The Cruising Club of America (CCA) announced yesterday that Mike Golding has won its coveted Rod Stephens Trophy for Outstanding Seamanship for his part in rescuing fellow Englishman Alex Thomson from his sinking Hugo Boss in the depths of the Southern Ocean during the 2006/2007 Velux 5 Oceans Race. The Rod Stephens trophy is a perpetual award that honors “an act of seamanship which significantly contributes to the safety of a yacht or one or more individuals at sea.” Thomson’s situation certainly falls into this category: The top section of his canting keel had broken, allowing the keel to swing side-to-side and inhibiting Hugo Boss’s ability to sail (let alone survive). Golding, who was in the vicinity of Hugo Boss turned his Open 60, Ecover, around and beat into 35-40 knot headwinds and big seas in order to make the rescue, which was successfully performed at daybreak on November 27, 2006.

The story doesn’t end here, however. Just six scant hours after rescuing Thomson, Ecover’s rig failed just below the lower spreader, forcing the two skippers to retire to Cape Town, South Africa under jury rig. Not exactly the agenda that Golding had forecasted when he altered his course to rescue Thomson, but certainly a brave and selfless act of seamanship.

For more information, visit www.cruisingclub.org

Posted: January 16, 2008