There is no doubt that when he disembarks at the port of Pointe-à-Pitre, the winner of the next Route du rhum (departure on November 6 from Saint-Malo) will dedicate his victory to Canadian Mike Birch, pioneer of this transatlantic race in which he won the first edition, in 1978, whose death we learned on Wednesday at the age of 90. A historic success. Not only because Birch inaugurated on this occasion the list of prestigious winners who succeeded him, such as Marc Pajot, Florence Arthaud, Philippe Poupon, Michel Desjoyeaux, Franck Cammas or Laurent Bourgnon. Or the crème de la crème of offshore sailing over the past fifty years.
“A lover of the sea who wanted to stay free”
But also because on that day in 1978, Birch opened a new page in sailing. And how. After 23 days 6 hours and 59 minutes of racing (1), he is ahead of Michel Malinovsky by 98 seconds. This former cowboy, underground miner, docker and yacht attendant, has established himself at the helm ofOlympus, a 12m yellow catamaran, which he built in his garden, while Malinowsky sails on a powerful monohull almost twice as long. “What do you want to do with a man who talks to flying fish?” commented Olivier de Kersauson, fourth in this inaugural race. This day marks a transfer of power between two types of boats. This is the first time that a multihull has won against a monohull in a transatlantic race.
Mike Birch died at his home in Brec’h (Morbihan) a few days before the start of the 12th edition of the Route du Rhum. “He is really the person who forged the legend of the Route du rhum. […] He was a lover of the sea who wanted to stay free”reacted to AFP Hervé Favre, president of OC Sport, organizer of the race. “He had been diminished for several months. He died quietly that night in his sleep. said France Birch, the sailor’s wife of forty years. In 1978, his victory revealed to sailing an atypical sailor, shy, of great kindness and modesty. “He was an extraordinary man. He was extremely discreet and simple. He kept this simplicity to the end.reacted his niece, lawyer Aline Simard.
Mike Birch was born on November 1, 1931 in Vancouver (British Columbia) and it was quite late in life that he discovered a passion for sailing. In 1976, at the age of 44, he took the start of the English Transat, aboard Third Turtle, the smallest trimaran in the fleet. At the helm of this 9.75m multihull, Birch took second place, behind Frenchman Eric Tabarly and his monohull. Pen Duick VI 22m. Birch, whose slender silhouette and bald head quickly became famous among sailors around the world, gradually built up an impressive list of achievements, taking part in all the Route du rhum until 2002 (9th at the age of 71 year !). He finished third in 1982, fourth in 1986 and 1990. Offshore world champion in 1991 and 1992, he established himself as one of the few foreigners to beat the French, who monopolized the solo offshore race in the wake of Tabarly’s victory in the 1976 English Transat.
Gold digger
Birch sailed for about sixty years, but “gold digger was [son] premier job», he had told the team before the start of the Route du rhum 2014. “Not long. It was an interesting job even if I didn’t earn a lot of money! Until last year, he lived between Brittany and his chalet in Gaspé, Quebec, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, with a Jack Russell by the name of Lucie as his only companion.
But, his state of health deteriorating, he was brought back in July 2021 by his wife to their home in Morbihan. “Before that, despite his age, he continued to sail” with a small monohull called Dolly, the nickname of his mother, explained France Birch. Father of two children (a boy and a girl) living in Great Britain, detached from ocean racing for years, he followed sailing news from afar with the serenity of a wise old man, surprised that still remember him and those 98 seconds of eternity.
