The solo sailors had a tough tactical race in variable conditions and strong tides in the final leg of the 2012 Solitaire du Figaro. Sam Goodchild (Artemis 23) had a good race, one he has been working towards since the start, finishing 11 minutes behind leg three and overall winner Yann Eliés (Groupe Queguiner/Journal des Entreprises). Henry Bomby (Artemis 37) and Nick Cherry (Artemis 77) both had to overcome poor starts, from which they battled on to finish in 23rd/2nd Rookie and 26th/4th Rookie respectively.
The final leg of the Solitaire had mixed conditions keeping the skippers on their toes and their sleep to a minimum with Goodchild estimating getting just three hours sleep in 72 hours of racing, and even then only in 15min catnaps. The final leg took the 36 skippers into British waters for the first time this year: “I enjoyed going down the south coast, there were good surfing conditions downwind, lots of close racing and sunshine,” reported Cherry.
For Goodchild the final leg enabled him to race at the front of the fleet and see how they race: “Coming across the English Channel I changed my settings quite drastically half way through and went to being sailed away from, to being able to catch up, which was really encouraging!” Whilst for Bomby this leg taught him a lot about how to successfully handle himself when facing problems: “In the second leg when I had problems I was very frustrated and wasn’t able to think clearly, but when I had the same problems in this leg I was calmer in dealing with it which meant I kept a clearer head throughout the problem solving which took about three hours – I was mentally stronger through the process.”
Artemis Offshore Academy race coach Marcus Hutchinson goes on to explain this further: “It is often the way that younger skippers learn the most on the last leg, about their boats, about the race and about themselves. From what I can see and what I have heard from the three Academy sailors this is very much the case again. They probably all learnt more in this last leg than they have over the last 12 months.” John Thorn, Performance Director added: “It’s great to end on a high note in this last leg of the 2012 Solitaire du Figaro. The Artemis sailors, Sam, Nick and Henry have made us proud.”
Do you have what it takes to join the Artemis Offshore Academy?
Selection Trials applications open on Friday 13th for the 2013 Season for all aspiring short-handed sailors who have been inspired by the Solitaire du Figaro. The Selection Trials are a grueling three day event where attendees are put through their paces to see if they have what it takes to join the British short-handed squad. The Selection Trials will be held from the 9th – 14th September.
Solitaire du Figaro overall results
1. Yann Elies (Groupe Queguiner / Journal des entreprises)
2. Morgan Lagravière (VENDEE)
3. Nicolas Lunven (GENERALI)
4. Fabien Delahaye (SKIPPER MACIF 2012)
5. Thierry Chabagny (GEDIMAT)
24. Sam Goodchild (ARTEMIS 23)
25. Nick Cherry (ARTEMIS 77)
31. Henry Bomby (ARTEMIS 37)
Solitaire du Figaro Leg 3 results
1. Yann Elies (Groupe Queguiner / Journal des entreprises)
2. Morgan Lagravière (VENDEE)
3. Erwan Tabarly (NACARAT)
14. Sam Goodchild (ARTEMIS 23)
23. Henry Bomby (ARTEMIS 37)
26. Nick Cherry (ARTEMIS 77)
Solitaire du Figaro Leg 3 Rookie results
1. Julien Villion (SEIXO PROMOTION)
2. Henry Bomby (ARTEMIS 37)
3. Corentin Horeau (BRETAGNE – CRÉDIT MUTUEL ESPOIR)
4. Nick Cherry (ARTEMIS 77)
Quotes from the dock:
Henry Bomby
“Looking at the end result I think I finished 20 minutes behind the leader, which is fantastic. I was at the back of the pack that finished first, so considering the problems I had a the beginning of the leg and how I dealt with them on this leg compared to the previous leg I have learnt a lot which is really positive. However coming round the Needles Fairway I filled the ballast on the wrong side so I lost a bit doing that. I was aching all over and barely had enough energy to trim sails. I then slept for half an hour and got back into it for the final few hours – I have never found a bit of the race that hard before.
Nick Cherry
“Started as bad as I could have done. When I was rounding the third mark in a big bunch of boats I was halfway through dropping the spinnaker when I accidentally knocked off the autopilot with my leg, so I had to let go of the spinnaker to avoid a collision with another boat. The end result wasn’t the best result ever but I enjoyed the leg and took a lot away from it.”
Sam Goodchild
“This was good race, I had a lot of fun. It was very, very hard work as the wind didn’t stop changing, it was quite close racing but I generally managed to hang on to the front pack for a bit longer which made it a lot more productive as I learnt a lot more from sailing next to guys who know what they were doing. I am really happy to end the Solitaire du Figaro on a high! The whole leg was great and being with the leaders for the leg was really rewarding as I learnt so much. The low for me is that I have had so little sleep, maybe just two or three hours in the last 72 hours. I got half an hour last night, in two slots of 15 minutes, which is the most I’ve had since the start. Before though that I hadn’t slept for than 10 minutes at a time as it was impossible as the wind hasn’t stayed the same for more than five minutes.”
