Ronnie Simpson wants to bring it on home…
With this Vendée Globe race nearing it’s completion, it’s as if a great adventure is coming to a close for many of us. But for me, another adventure is just beginning. My name is Ronnie Simpson and I aim to become the next American sailor to compete in the Vendée Globe, with my goal to be on the starting line in November 2016. If you’ve been following SA’s front page over the past three years, then you may know my story and why I have a realistic shot at making it to the race.
If you don’t know who I am, I am a 27 year old solo sailor from San Francisco. It was a long shot for me to ever become a sailor, but since taking up sailing at the age of 23, i’ve amassed 30,000 miles at sea and have completed 2 Singlehanded Transpac races, including a class win in 2012 with my Moore 24 “Hope for the Warriors”. I have an inspirational and marketable life story which has seen me gain more national exposure than almost any other American solo sailor in recent years, including a national magazine feature, a national tv spot, and even the recent sale of my life rights to a movie production company who is planning on turning my life story into a major Hollywood film. In 2012, I started a program within the wounded veteran non-profit “Hope for the Warriors®” to bring wounded veterans to San Francisco and teach them how to sail. And finally, in November I traveled to the start of the Vendée to cover the race for this very site, Sailing Anarchy and have continued to write race recaps throughout.
Over the past three years, i’ve had increasing success in achieving sponsorship culminating in last year’s Singlehanded Transpac campaign, which was fully sponsored. After that epic come from behind class win and then attending the Vendée start, my dream of the Vendée has become an obsession and I am incredibly inspired to make this a reality. On that front, i’ve created a campaign website which can be seen at www.ronniesimpsonracing.com. There, you can view a professionally-produced campaign trailer, my 2012 SHTP race recap and a short film about my philanthropic work in teaching wounded veterans to sail. You can also download proposals and budget information, see who’s on the team, read about our wounded-veteran sailing program and more. There is also a GoFundMe link so that you can support my campaign and help me acquire an Open 60.
I’ve already got my eyes on a great boat and am working with the WhiteCap brokerage in England to attempt to acquire an older Owen-Clarke design. With a $500 donation, you’ll get your name on the side of the boat and with a $10,000 donation you’ll get a spot on a leg of the delivery from England to San Francisco. This grassroots type of fundraising has been successful in the past; in 2004-05 with Bruce Schwab and most recently with Bertrand de Broc and Votre nom Autour du Monde (Your name around the world).
In addition to holding 4 wounded-veteran sailing clinics this year with Hope for the Warriors®, I will be racing under their banner to inspire combat-wounded veterans to achieve extraordinary things and to overcome their new found obstacles to once again lead fulfilling and inspired lives. As you can see by my site and proposal, I also aim to achieve corporate sponsorship. So to all of you Anarchists out there who have been following my adventures over the past couple of years, please take a moment to check out the site, watch the trailer and pitch in a few bucks to help me move into an Open 60 and make this dream become a reality.
And for all of you in the corporate world, please help me get my proposal into the right hands. If you are interested in sponsorship, becoming a part of the campaign or in making a charitable tax-deductible donation to the campaign, please feel free to email me at [email protected]. Let’s get another American sailing in the Vendée Globe.
Title inspiration thanks to David Bowie/Trent Reznor.
-Ronnie Simpson
