Alan Roberts top Brit in La Solitaire Bompard Le Figaro Leg 1
by Artemis Offshore Academy 23 Jun 2016 13:11 BST
23 June 2016
Will Harris secures Rookie runner up in claps of thunder
After a tough three days fighting through fog, rain, strong currents, storms, light airs and sleep deprivation, this morning Alan Roberts aboard Alan Roberts Racing was the first British skipper to cross the Leg 1 Solitaire Bompard Le Figaro finish line in 17th place. Roberts was followed over the line by Redshift skipper Nick Cherry who claimed 21st place and top British Rookie Will Harris in 23rd and second Rookie.
Arriving on the dock at Cowes Yacht Haven this morning, Roberts was in two minds about the leg – he was exhausted and it was very difficult, but he still enjoyed the race.
"The hardest part of the race was the second day and the defining factor was the split at Lizard Point on the way to Wolf Rock," he explained. "I wanted to go offshore, but I wasn't able to get there. The ridge was sitting between the two fleets, and we thought we'd have a little more breeze to get us across. The breeze was always going to fill in from offshore."
"Once there is such a big split, you lose touch with the race a bit, but I'm quite happy with how I sailed. I kept sailing my race."
In a dramatic finish to the shortened leg from Deauville to Cowes, the leading competitors sailed over the finish line just after dusk at the Needles Fairway buoy to rumbles of thunder, an amazing lightening show and torrential rain, arriving at Cowes Yacht Haven in the early hours.
After an intense battle between the front-runners, Armor Lux skipper Erwan Tabarly was victorious, taking Leg 1 line honours after 3 days, nine hours, 25 minutes and 54 seconds at sea. Yoann Richomme racing Skipper Macif 2014 claimed second seven minutes later, while Charlie Dalin aboard Skipper Macif 2015 finished in third, a further four minutes behind.
Despite his impressive performance over the shortened 480-mile leg and his Rookie podium position, 22 year old Harris described the first leg of the 1525nm solo race as 'heinous'.
"That was the worst baptism of fire going into my first Solitaire I would say," he said laughing, elated to have completed his first Solitaire leg. "It's just been foggy and raining the whole time, last night we had wind from every direction all night – just tack, tack, tack."
Harris went on to explain that he was falling asleep at the helm just five miles from the line, exhausted by the tough sailing conditions he faced during his longest solo passage to date. Holding on to the top Rookie position for much of the race, sleep deprivation got the better of him, and eventual winning Rookie Pierre Quiroga aboard Skipper Espoir CEM was able to overtake.
"I had to go downstairs to sleep just five miles from the finish," he explained. "I just couldn't see anything, my eyes were bleary and wouldn't open."
"On top of the challenging weather, at every headland we were fighting the current," he continued. "We have literally had every offshore sailing challenge crammed into three days. That's why there's such a big split in the fleet. It was quite impressive really and I'm really happy to have finished in not too much of a bad place either. It's amazing."
Shortly after the arrival of Roberts, Cherry and Harris, Chatham skipper Sam Matson finished in 25th. Behind Matson, Robin Elsey racing Artemis 43 just overtook Andrew Baker to finish 26th, with the #SeaChange skipper finishing 27th.
Reporting damage to his solent headsail, tuff luff, genoa and alternator after the violent conditions of the first night, Matson had a real fight on his hands for the next two days – a tough start to the race for him.
"It was a frustrating and disappointing first leg for me," he reported. "I'd worked myself into a good position on the first night and I was excited about the fast and windy conditions. It all came crashing down when I lost the solent through my tuff luff. I managed to slow the boat down, get it back and switch to my genoa – but ultimately by then I was really fatigued."
"This was by far the wettest Figaro race I have ever done, and the best bit was crossing the finish line. When it wasn't raining, there was just water crashing around on the deck. It was crazy. We experience it all," he concluded.
Meanwhile, British Rookies Hugh Brayshaw aboard Artemis 23 and Mary Rook racing Artemis 37 are still on their way to the finish line, currently positioned 32nd and 34th respectively.
A little anxious going into the first night of big weather, one of just five female skippers, Rook will rest easy tonight knowing she's conquered over three days of difficult solo conditions and her longest race to date.
Speaking with Race Organisers yesterday, she reported: "The first night of the race was horrible, really wet, but it was really fun as well. We were going really fast under spinnaker and I was right near the front at that point and going really well, but I was waiting for everyone else to overtake me!"
