Solo season commences for The Offshore Academy sailors
by The Offshore Academy 11 Mar 2017 14:38 GMT
11 March 2017
The Offshore Academy's Mark Rook © Offshore Academy
With the 2017 European sailing season fast approaching, British solo sailors from The Offshore Academy have been hard at work preparing for a programme of gruelling racing in the lead up to the 2017 La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro.
The 2017 season kicks off in a week's time, and will see Mary Rook compete in her Bénéteau Figaro II 'Inspire+' whilst team mate Hugh Brayshaw will sail 'The Offshore Academy' for his second season. The 2017 Solo Normandy race will start on Friday 17th March, following a course around the Cherbourg peninsular, starting from Granville, and finishing in Cherbourg after approximately 36hrs of racing. It is the sailors first opportunity to put their winter training into practise, lining up against some formidable French opposition.
"After a very challenging but personally successful first season in the Figaro I've invested much of my winter to on water training, putting in the hours on-board, honing my boat handling skills and building on my experience from last year." Mary Rook
"The Figaro class is a very competitive one design fleet, racing for days at a time with very little sleep and your fellow competitors are just meters away from you, It's incredibly exhilarating and the smallest mistake can be punishing. I'm excited to be starting my 2nd season, and hope I can build on last year's results." Hugh Brayshaw