not that this was my first time out there single-handedly. I crossed the Atlantic Ocean already sailing alone. So, loneliness or boredom? No. But in a sense, also yes. You know, no less than three times, weather conditions deteriorated so badly that I seriously considered to have a stopover, make a pause. But of course that´s impossible in a race, you have to continue. I tried to calm myself down instead. What I needed more than ever was a deep sleep, to help my brain which was searching for ideas all the time. In the end I would say that this is exactly the biggest strain of such a venture: Your brain constantly looking for options, solutions, trying to counter-act and balance. I lost 15 kilograms of body weight in the end … Boredom, not so much. I became a bit bored, or maybe frustrated, when I passed the Horn and came back into the Atlantic Ocean. Many describe this last leg home as a „walk in the park“, it looks so easy. But it wasn´t, at least not for me: It took me 42 days of upwind beating my way. This was a bit boring, yes.“
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: „So, it sound that your circumnavigation wasn´t at all that romantic smooth voyage to oneself. It sounds it was rather dangerous, right?“
Frederic Switala: „Well, a mix. I´ve had two situations, all in the Pacific Ocean, when I though it was over. Really. In one occasion, during a heavy low pressure, a big-ass rolling wave pushed my boat violently down, making it a capsize, technically: The mast was under water. At that moment I wanted to climb out of the entryway, saw it coming luckily and was able to close the watertight doors in the last moment. I just had time to squeeze myself in, trying to wedge me safely, as it happened. Everything fell out of its location, big turmoil. I was standing all the time, it was scary! But there wasn´t any time to be scared, because the storm doesn´t make a pause for you. A few days later – it took me that long! – I realized that this wave had broken my the trinquette forestay! Can you imagine the force of a wave, capable of ripping apart a stainless steel forestay?“
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: „So, that brings us to your boat. MAN OF WAR is an aluminium yacht, 44 feet, designed by German Frers and originally built in Australia. How did she perform? You already mentioned having had some problems.“
Frederic Switala: „I would say that MAN OF WAR generall was the perfect choice for this sailing adventure. It´s a good size to be managed alone. She is very comfortable, even i rough seas and also upwind. This is what you need: A boat that is kind of comfortable in those conditions. I was very confident about her safety, she has some 50 percent of her weight as ballast in her keel. For a second circumnavigation, if I did one again, I would definitely go for furling headsails! Sailing my boat with runner ties for the Jib was not a perfect idea. Also, a Code 0 for the light wind passages is a must-have too. I really missed such a sail.“
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: „What turned out to be absolutely different from what you´ve thought?“
Frederic Switala: „What really freaked me out – although I had the numbers in my head and factually knew about it – was the fact how fast actually a battery becomes drained! Even more in cold weather. I mean, I am professional and I knew about the bare numbers, but it puzzled me to see how fast electric current is consumed. Also, my heating system failed me, which was really bad: I practically lived in a fridge for some 14 days before I got it back working. That was hard, man! And lastly, as I had already mentioned, the fact that a wave can rip apart a 7 mm steel cable still freaks me out.“
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: „Let´s talk a bit about your route. What was the most difficult part, geographically? What about the mighty capes?“
Frederic Switala: „The most „sportive“ area, if I may call it that way, turned out to be the Indian Ocean. It was a very interesting leg with several low pressure systems in a row. Most dangerous, for me, was the Pacific, which wasn´t as pacifistic as its name suggests! As for the Capes, I don´t know if I was just bare unlucky, but each of them welcomed me with adverse conditions. Strong winds and rough seas all the time! Good Hope with 35 knots, Leeuwin with just 30 knots, but 8 meter waves. Bass Strait was just a bit better with 40 knots there while South Tasmania was absolutely brutal, sporting 60 knots. I already mentioned the Horn, 40 knots and very short, high waves. So … no, not very romantic sailing …“
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: „Wow, Frederic. Good to have you back, my friend! Which brings me to the last questions: Now that you are back, literally for a few days, how difficult is it to come back to your old life ashore? What are your future plans?“
Frederic Switala: „To but it blank: It is very hard! My body and especially my brain is still adapted to the sailing conditions, to being alone as well. Swapping a solo sailor´s life for living among so many others is hard, I admit. This boat show is so crowded, so full of people. You know: I haven´t seen a single man for almost 200 days … now this! Anyway. My plans are to promote my website and bring my experience to people. My idea is to help sailors who have a blue water project to take on this challenge. My companies, Meta Yachts Services and Sailing Dream Experience will hopefully see a push in inquiries. You know that you can rent a wonderful Marc Lombard-designed Futuna 50 from me? Sailing wise I have one big time project still open: The Route du Rhum. This is my big childhood dream, one day participating! I am pretty confident that I can, now with my experience in solo sailing and racing. Next edition is in 2026, so let´s see if I can motivate some sponsors for that project …“
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: „… and I will definitely cover that! Last question, Frederic: What would you suggest to anyone who dreams of rounding our planet in a sailboat?“
Frederic Switala: „Be sure to be 120 percent ready!“
Thanks so much, Frederic! It was a wonderful surprise meeting you in La Grande Motte! And moreover, to have you back alive, safe and well after your circumnavigation! What a great story!
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