and Jérémie Beyou are going to be joined by the likes of Loïck Peyron, plus of course the current crop of Premier Division Figaro sailors and the constant youthful ingress this circuit attracts year after year. Success in the Figaro truly is the most valuable launch platform for sailors with serious offshore ambitions. It produces great all-rounders, racing helmsmen and women, sail trimmers, navigators and routers, foredeck crew and systems engi- neers, and increasingly social media gurus, like François Gabart – who at sea spends nearly as much time communicating with his fans as he does trimming his boat.
Olympic value
There is currently plenty of noise about a potential offshore racing event for the 2024 Olympic Regatta in Marseille. Mixed two-handed offshore sailing in a boat of 8-10m over a course that keeps the fleet at sea for three days and two nights. Voting scandals and the vagaries of World Sailing and IOC politics aside, the actual sports part of the project, two people training in a competitive environment to Olympic standard with the goal of qualifying their country then getting selected themselves… well, this sounds remarkably like the inten- sity found on the FBCA’s annual regatta circuit and at associated training centres. And the Olympic relevance of the current circuit? For the fleet of 50+ boats 2019’s flagship event is the singlehanded La Solitaire Urgo Le Figaro. The race starts in early June in Nantes, with stops in
Kinsale in Ireland, Roscoff on the north Brittany coast and the finish of the last leg in Dieppe, halfway up the Channel. This is a singlehanded contest, admit- tedly not everyone’s cup of tea, but the class itself and its annual circuit include both singlehanded and two-handed events. Probably the most Olympic-relevant learn- ing event is a week-long two-handed race around Brittany in September. There will be boats available to charter and plenty of experienced skippers looking to share costs for the event that wraps up the season. It is probably a bit early still to talk about Olympic offshore sailing in detail, but the boat hardware itself is not really the issue. Long, short, fat or thin, foils or no foils, water ballast or dry, it is about the discipline not the machine. The discipline, shorthanded offshore racing, is practised at an extremely high level in France and any self-respecting Olympic team seriously considering a campaign for Marseille in 2024 would be foolish to pass by checking out the Figaro environment, to learn the skills required to race and train against without question the best in the world. The technical side of sailing through weather patterns with the modern tools at our disposal, the management of oneself and one’s co-skipper over an extended time… sleep, nutrition, motivation, coastal and offshore navigation strategy. There is just so much racing at a really high stan- dard year round. Time on the water, struc- tured and highly evolved training, the sort of regimes the big Olympic sailing teams
now expect, it’s the bread and butter of the FBCA milieu and has been for some time. As soon as the Tokyo Olympics are over, chances are several national teams planning a run at Marseille will come to compete here. If we look forwards it’s highly likely that the 2024 Olympic medallists will have raced a few seasons in the Figaro circuit. Can you afford not to be there?
Not enough women
This Olympic adventure is, however, for a mixed crew and although more and more women are involved in offshore sailing, nothing like enough is being done to encourage them to get to the right stan- dard and balance the numbers. The national teams who encourage and foster women’s offshore sailing now, in this environment, will reap the benefits. Training academies exist, boats exist, what is required is to transmit the message that this class is the place to be to learn and compete. Regardless of what the boat pro- vided for the Marseille Olympic Regatta ends up being, this is where to learn the game today. Olympic rant over…
A two-time Figaro competitor – and the former editor of this magazine – Marcus Hutchinson has long experience racing at a high level on everything from Half Tonners to Imoca 60s. He is now the proud owner of two new Figaro 3s which are chartered to promising young non- French sailors whom he is supporting. He is co-author of the Figaro 3 class rule
SAILKOTE STAYS WHERE YOU SPRAY IT
(And not in the water)
© US Sailing Team / Will Ricketson SEAHORSE 49
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