Cherry achieves best result yet for Brits in Generali Solo Méditerranée
by Artemis Offshore Academy 6 Oct 2015 12:18 BST
6 October 2015
Solo sailor Nick Cherry has achieved the best result for a British competitor in one of the most prestigious French single-handed championships – the three-week long Generali Solo Méditerranée.
At the helm of his Figaro Beneteau, Redshift, Cherry took fifth place after a gruelling test against 21 other skippers that included 11 inshore races and two offshore legs staged between Sete and Barcelona.
A multiple national match-race champion with four Solitaire du Figaros under his belt, Cherry shone in both elements of the Generali. His result is all the more rewarding after his disappointing Solitaire du Figaro earlier this summer when he finished only 32nd against many of the sailors he has now beaten in the Generali.
Commenting on his achievement, Cherry said: "I now know that I have got the ability to compete with the best and hold my own. I'm particularly happy with my result in the first offshore leg as it put me in first place overall – the first time a British skipper has ever led a Classe Figaro event."
Cherry held a podium position for most of the Generali, only falling to fifth after the final offshore leg to Barcelona, in which he finished 15th.
His British counterparts, Sam Matson on Chatham and Alan Roberts on Magma Structures, also achieved impressive results. Roberts finished in 13th place, and Matson in 11th – one better than Sam Davies' 12th place finish in 2004.
Roberts' performance in the Generali secures him in a top-10 finish in the overall Figaro solo championship of France for 2015, (Le Championnat de France Elite de Course au Large en Solitaire).
His successes in the three races of which the Championship is comprised – the Solo Maître Coq, La Solitaire du Figaro, and the Generali Solo Méditerranée – saw him finish ninth overall. Next year he will proudly race with " 9" as his sail number.
"I entered the Generali to achieve a top-10 result in the overall championship," he explained. "Even though my results weren't amazing in this race, I achieved that goal. The Generali taught me a lot – I'm going to take it all on board and come back next year, even better."
Matson had a similar goal going into the Generali. "It's a little disappointing to miss out on a top-ten finish," he admitted. "But 11th place is still a strong result against some incredible sailors. It was a great race and I learnt a lot."
The sailors are now recuperating after the month-long Mediterranean marathon. Next on the agenda, Cherry and Roberts will take on the Tour de Corse a la Voile, a crewed race around Corsica, that starts on October 13th.
Top three results and other Brits:
1. Alexis Loison/Groupe Fiva/89pts
2. Xavier Macaire/Skipper Herault/110pts
3. Yoann Richomme/Skipper Macif 2014/149pts
5. Nick Cherry/Redshift/145pts
11. Sam Matson/Chatham/200pts
13. Alan Roberts/Magma Structures/232pts
www.generali-solo.com