"We've just been sat here in the rain with no wind with the sails flapping a lot of the time, which has not been the most fun. I'm looking forward to arriving in Cowes."
After just three days of rest and recuperation, starting with a beer and a burger in the famous Pier View pub this morning, the full 39-boat fleet will restart the race from the Royal Yacht Squadron line on Sunday 26th June, in what will almost certainly be another tough leg.
Provisional Rankings after Leg 1:
1. Erwan Tabarly (ARMOR LUX)
2. Yoann Richomme (SKIPPER MACIF 2014)
3. Charlie Dalin (SKIPPER MACIF 2015
17. Alan Roberts (ALAN ROBERTS RACING)
21. Nick Cherry (REDSHIFT)
23. Will Harris (ARTEMIS 77)
25. Sam Matson (CHATHAM)
26. Robin Elsey (ARTEMIS 43)
27. Andrew Baker (#SEACHANGE)
TBC Hugh Brayshaw (ARTEMIS 23)
TBC Mary Rook (ARTEMIS 37)
Quotes:
Will Harris – Artemis 77
"That was the worst baptism of fire going into my first Solitaire I would say, the word heinous springs to mind! It's just been foggy and raining the whole time, last night we had wind from every direction all night – just tack, tack, tack. On top of that, at every headland you're fighting tide. We literally had every offshore sailing challenge crammed into three days. That's why there's such a bit split in the fleet. It was quite impressive really and I'm really happy to have finished it in not too much of a bad place either. It's amazing."
"The first night was one of the hardest of the race, we had drizzle and low visibility and big winds up wind, which was quite intense. I was quite fast in those conditions though and whenever it got hard I just kept thinking, everyone else is having to deal with this as well."
"Coming in to the finish line I was falling asleep at the helm, which is why Pierre was able to over take me. I had to go downstairs to sleep just 5nm from the finish because I just couldn't see anything, my eyes were bleary and wouldn't open. I was running low on water as well."
Robin Elsey – Artemis 43
"It was pretty painful for some of our shut downs, there were a lot of them. I made some pretty bad decisions as far as the shut downs were concerned."
"I found myself being too influenced by the situation at present, rather than the situations that would occur three days down the line. It's a shame, but means I have learned something on this leg."
"The leg wasn't very enjoyable to be honest. I'm not saying it was bad, but you just have to enjoy it for what it is. Sometimes the legs are painful sometimes, they aren't as much.
We just sailed 500 miles by ourselves so we can't complain too much... Onwards and upwards!"
Nick Cherry – Redshift
"I can't remember most of it now, it was hard work. I remember losing all of my electrics and my pilot at Owers, so I was without a pilot until a bit after that. I finally got it working but not the wind gear, which was frustrating. Sailing in the rain and the dark you can't really feel anything, you rely on the wind angle. Sleeping is also a lot harder because the boat is quite a bit slower without the pilot on wind mode and it was a bit shifty. It didn't affect me that much, but it made everything a lot more difficult than it needed to be."
"The leg was quite long and tiring too. I slept alright round the back of the Island, without the pilot I just tied off and it was pretty quick once the boat was set up right. I also slept a lot yesterday morning that I was quite glad for, because I didn't sleep after 1400 yesterday."
"The split off of the Lizard on the second night was pretty instrumental in the race. I guess it was probably quite a risk, but because there was bunch of us doing it, it didn't feel so risky. I could see on AIS we were just ahead, but then the breeze filled in from the south and it was game from there really. There wasn't anything we could really do and the splits just got worse from there."
Sam Matson – Chatham
"It was a frustrating and disappointing race. I was happy going into the first night where I had worked myself into a nice position. I was excited about a windy upwind because I usually am quite quick in these situations."
"And then it all crashed down when I lost the solent out of the tuff luff. Then I lost the solent overboard while I was trying to recover it. It was physically tough to get it back in and resolve the problem. I went to re hoist again and ended up tearing the luff off. Once the luff was gone I had to put the genoa on which is less than ideal in 30 knots upwind. I struggled throughout that day when people where probably getting some sleep. It felt like I was constantly fighting the boat trying to keep it going quick. So I was putting a lot of pressure on the sails, which isn't ideal."
"I kind of got back into it, but ultimately I was pretty fatigued which showed when I came forward in and ended up dropping back later on when I was trying to catch up on sleep. It's frustrating because I did get back into it a couple of times, but then lost it again... The best part of this race was crossing the finish line."
Follow the Artemis Offshore Academy squad via our website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.