'Rookie' Champion Jack is back for 2014 La Solitaire du Figaro

Jack Bouttell will race Figaro '20' for the 2014 season, starting with the Solo Maître Coq on 13th March © Artemis Offshore Academy

Jack Bouttell, 2013's La Solitaire du Figaro 'Rookie' Champion, will once again compete in the prestigious race known as the unofficial world championship of solo offshore sailing.

As a follow up to last year's success, Jack is hoping to cement himself among the top half of the Class Figaro fleet as he makes his second assault on the highly competitive Figaro circuit in 2014. Returning with a new campaign and racing Figaro '20' this season, Jack aims to achieve a top 15 finish in the 45th edition of the Solitaire du Figaro, starting in Deauville, France on the 8th of June. At just twenty-three years old and with his first year of Figaro racing experience under his Spinlock offshore utility belt, securing a position up there with the rock stars of the Solitaire du Figaro fleet will be no mean feat for Jack. However, with the continued support of the Artemis Offshore Academy and a boatload of hard work, preparation and determination – it is a goal not too far over the horizon for the British rising star. Currently working to prepare his newly chartered Figaro for the coming season and still in search of a title sponsor, the race is now on for Jack to make it to the start line of his first Class Figaro event of the season – the 320nm Solo Maître Coq starting the 13th March.

"Since crossing the finish line of the Solitaire du Figaro in 2013, I've been on a slow and at times frustrating road to securing my own sponsorship, but with the help of the Academy I've now got a boat to race and a competitive goal set for this season," explained Jack, who is excited to be returning this season. "I'm still looking for sponsors, but I am really happy to be able to compete in the Solo Maître Coq. With just over a week to the start of the race I've still got a lot of work to do on my Figaro and as ever it's looking like a very strong field – but I'm looking forward to getting out on the course, blowing the cobwebs off my boat and I and seeing what we can do together."

With just nine days until the start of the Solo Maître Coq in Les Sables d'Olonne, the pressure is now on for Jack to get his Figaro in tip-top racing condition to ensure he can keep hot on the heels of the Class Figaro's whiz kids. Formerly known as the Solo Arrimer, it was in this race that Jack made his first dent on the Figaro circuit and had his first major encounter with the masters of the Figaro racing fleet, lining up alongside solo round the world royalty such as Michel Desjoyeaux, Jérémie Beyou and Armel Le Cléac'h among others. Sailing one of the wettest races of the year, Jack battled 30-40 knot winds and big seas over the 305 mile course to finish the race 16th overall and first Rookie, a moment Solo Maître Coq race organiser Guillaume Hauser remembers well: "Perhaps my best memory of the 2013 Figaro season was seeing Jack Bouttell hit the dock after the Solo Arrimer. He was so tired after a very hard race and I knew he had won the Rookie class, but he didn't. I approached his boat and asked him how he felt, Jack replied – "ok, I'm happy". I told him he was first Rookie and he didn't say a word, but his eyes screamed out his happiness. I feel honored to have been there for that moment, this is why we organise these races."

"Many of the top Figaro sailors started their careers in Les Sables d'Olonne – Morgan Lagravière, Fabien Delahaye, Corentin Horeau, Thomas Ruyant, Anthony Marchand, Aymeric Belloir – and I am sure that Jack will join this list. We look forward to welcoming Jack, and the 2014 Academy Rookies to the Solo Maître Coq and Les Sables d'Olonne next week," Guillaume concluded.

Having banked enough funding to kick-start his 2014 Figaro campaign with the Solo Maître Coq, Jack now needs to secure the vital sponsorship that will make his 2014 Solitaire du Figaro dream a reality. With as many as nine British skippers aiming for the start line this summer and the inclusion of the first UK Solitaire host port in over 11 years in Plymouth, 2014 looks set to be the strongest year yet for the British Figaro contingent and Jack is determined to be part of it: "I still have a huge mountain ahead of me before I get to the start line of the Solitaire du Figaro, but I enjoy climbing and will give it everything I've got. I'm looking forward to the new adventure that the 2014 season will bring I'm really grateful for the support I've received so far from a variety of places, in particular the ongoing encouragement and advice from the Artemis Offshore Academy team is really motivating. I am confident I will join the line up in Deauville in June."

To keep up with Jack and his fellow Artemis Offshore Academy squad members in the build up to and during the Solo Maître Coq, visit the Academy website, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

You can find out more about Jack and why he chose solo offshore sailing by visiting his new and improved website jackbouttellracing.com. You can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter.