At age 52, former CEO Scott Shawyer awoke sooner or later throughout the COVID lockdown in 2020 and realized he was prepared for an enormous profession change. The most effective half was, he didn’t even know that he was on the lookout for one, not to mention so near dwelling.
“I reside in a city in Ontario with a mountain within the yard and a lake within the entrance yard,” Shawyer says. “Now we have some nice ski paths and sail on the water and I hadn’t been exterior in weeks.
Subsequent up for Scott Shawyer will likely be on Could 29, as he competes within the one particular person, 3,600 mile New York Vendee. The route begins in New York Metropolis and finishes in Les Sables-d’Olonne, Vendée Area, France.
“I used to be simply dying at my desk and I began watching this race that occurs each 4 years known as the Vendée Globe, he says. “:I used to be watching these skippers across the docks, crowded folks all carrying masks and after they received to the tip of the docks, they took off their masks, jumped on their sailboats and went to set sail world wide. I used to be simply evaluating that to the place I used to be: Strapped to my desk, hadn’t been exterior, on the telephone dying by Zoom calls and these guys are out crusing world wide. I used to be like, ‘Holy cow.’ I simply turned 50 and I used to be like, ‘I’ve received to do one thing totally different.’”
Shawyer discovered himself so impressed that he virtually instantly stop his job—he served as CEO of business expertise firm JMP Options—and jumped in ft first to discover ways to be his personal skipper. He caught on shortly, however realized he had lots to be taught.
“There’s a number of preparation,” Shawyer says. “Bodily, mentally, talent smart, there’s a number of preparation and needing weight loss plan and diet, what you eat whilst you’re at sea. That’s what I like about this sport. It’s so multidimensional.”
From CEO to Skipper
Scott Shawyer discovered shortly and set sail fairly actually on his new journey into the second half of his life. In contrast to most of his rivals, Shawyer didn’t develop up within the offshore crusing scene and he hasn’t sailed a Mini, a Figaro, or a Class 40. In only a few brief years, he’s completed a win within the double-handed monohull class within the RORC Transatlantic and a tenth place end in his first-ever IMOCA class race, the Guayder Bermudes Race. He was amazed how his new path made him calmer than the hectic days at his desk job ever did and has discovered to belief himself.
“I’ve by no means had anxiousness or any actual type of anxiousness till most likely 4 or 5 years in the past,” Shawyer says. “I simply began feeling anxious for no motive after which I received anxious about feeling anxious after which it simply grew to become all consuming.”
Shawyer—now the skipper and president of Canada Ocean Racing—then turned to mindfulness to ease his restlessness.
“I actually discovered, practiced meditation and a bunch of various methods on how you can sort of not let intrusive ideas come and go. That’s the identical factor with crusing. You will be out in the midst of the ocean and for those who begin desirous about, ‘Is the mast gonna keep up? Am I gonna hit one thing? Am I gonna get a gap within the boat and sink?’ It’s not good considering. Step one for me is to cease the thought and the second half is doing one thing else so that you don’t have the thought. Particularly once you’re attempting to sleep and you’ll’t sleep, you begin to get sleep disadvantaged.”
A Entire New Sort of Coaching
There’s been different changes, too. He’s traded fancy resorts and bogs for biodegradable luggage and buckets with a view to relieve himself and main board room conferences with rooms filled with colleagues to spending time alone on his boat with Mom Nature. Scott Shawyer additionally needed to adapt to a strict health routine to remain in a special sort of form than he ever was in earlier than.
“I do a combination between pure power coaching after which extra sport particular power coaching,” says Shawyer. Deadlifts, squats, pull-ups, bench press, various things which might be extra power centered. I’m not almost in pretty much as good of cardio form as I’ve been for triathlons, however I believe when it comes to power and having the ability to deal with the calls for of this boat, it’s a bit totally different. I believe it’s extra sport particular and I believe I’m in an awesome place for that, significantly better than ever earlier than, for certain.
Shawyer’s general purpose is turning into the primary Canadian to compete within the Vendée Globe. The 23,000 mile, 3 month race will happen in 2028, so he has a while. It’s a single-handed, continuous, non-assisted round-the-world crusing race that takes place solely each 4 years. The journey begins on the tip of France and ends on the tip of France. Ought to Shawyer be capable to compete, he’ll achieve this at age 56.
Along with getting in crusing form, he additionally has to familiarize himself with a number of the new guidelines of the New York Vendee. Shawyer must be cautious because it’s simple to develop into disqualified– Particularly on accident. If he touches land, receives any kind of assist or his boat breaks down, he will likely be out. Shawyer can even be the one North American racing and will likely be on board with Be Water Optimistic, a $2 million greenback vessel designed and constructed for pace. The journey will make this Shawyer’s first solo, Transatlantic race and he’s predicting he’ll end between 13 and 14 days. Regardless of the sound of it, Shawyer is assured in his plan.
“I’m a danger taker, journey seeker, however I’m not loopy. You be sure you have security techniques in place, be certain that there are sort of lifelines accessible, too. There are undoubtedly issues I wouldn’t do.”
