Interview with Uku Randmaa, participant and winner of the Golden Globe Race 2018

May 24, 20195min read

April 15, 2019

Just a couple of days ago, our good friend Dmitry Sinitsa (DX-traveler) – the man who helped assemble the radio support team of Igor Zaretsky – met with another member of the round-the-world regatta Golden Globe Race, Uku Randma. At our request, he asked him a few questions.

Interview with Uku Randmaa, participant and winner of the Golden Globe Race 2018

JS: What feelings do you feel now, almost a month after the finish? Was there time to think and realize what you did?

UR: These are two very different situations for a person – being alone at sea or being at home with family. And I must admit, I like both options. But I am of course very happy to be at home.

As for the awareness and change of reality, then I can say that I am very quickly restructuring. True, the first three days the earth swayed underfoot.

JS: How was your meeting at SALW and at home? What feelings were overwhelmed when I first set foot on the ground, met friends and relatives?

UR: First of all, it was a shock. In a good sense of the word. Shock from the number of people who met me. According to my feelings there were more than two thousand people just on the shore. There were also yachts and boats that came out to meet me at sea. Even the local church met with a bell ringing. This is an indescribable impression.

And then there was a moment when I moored and was finally able to see and hug my wife. Emotions just overwhelmed.

JS: We know that from the very beginning of the race you faced great hardships. For example, as I know, you did not have any coffee or tea on board. How did you handle it?

UR: As for me, coffee and tea are not very important. Therefore, it was not so difficult.

In fact, there are many other things on the yacht that should not be forgotten.

At the beginning of the race I had a lot of things. Even a beer. But my main mistake was that I did not evenly consume my reserves.

Yes, I did not have, for example, pasta and rice. But it is not very important for a person. These products only provide a feeling of fullness. And I had all the important products for life, so there were no problems.

JS: If you decided to repeat the participation with the existing experience, what would you change? Or what can you advise future participants? What is very important to pay attention to? And without what you can do?

UR: I learned a lot during the race. Good and timely weather forecasts are vital, and hence shore support. If I knew this from the very beginning, I would spend more time working with the radio. And so there were no more problems. My yacht was well prepared, the sails were of excellent quality. So there were no more problems.

One tip: do not overdo it. Many wanted to be the best and overestimated themselves or underestimated the situation. This race is still a marathon. It is not very important to be super fast, the main thing is stability. And of course, walk.

JS: As practice has shown, radio communication was almost the only way to communicate with the world. How important is this factor in such a race? How important is it to have a connection with the world and other people?

UR: First of all I want to say that the connection with Igor that we had at the beginning of the race helped a lot and was very important to me. For a long time I could not work out a routine on board, and in this Igor helped me a lot. He, as a more experienced yachtsman, gave me some good advice.

For example, at the beginning of the race, I spent a lot of time inside, just lying. And in one of the conversations I asked what Igor did in his free time. He replied that he was constantly doing something, checking the boat, the sails. Comes out. It was a very important tip for me.

What is important on a yacht? To stand the mast, the sails worked and, thirdly, that there was a connection. So it was very important to have a radio station and a team of people who contacted you. Even just to listen. Not just predictions, but just listen to the live voices of people.

JS: Physical training is very important. For example, Igor was telling how he had spilled a few hours on the mast, securing the stalled staga. He says that after that a few days, or even a week, came to his senses. Forces were not. You dived a few times to clean the bottom of the clams. How hard was it?

UR: Of course, it is very important to pay attention to physical fitness. I am amazed at Jean-Luc, because I believe that at 73 years old this whole race should be given at times harder.

JS: For a very long time, you and Istvan went nostril to nostril. Was there a sense of rivalry?

UR: A difficult question. We still went to the race friends, and the sea brought us even closer. It generally unites people. Therefore, it was difficult to perceive a friend as an opponent.

For example, when one of the participants got into trouble, when Abilash, Gregor, Suzy or Are suffered a disaster, everyone was very worried about them. There could be no sense of rivalry in these moments of speech.

For me, the main goal of the race was to finish it, but if I came to the third or fourth, it was absolutely unimportant. The third, of course, to be pleasant and honorable, but I repeat, the main thing was to finish.

JS: In just a week, all participants will meet in SALW. What feelings overcome?

UR: I look forward to this meeting. I think there will be a lot of emotions, and most importantly conversations. I want to share experiences, experiences, memories. Especially looking forward to meeting with Igor.

JS: What are your plans for the near future? Do you plan to participate in any other regattas or similar projects?

UR: No. I think that one race is enough. No need to sort out. I plan to spend more time with my family. Maybe we’ll go on a cruise all together in autumn or early winter. For a family, it is very important that I be there.

726 April 15, 2019 # 8928
                                  Golden Globe Race GGR

Chief Editor