Solo Maitre Coq starts today
The Solo Maitre Coq will mark the start of the Figaro 3 season this year with 30 figarists eager for the battle ahead following three months of delay due to confinement.
Starting off from Les Sables d’Olonne, the course will take the skippers on a 340 mile solo journey around Belle-île, Île d’Yeu and Île de Ré: a life-size rehearsal of the circuit’s pinnacle event, the Solitaire du Figaro in September.
“I am used to long ocean races with long-term strategies. This circuit is based on shorter, more intense coastal courses where fleet tactics, land effects and tides come heavily into play,” says competitor Phil Sharp who’s known for 25 podiums in offshore races, three World Sailing Speed Records and two Class 40 Championship trophies.
The forecast for the two-night course shows light and variable winds, of which tactical choices and shifty conditions will no doubt intensify this challenging race.
“The boat is still fairly new to me and I still have a lot of work to do on performance optimisation and speeding up manoeuvres, which all comes down to time on the water. Every opportunity to train and race will add to my development and give me the tools and experience I need to tackle difficult situations ahead,” says Sharp.
“It is fantastic that the season is about to kick off after the recent delays and uncertainty, and I now feel hungrier than ever to get racing. With such strong competition, I will be happy with a top-half finish in what will be my first Figaro race in six years. Regardless, it will be a great learning opportunity for me, benchmarking myself against some of the best in solo offshore racing.”
Sharp is racing under the colours of his OceansLab project, launched at the end of last year with the aim of accelerating clean innovations in the maritime sector by reducing emissions and improving the health of the oceans. The Lab is said to be close to completion of a marinised hydrogen fuel-cell that can help decarbonise the maritime sector.
