Artemis Offshore Academy – 2014 SOLITAIRE DU FIGARO UNDERWAY
After a year of hard work thinking about nothing but the Figaro, Sunday, 8th June, the Artemis Offshore Academy’s eight British solo sailors hugged goodbye to their parents and waved to their fans as they set off on the 484 mile Leg 1 of the 2014 Solitaire du Figaro – from Deauville, France to Plymouth, UK.
Why does this race attract the very best sailors from the world of solo offshore racing? Because it is one of the toughest… This race sees the very latest new crop of solo talent and past legends compete side by side on a level playing field. If the sailors can perform well in this arena then their future in solo sailing is more assured, as has been the case for Armel Le Cleac’h, Yann Elies and Jeremie Beyou. All winners of the Solitaire du Figaro in the past, who went on to realise their dream of competing in the solo, non-stop, round the world Vendée Globe race.
Crossing the start line at 1200BST in 8-10 knots of northerly breeze, it was Team Plymouth skipper Sam Goodchild who started his fourth assault on the Solitaire du Figaro with a bang, rounding the first mark in 5th place before leading the fleet for a short time north across the English Channel. While looking forward to sailing the race home to the UK, Sam revealed that he was expecting a tough and tactical first leg:“I’m excited to arrive in Plymouth as the Solitaire du Figaro has mainly always been French based. To be sailing the Solitaire du Figaro home is really exciting – I didn’t think the two would come together before. Leg 1 is going to be pretty light winds and the challenges are going to be the tides in the channel and trying to play those. It will be important to arrive in Plymouth without too much of a deficit on my competitors and get the Solitaire du Figaro off to a good start.”
Meanwhile, 2014 British Solitaire Rookies Rich Mason (Artemis 77), Alan Roberts (Artemis 23) and Sam Matson (Artemis 21) put in a promising performance while making their Solitaire du Figaro debut. Rounding the first race mark the first, second and third Rookies of seven and inside the top 20 boats ahead of a number of more experienced skippers – including graduates Henry Bomby (RED), Jack Bouttell (GAC Pindar) and REDSHIFT skipper Nick Cherry and Ed Hill (Macmillan Cancer support) who were both OCS alongside double Solitaire du Figaro winner Yann Elies and 2012 Transat AG2R winner Charlie Dalin.
Rich, the first of the Rookies three to round the mark in 15th, explained his objective for the race on the docks this morning – one shared among all three Rookies: “The first thing I need to do is just finish… Four hundred and eighty four miles is a long way, I’ve not spent four nights at sea before and I’ve not raced the Solitaire du Figaro before, so getting to Plymouth in once piece is the first thing and if I can stay in touch with the other Rookies, then that is fantastic.”
Throw into the mix a forecast of variable winds, shut downs and thunderstorms over four days and the first leg is baptism of fire – but that’s half the fun as 2013 Solitaire du Figaro Rookie winner Jack explained: “The Solitaire du Figaro is a physical, mental challenge – it’s got everything. All of the boats are exactly the same so there are no real excuses when you get back in. It’s you that makes the difference – not the boat and not the weather. Being part of this race alongside such a great bunch of guys and getting to experience amazing things is makes this race so special. It’s never easy and its not always fun – but it is great.”
The 2014 Solitaire du Figaro covers 2,014 miles over four legs, concluding on 1st or 2nd July in Cherbourg, France. This 45th edition of the race, has the strongest line up of British sailors than ever before with eight British boats on the start line and a strong British flavor to the race with seven channel crossings and a UK stop over in Plymouth.
For now the fleet continue north on an 80-mile upwind stretch to Owers mark, led by Erwan Taberly (Armor Lux Comptoir de la Mer) and Anthony Marchand (Ovimpex Secours Populairs) – practically neck and neck. Team Plymouth’s Sam Goodchild is still hanging on in there with the leading back, positioned on the right side of the fleet, while the rest of the Brit pack play mid-fleet going into the first night. With a long and drawn out race ahead of them, good onboard management and a clear head will be important when it comes to making game changing tactical decisions later in the leg. The current ETA for the fleet in Plymouth is Thursday, 12th June at midday.
