Skandia Open 60 ready for the Transat Jacques Vabre

Brian Thompson and Will Oxley onboard Skandia before the Transat Jacques Vabre © Jon Nash / DPPI / Offshore Challenges Sailing Club

In less than two days time, Brian Thompson and Will Oxley will be onboard SKANDIA Open 60 for the start of the seventh edition of the double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre race. At 1400hrs GMT on Saturday (5.11.05), SKANDIA and the other 11 Open 60 monohulls will set off from Le Havre, France on the 4,340 transatlantic race to Salvador de Bahia in Brazil. The final week before the start is always a busy time as Brian, Will and the Skandia shore team are in the throes of making last minute preparations for this classic transatlantic race. Last Saturday’s Renault Prologue event off Le Havre proved to be an encouraging shakedown for the team as SKANDIA performed well against the newer generation Open 60s in the knockout competition. Brian and Will got through to the final six before Britain’s Mike Golding pipped Jean-Pierre Dick’s Virbac to the finish line.

SKANDIA (formely Ellen MacArthur’s Kingfisher and then Team 888) has competed twice before in the Transat Jacques Vabre under the captaincy of Offshore Challenges Sailing Team regular skipper, Nick Moloney (see results below), which is once more than her latest skipper Brian Thompson, who competed in the last race in 2003 as co-skipper to Mike Golding on board Ecover which saw them finish in third place in the Open 60 Class. Another podium finish this time is on Thompson’s wish list and soon enough the 12 Open 60 monohulls will be squaring up against each for the real thing. The latest weather forecast gives a moderate start for Saturday but with tougher upwind conditions quickly expected in the opening stage of the race.

Today all the 68 competing skippers, representing the 34 entries in this race that is open to both 60-foot and 50-foot monohulls and mulithulls, attended the official safety briefing. It is obligatory for all skippers to be present as the race organisers explain the technical and safety aspects of the race and communications in an emergency situation. It is a sobering reminder of the potential dangers the skippers face in this extreme sport of offshore racing. The second skipper briefing will take place on Saturday morning before the start where the focus is on the weather and start information.

FROM BRIAN AND WILL:

How are the final preparations going?

"Preparations are going along well. As always we could keep doing jobs till Christmas but the plan is to complete jobs today and spend Thursday loading, leaving the boat ready to go on Friday morning!" Brian Thompson

What have you been up to this week?

"We have sorted out the food for the race: we have five snacks per 24 hours and three meals a day. Breakfast is freeze-dried porridge or muesli, for lunch we have ryvita, tuna and cheese or something similar, and for dinner Back Country freeze-dried dishes from New Zealand. My favourite is the South African dish Babouti!We have also gone over our route using our Admiralty electronic charts. In my opinion they are the best charts available and my preference for both Maxsea and Deckman." Will Oxley

So what treats are you taking with you?

"Brian's treat is chocolate covered brazil nuts and mine is dried bananas (our boat is not being superstitious about carrying bananas!)" Will Oxley

What will you be doing in the next few days before the start?

"With all the on board jobs nearly completed the next big jobs are to load the boat and to study the weather and work with our weather router to plan our strategy. We will also go through the job lists for the last time and check and double check all is ready!" Brian Thompson

What is the weather forecast for the start?

"The forecast for the start is still not clear but the latest suggestion is south to south-westerly 15-20 knots and building." Will Oxley

Who would you predict as finishing on the podium for the Open 60?

"The clear favourites for the podium would have to be Ecover, Sill, Bonduelle and Virbac." Brian Thompson