Szabolcs Weöres : "My philosophy is take one step then take the next step and the next...keep it simple."

Yes,  I still feel the same, because there are so many things happening, such a big excitement, and then you just find yourself alone and you learn how to deal with the adrenaline and all the excitement. It's hard, leaving all the friends who were working very hard to you, and then you just continue working, but alone. But I think it's the first couple of days of racing are like this, and after that you settle down to a nice solo mode and then it is good.

Yes, as I always say, for sure I'm not the most advanced or modern in terms of technology, my boat is from 2007, so I have a limitation speed-wise but I would like to sail well which means I would like to sail the boat at her potential. Which I very well know, after such a long time. The boat is capable, and I can get this performance out of her technically I will be happy. The main goal is for sure finishing the race. Then also to find some people in the fleet who I can compete against, so I hope that there will be some other boats who are similar.

Definitely Denis (Ven Weynbergh) from Nándor’s old boat, and then maybe Antoine Cornic from Human. It's sad that James Harayda and Francois Gruffaud didn't make it, during the qualification, the two boats were very close to me. I think Jackie Chinese guy and then one step up where the boats are more advanced than my one, I think Fabrice Amadeo is sailing with my sister ship, but it's lighter and much more developed with a new rig, but if I sail well, it's possible to keep up the pace with him, and then Manuel Cousin is also much faster than me, but sometimes he's very, very conservative, and in the past sometimes I could race with him, so this is all about racing and we will see with the other boats.

Yes, I was thinking I'm not going to make it, that was every day. Until I got here. Every day, you know. The starting line seemed to be so far for me, but I did not care about it just as I always said, my philosophy is just keep doing your next step, and your next step and your next step and don't think about the starting line. I think it's very important to think like that. I always have with everything, and I like it. It's simplifying things.

Yeah, the Vendée Globe was a lifetime dream, and then I have so much experience in sailing, but in different fields. So I did so many things, and then I think now this is the race were I can use all my knowledge and also need some new knowledge and new experience, which I was very interested in. So I think it's a perfect, very complex challenge to make it.

The south, I don't really, really worry about. It’s a good question. The south is definitely something very new for me, so I don't know how I'm going to behave or how I will deal with this new environment, so it will be very interesting. But I think I'm quite relaxed. I'm not so worried about it, generally I think all the new sailors are worried, but this is what I think everybody has to deal with.

Asks: Nándor, what advice did you give me? 
Fa: Be brave. And careful!

I don't think too much performance-wise, so I think because even if you do updates on performance, you can never reach the much higher levels. So I'm always saying that we have made the boat more reliable and user-friendly. This is what the goal was for the hardware, what we did before. And for sure, there are some updates with the technology, the internet and all the electronics and electrics have been replaced, so the technology is much more advanced than it was in 2007 so we have updated this, but I don't know how much it brings in terms of performance.

Yeah, the weather is the biggest thing. The weather and the routing, it was completely new for me, and I think in the last four years, I have learned a lot. So I'm quite confident now with how to deal with the GRIB files and then all the meteo and routings. When you get into this community, this solo sailing community, you just chat with people, exchange experiences, and then you are practicing it, so then you're learning a lot, even if you don't think or don't see it. It was quite an intense and steep learning curve to me. 

I think I will miss the freedom to move. I really like cycling and running and going into nature and moving, and that I will miss because I think the living area will be really small and limited.

I think I will communicate with the outside world. You cannot be fully in your bubble all the time, because we also have so many mandatory things that we have to do in terms of media. So you cannot fully close your eyes, but generally I'm a type who likes to be on his own flow and in his own bubble, so it will be hard, and for me personally I think for me it's better for me to be by myself.

The beginning was super hard. Not communicating but just generally the project, and you just imagine you just jump into an IMOCA and this is your first single-handed sailing experience offshore. So, yes, the jacket was a little bit big! So, for example, when I gave up or abandoned the race on the Vendee Arctic on the first night that was so, so hard, I'm just laughing about it now, so it was not serious. But I understand, so I think it was realistic for me to set out and do this, and I'm very happy that I could improve step by step, and now I have much more confidence, and I think I'm ready, which is a good feeling. I did everything, but it was super, super hard.

In terms of the fitness conditioning and strength, I think I'm fit enough. I don't say that I'm super fit now, because the project took me so much time in so many different fields, so my fitness level is not very high at the moment, if I compare with my triathlon standard. But, I think compared with my age, it will be good, good for me, and then my muscles are remembering, and I try to train every day, I still try to find the time. Yesterday I was swimming, and before that riding, and I'm training every day. But I think it's also that this physical training is important for me and also for the mental training, because when you go running and cycling, you can clear your mind from all the project stuff, and you can prepare and then you can also be stronger mentally.