From : Artemis Offshore Academy
Credit : Artemis Offshore Academy
The final leg of the Solitaire had mixed conditions keeping the skippers on their toes and their sleep to a minimum with Goodchild estimating getting just three hours sleep in 72 hours of racing, and even then only in 15min catnaps. The final leg took the 36 skippers into British waters for the first time this year: “I enjoyed going down the south coast, there were good surfing conditions downwind, lots of close racing and sunshine,” reported Cherry.
For Goodchild the final leg enabled him to race at the front of the fleet and see how they race: “Coming across the English Channel I changed my settings quite drastically half way through and went to being sailed away from, to being able to catch up, which was really encouraging!” Whilst for Bomby this leg taught him a lot about how to successfully handle himself when facing problems: “In the second leg when I had problems I was very frustrated and wasn’t able to think clearly, but when I had the same problems in this leg I was calmer in dealing with it which meant I kept a clearer head throughout the problem solving which took about three hours – I was mentally stronger through the process.”
Artemis Offshore Academy race coach Marcus Hutchinson goes on to explain this further: “It is often the way that younger skippers learn the most on the last leg, about their boats, about the race and about themselves. From what I can see and what I have heard from the three Academy sailors this is very much the case again. They probably all learnt more in this last leg than they have over the last 12 months.” John Thorn, Performance Director added: “It’s great to end on a high note in this last leg of the 2012 Solitaire du Figaro. The Artemis sailors, Sam, Nick and Henry have made us proud.”
Do you have what it takes to join the Artemis Offshore Academy?
Selection Trials applications open on Friday 13th for the 2013 Season for all aspiring short-handed sailors who have been inspired by the Solitaire du Figaro. The Selection Trials are a grueling three day event where attendees are put through their paces to see if they have what it takes to join the British short-handed squad. The Selection Trials will be held from the 9th – 14th September.
Solitaire du Figaro overall results
1. Yann Elies (Groupe Queguiner / Journal des entreprises)
2. Morgan Lagravière (VENDEE)
3. Nicolas Lunven (GENERALI)
4. Fabien Delahaye (SKIPPER MACIF 2012)
5. Thierry Chabagny (GEDIMAT)
24. Sam Goodchild (ARTEMIS 23)
25. Nick Cherry (ARTEMIS 77)
31. Henry Bomby (ARTEMIS 37)
Solitaire du Figaro Leg 3 results
1. Yann Elies (Groupe Queguiner / Journal des entreprises)
2. Morgan Lagravière (VENDEE)
3. Erwan Tabarly (NACARAT)
14. Sam Goodchild (ARTEMIS 23)
23. Henry Bomby (ARTEMIS 37)
26. Nick Cherry (ARTEMIS 77)
Solitaire du Figaro Leg 3 Rookie results
1. Julien Villion (SEIXO PROMOTION)
2. Henry Bomby (ARTEMIS 37)
3. Corentin Horeau (BRETAGNE – CRÉDIT MUTUEL ESPOIR)
4. Nick Cherry (ARTEMIS 77)
Quotes from the dock:
Henry Bomby
“Looking at the end result I think I finished 20 minutes behind the leader, which is fantastic. I was at the back of the pack that finished first, so considering the problems I had a the beginning of the leg and how I dealt with them on this leg compared to the previous leg I have learnt a lot which is really positive. However coming round the Needles Fairway I filled the ballast on the wrong side so I lost a bit doing that. I was aching all over and barely had enough energy to trim sails. I then slept for half an hour and got back into it for the final few hours – I have never found a bit of the race that hard before.
Nick Cherry
“Started as bad as I could have done. When I was rounding the third mark in a big bunch of boats I was halfway through dropping the spinnaker when I accidentally knocked off the autopilot with my leg, so I had to let go of the spinnaker to avoid a collision with another boat. The end result wasn’t the best result ever but I enjoyed the leg and took a lot away from it.”
Sam Goodchild
“This was good race, I had a lot of fun. It was very, very hard work as the wind didn’t stop changing, it was quite close racing but I generally managed to hang on to the front pack for a bit longer which made it a lot more productive as I learnt a lot more from sailing next to guys who know what they were doing. I am really happy to end the Solitaire du Figaro on a high! The whole leg was great and being with the leaders for the leg was really rewarding as I learnt so much. The low for me is that I have had so little sleep, maybe just two or three hours in the last 72 hours. I got half an hour last night, in two slots of 15 minutes, which is the most I’ve had since the start. Before though that I hadn’t slept for than 10 minutes at a time as it was impossible as the wind hasn’t stayed the same for more than five minutes.”
From : Artemis Offshore Academy
