Sailing's top pros, rising stars & royalty compete in 8th Artemis Challenge
by Artemis Challenge 8 Aug 2014 07:37 BST
7 August 2014
Some of the hottest professional names in sailing and the sport's rising stars jostled for position alongside royalty, rugby and rock 'n' roll stars in the Artemis Challenge – the 50-mile race around the Isle of Wight on Thursday.
The eighth edition of the Artemis Challenge, that first took place in 2007, has become a 'stand-out' event of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week and adding a touch of glamour, as well as their sporting prowess, were Zara Phillips, Mike Tindall and Simon and Yasmin Le Bon.
Six ocean-going racing machines competed in Thursday's 2014 Artemis Challenge and the calibre of sailing talent was impressive – Volvo Ocean Race skippers Samantha Davies, Team SCA; Charles Caudrelier, Dongfeng Race Team; two time Olympic silver medallist Ian Walker, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing; alongside ocean racing masters that included multiple round the world record holder Brian Thompson, Artemis Ocean Racing; Damian Foxall, skipper Musandam Oman Sail and Lionel Lemonchois, Prince de Bretagne. And alongside eight 33-foot Bénéteau Figaro IIs lined up carrying the next generation of offshore sailing talent racing including Sam Goodchild, Jack Bouttell, Sam Matson and French Figaro skipper Charlie Dalin – who in future years hope to emulate their sailing heroes.
At 1000am, 14 Artemis Challenge competitors set off in light airs anti-clockwise around the Isle of Wight. Starting from the Royal Yacht Squadron line, the fleet of three Volvo Ocean 65s, two trimarans, eight Figaros and one IMOCA 60 had just 4 knots of wind in the Solent, making it a long slog round to the Needles Fairway. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing's 'Azzam' took an early lead, VIP guests Simon and Yasmin Le Bon joining the crew. Once on the south side of the island, the trimarans came into their own in 10 knots of wind – flying round to St.Catherine's lighthouse, eventual Challenge winner Prince de Bretagne and second position Oman Sail – Musandam putting a gap between the two multihull's and monohulls Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, Dongfeng Race Team, Artemis Ocean Racing II and Team SCA. Due to the light conditions, the race was cut short at Bembridge Ledge, seeing French team Prince de Bretagne take the eighth Artemis Challenge win in a time of four hours, 16 minutes and 35 seconds. Oman Sail – Musandam was the second boat over the finish line, while Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing bought home the glory in the monohull class.
In true Artemis spirit, few go home empty handed. Overall winners Prince de Bretagne won £3,000 for their charity Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer – the French equivalent of the RNLI. Abu Dhabi Ocean took £3,000 home for their monohull class win, splitting the money between Toe in the Water and UKSA – this year's Cowes Week charities. The remaining £4,000 and plenty of magnum sized bottles of Pol Roger Champagne were split between the winning Team A's remaining elected charities (Prince de Bretagne, Dongfeng Race Team, Team SCA and Figaros Redshift, Artemis 77, Artemis 37 and Pol Roger Team Plymouth) – Race for Water and the Magnus Olsson Memorial Foundation.
The Artemis Challenge continues to attract the best names in sailing and the roll call of previous competitors is impressive – French legend Michel Desjoyeaux, who set a new round the island multihull course record of 2 hours, 21 minutes and 25 seconds in the 2012 Artemis Challenge, Britain's Mike Golding, Alex Thompson, Dee Caffari, Dame Ellen MacArthur and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston; and from across the channel 2012 Vendée Globe winner Francois Gabart (winner of the 2012 Vendée Globe and 2013 Artemis Challenge monohull winner), Vincent Riou, Seb Josse, and Sidney Gavignet, to name just a few. And joining the heavyweights of sailing, a number of celebrities have taken part over the years in support of worthy causes that benefit from the £10,000 charity prize fund – Ewan MacGregor, Bryan Adams, Amy Williams, Will Greenwood, James Haskell, as well as other stars from the world of entertainment, including Davina McCall, Natalie Pinkham and James and Oliver Phelps, the Weasley Twins from the Harry Potter movies.
From just 17 of the skippers and crews competing in today's Artemis Challenge, between them they have competed in 60 Solitaire du Figaro races which is the critical starting point for many of the world's leading round the world sailors. Charles Caudrelier won the 2005 Solitaire du Figaro, while Lionel Lemonchois took part three times, Sam Davies four times, Damian Foxall three times – they never won it, but it's one of the hardest events in sailing to win! And the Figaro young guns are on the same pathway – Sam Goodchild has taken part four times, Nick Cherry three times, Jack Bouttell two times including winning the 2013 Rookie Division, the first non-French sailor to do so, and Sam Matson took part this year for the first time and came out with the best British performance. These future sailing stars may also one day line up for a future edition of the Artemis Challenge having raced to glory in the Vendée Globe or Volvo Ocean Race.
Zara Phillips said: "We had a great time out there today. It was an absolutely beautiful day to be out on the water and I really enjoyed the action at the start. It was a good race, it would have been great to have a bit more wind but I'm really pleased we got to go round the Island. The Artemis Challenge is an event I enjoy every time I do it. Today was no exception."
Simon Le Bon said: "It was marvellous. It was a fabulous day, it's a great boat and the crew were great. We had lots of fun. For me this is Cowes Day. Today I've sailed with one of the best sailors in the whole word."
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