At 02:59 BST this morning, British solo skipper Sam Matson (Artemis 21) surfed into Roscoff, France under a moonlit sky to finish the second leg of the Solitaire du Figaro 18th overall and third Rookie. Having raced two of the four legs that make up the full 2014 mile Solitaire course, Sam maintains his overall Rookie lead by 18 minutes and 14 seconds and sits an impressive 14th overall on the Solitaire du Figaro leaderboard after two legs.
© Artemis Offshore Academy
Sailing 540 miles in straight lines from Plymouth, UK to Roscoff, France via Fastnet Rock, Leg 2 looked like a straight forward speed run on paper, however with moderate but shifty winds, TSS exclusion zones to navigate and a shut down at Fastnet Rock in the Irish Sea – there was still a tactical game to be played. Positioned 31st on the second day of racing (Monday 16th June), by that very evening British Rookie Sam had pulled back 12 positions to 18th on the approach to the Scilly Isles. It was here that Sam entered into a Rookie podium grudge match with Artemis teammate Rich Mason (Artemis 77) and Gwenolé Gahinet (Safran-Guy Cotten).
With early front-runner Sébastien Simon (Crédit Mutuel Espoir) having sailed away with the Leg 2 Rookie podium top spot, the race was on for second and third. Rich was the first skipper to drop behind, leaving Sam and Gwenolé to battle it out to the end – Sam eventually finishing just one minute behind the young Frenchman after three days, five hours, 33 minutes and 51 seconds of racing.
Back on the docks Sam reported: “First British skipper home for a second time, leading Rookie overall and top 20 on the overall leader board – of course I’m happy, I’m chuffed. It was a great race.”
“I think I paced myself quite well in this leg. There’s always the danger that when you’re at the back of the fleet like I was at the beginning of the race, you push too hard and then knacker yourself out for the rest of the race. I started at the back of the fleet after a poor windward leeward start in Plymouth Sound, but from there I slowly gained places and didn’t loose any – that’s a really nice feeling.”
“I was pretty gutted to lose out to Gwenolé just coming into the finish line, but he made some good calls and I think he probably was working a bit harder that I was, not that I was taking it easy, but I didn’t see him leave the helm once on the final leg – he was just driving hard all the way home and for that he deserved his lead. Sébastien (Simon, Leg 2 Rookie winner) sailed a killer race from the off, as did Gwenolé sail a great race. They deserve first and second. It’s nice to know I’m competitive amongst the fleet.”
The next British skipper on the dock was Rich Mason in 21st position, seeing Rich sit 22nd on the overall leader board. Next into the harbor was a disappointed Sam Goodchild (Team Plymouth) in 24th, Jack Bouttell (GAC Pindar) in 27th, Nick Cherry (REDSHIFT) 28th, Rookie Alan Roberts (Artemis 23) 32nd, Henry Bomby (RED) in 35th and Ed Hill (Macmillan Cancer Support) 36th. See full results below or on the Solitaire du Figaro website.
The next (third) leg of the race starts Sunday 22nd June, taking skippers 505 miles from Roscoff, France, to Les Sables d’Olonne, France – home of the Vendée Globe.
Leg 2 results
1. Yann Elies/Groupe Queguiner-Leucemie Espoir/3d, 3h, 0’, 1"
2. Corentin Horeau/Bretagne Crédit Mutuel Performance/3d, 3h, 58’, 23"
3. Jérémie Beyou/Maitre Coq/3d, 3h, 59’, 47"
18. Sam Matson/Artemis 21/3d, 5h, 33’, 51"
21. Rich Mason/Artemis 77/3d, 5h, 56’, 0"
24. Sam Goodchild/Team Plymouth/3d, 6h, 43’, 21"
27. Jack Bouttell/GAC Pindar/3d, 6h, 58’, 27"
28. Nick Cherry/Redshift/3d, 7h, 0’, 44"
32. Alan Roberts/Artemis 23/3d, 7h, 32’, 41"
35. Henry Bomby/RED/3d, 7h, 38’, 3"
36. Ed Hill/Macmillan Cancer Support/3d, 7h, 38’, 24"
Solitaire du Figaro overall results
1. Fabien Delahaye/Skipper Macif 2012/3d, 3h, 1’, 17"/3d, 4h, 0’, 19"/6d, 7h, 1’, 36"
2. Jérémie Beyou/Maitre Coq/3d, 3h, 3’, 32"/3d, 3h, 59’, 47"/6d, 7h, 3’, 19" – 0h, 1’, 43"
3. Alexis Loison/Groupe Fiva/3d, 3h, 53", 40’/3d, 4h, 11’, 4"/6d, 7h, 4’, 54" – 0h, 3’, 18"
14. Sam Matson/Artemis 21/3d, 3h, 52’, 39"/3d, 5h, 33m, 51s/6d, 9h, 26’, 30s – 2h, 24’, 54"
22. Rich Mason/Artemis 77/3d, 5h, 31’, 33"/3d, 5h, 56’, 0"/6d, 11h, 27’, 33" – 4h, 25’, 57"
26. Jack Bouttell/GAC Pindar/3d, 5h, 16’, 0"/3d, 6h, 58’, 27"/6d, 12h, 14’, 27" – 5h, 12’, 51"
28. Sam Goodchild/Team Plymouth/3d, 5h, 35’, 28"/3d,6h, 43’, 21"/6d, 12h, 18’, 49" – 5h, 17’, 13"
29. Henry Bomby/RED/3d, 4h, 43’, 34"/3d, 7h, 38’, 3"/6d, 12h, 21’, 37" – 5h, 20’, 01"
30. Nick Cherry/REDSHIFT/3d, 5h, 41’, 57"/3d, 7h, 0’, 44"/6d, 12h, 42’, 41" – 5h, 41’, 05"
32. Alan Roberts/Artemis 23/3d, 5h, 24’, 10"/3d, 7h, 32’, 41"/6d, 13h, 36’, 20" – 5h, 43’, 24"
36. Ed Hill/Macmillan Cancer Support/3d, 14h, 57’, 49"/3d,7h, 45’, 47"/6d, 22h, 43’, 36" – 15h, 42’, 00"
Leg 2 Rookie podium results
1. Sébastien Simon/Bretagne/Crédit Mutuel Espoir/02:05BST/3d, 4h, 39’ 48"
2. Gwenolé Gahinet/Safran-Guy Cotten/02:58BST/3d, 5h, 32’, 59"
3. Sam Matson/Artemis 21/02:59BST/3d, 5h, 33’, 51"
Solitaire du Figaro overall Rookie podium
1. Sam Matson/Artemis 21/3d, 3h, 52’, 39"/3d, 5h, 33m, 51s/6d, 9h, 26’, 30s
2. Gwenolé Gahinet/Safran-Guy Cotten/3d, 4h, 11’, 45"/3d, 5h, 32’, 59"/6d, 9h, 44’, 44" – 0h, 18’, 14"
3. Sébastien Simon/Bretagne/Crédit Mutuel Espoir/3d, 5h, 14’, 8"/3d, 4h, 39’, 48"/6d, 6h, 53’, 56" – 0h, 27’, 26"
From ArtemisOffshore Racing
