Credit : Courcoux-Marmara
Although the standings don’t count for much halfway into the leg and with only just over 2 miles separating the top 20 boats. Sam Goodchild and Nigel King are in 43rd and 44th place respectively, just over 11 miles from the leg 1 leader, France’s Nicolas Lunven.
After being ranked as the leading ‘Rookie’ round the first race mark, a third of the way into the leg after rounding the Eddystone lighthouse race mark Goodchild then suffered damage to his largest spinnaker. The damage saw him drop back to 41st position, 9.40nm behind the leader. Before the start of the race Sam commented: “It’s quite exciting, it’s the biggest event I’ve done but it’s just sailing, it’s what I enjoy doing, it’s what I’ve grown up doing. If I can look at it like that I should be fine.” The fleet has passed the Needles mark and is now heading south to Caen. View the 2d race map.
All four British sailors have trained with the Artemis Offshore Academy. The Academy has helped Phil Sharp (Spirit of Independence) get to the start line in a very short space of time. “To be honest I’m quite tired but contrary to that I don’t think I’ll be getting much sleep for the next month!”
This 4-leg race is very different to what Conrad Humphreys (DMS) is used to: “It’s so intense, the competition is all around you” explained Humphreys “whereas for a transatlantic it’s a different set of pressure. You don’t have to win the start, you don’t have to be up at the front at the very beginning, there’s time. With this race there is no time, from the moment the gun goes you’ve got to be on your form.”
For experienced Solitaire sailor Nigel King (E-line Orthodontics) this is his third Solitaire: “To me it’s the ultimate challenge in sport, it’s a one design race so everything is equal apart from the sailors.”
A lack of wind and sleep could make this first leg a long and tiring one for all 47 competitors. The Solitaire du Figaro is based on cumulative time of all four legs and none of the Brits will want to start the next leg with a huge time deficit.
A small course change has been made to the first leg to account for the light weather conditions racing from Perros-Guirec across the English Channel to Eddystone Lighthouse before racing to the Needles Fairway off the western point of the Isle of Wight, with the leaders expected to arrive in Caen from Tuesday afternoon.
From : Artemis Offshore Academy
