The seventh edition of the Artemis Challenge at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week this year undoubtedly boasts its most prestigious line-up of offshore racing superstars – François Gabart, Michel Desjoyeaux, Alex Thomson, Dee Caffari, Vincent Riou, Jean Le Cam, Seb Josse, Brian Thompson, Sidney Gavignet – to name a few. The fleet of two huge multihulls and six IMOCA 60 monohulls today raced in The Solent in a tightly fought battle to claim their share of the £10,000 charity prize fund.
Credit : Macif
A delayed start, caused by light winds in the morning, saw the fleet sail east downwind from the Royal Yacht Squadron line at 10:15 AM in bright sunshine. The two 70 foot multihulls, Edmond de Rothschild and Oman Air-Musandam, picked up the sea breeze from midday and circumnavigated the Isle of Wight clockwise, with French skipper Seb Josse taking line honours on Edmond de Rothschild in a time of four hours and sixteen minutes. Josse, an acclaimed solo sailor and Volvo Ocean Race skipper, donated £2,500 to his nominated charity of Joves Navegants. Finishing just 11 minutes behind Josse was fellow French racer Sidney Gavignet, who had enlisted the help of British Olympic sailing medallist Paul Goodison and record-breaking solo yachtswoman Dee Caffari.
Meanwhile, the six IMOCA 60s raced an inshore course in the Eastern Solent. The world class fleet of solo ocean racing machines was led by Vendée Globe winner François Gabart, sailing with mentor and legendary French racer Michel Desjoyeaux on Macif. Gabart claimed a narrow line honours victory ahead of a smartly dressed Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss, who was joined by rising British acting star Douglas Booth, with the entire crew dressed in black tie. The team from Macif finished in a time of four hours and 32 minutes and donated their £2,500 winnings to the SNSM.
Finishing third was PRB, followed by Safran, Artemis Ocean Racing and finally Cheminées Poujoulat in what was a tightly fought contest amongst the best racers in singlehanded sailing. All the boats were also competing as two teams to claim a £5,000 prize fund (each team was made up of one multihull and three monohulls chosen at random before the race). The team with the fastest total combined elapsed time was that of Edmond de Rothschild, Hugo Boss, Artemis Ocean Racing and Safran, with each skipper receiving £1,250 to donate to their nominated charities.
Final results for the Artemis Challenge at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week 2013:
Multihulls
1 Gitana/Seb Josse (FRA)/2:26 PM/£2,500 for Joves Navegants
2 Oman Air-Musandam/Sidney Gavignet (FRA)/2:36 PM/Al Hayat
Monohulls
1 Macif/Francois Gabard(FRA)/2:47 PM/£2,500 for SNSM
2 Hugo Boss/Alex Thomson (GBR)/2:49 PM/Kibera in Need
3 PRB/Vincent Riou (FRA)/2:50 PM/SNSM
4 Safran/Marc Guillemot (FRA)/2:52 PM/AFMTelethon
5 Artemis Ocean Racing/Brian Thompson (GBR)/2:56 PM/Toe in the Water
6 Cheminées Poujoulat/Bernard Stamm (SUI)/2:57 PM/Planete Enfants
Team winner
£5,000 Edmond de Rothschild, Hugo Boss, Artemis Ocean Racing and Safran
£1,250 each to Joves Navegants, Kibera in Need, Toe in the Water, AFMTelethon
Quotes from the skippers and guests:
Dee Caffari, Oman Air-Musandam
“Life today is good with the Artemis Challenge! We had a hard trip around the island. We rode the tide out through the light patch and through the transition to the new wind. Then it was very physical! We visited all the bays around the Isle of Wight, places I have never seen before. But it was great to finish in the middle of Cowes Week regatta.”
Paul Goodison, Oman Air-Musandam
“It was great – I have never been that way around the island, quite interesting. Pleasure to sail with new people and it’s so cool, so fast. We were going over 20 knots, super powerful, really fast.”
François Gabart, Macif
“It was a perfect day. We were not expecting to win but on the start line of any race we always try hard to win. We have a good team and a good boat. It wa a tricky start with non wind and difficult to catch a gust. We were lucky to catch the wind and had a good fight with Hugo Boss. Macif are very close to SNSM, they give 6% of all fees for boat insurance to SNSM and have done for 30 years, so I’m happy to help such an organisation.”
Brian Thompson, Artemis Ocean Racing
“It was a really good race but a lottery up to Fishbourne where the wind shifted 180 degrees from West to East, downwind to upwind. Hugo Boss and Macif made like bandits close to shore, it was a good move. We had a good race with PRB until the last mark when they went turbo. But we sailed with good team work, cleanly and with no mistakes which was super satisfying.”
Mitch Tonks, Artemis Ocean Racing
“Amazing! What a stunning boat – I can’t believe these guys sail them solo, it feels impossible. I was amazed at their speed and the sheer size of Artemis Ocean Racing, especially the sails. The Artemis Challenge was a phenomenal race. I sail a contessa, it’s tiny by comparison! I love sailing with Henry [Bomby] – it was great to see him so excited and I can’t believe he wants to take one of these around the world alone!”
Alex Thomson, Hugo Boss
“It was great – a good wind in the end. Tough start but we got powered up and it was fun. We were all wearing suits – it wasn‘t too bad for as I didn’t do much grinding. The Artemis Challenge is a fun day for charity. It was the first time on a boat, he enjoyed sitting on the rail but by the end he was directing people around. All in all, a good practice before the Fastnet.”
Douglas Booth, Hugo Boss
“It was like a game of chess at the beginning, everyone trying to outmanoeuvre each other, fascinating to watch!”
From : Artemis Challenge
