Update
grow down the rankings. In reality this made the racing much more exciting, no longer about pure speed and more about tactical deci- sions. After my result in Leg 1 I decided to mentally block out the tactics of the skippers around me, choosing instead to follow my gut. The reality is there is no ‘low risk’ option to take in a race of this
kind. If you want to win you have to do so on your instincts and experience. It’s no walk in the park, especially as there is an immense amount of pressure to perform. You don’t want to throw away a whole race due to one tactical error, but at the same time there are moments when you just have to go for it. Even the smallest of splits in the fleet can exponentially increase in the right conditions. Leg 3 demonstrated this perfectly. On day 2 the fleet were
approaching the tidal rush around Alderney. The first three boats managed to sneak around the island minutes before the tide had turned. They disappeared with the tide for the next six hours, while I, along with the rest of the fleet, was left fighting the tidal race not moving anywhere. The leaders took the leg by nearly 10 hours. Having been minutes behind it was painful to see it happen. But remaining level-headed in these situations is key. It’s easy
to let emotion take over at either end of the fleet which is just a waste of energy. In Leg 4 I found myself leading the fleet for most of day 3. With a sliver of a lead, I had to really push myself to stick to my routine of sleeping and eating, keeping my head straight. Since we were only halfway through the leg there was no way
I could just sit at the helm and steer to the finish, so I ended up making myself a solo watch system – 45 minutes of sailing or trimming, followed by a 15-minute rest or time downstairs to eat. It worked quite well and ensured I didn’t just burn out for the rest of the leg. Sure enough, we saw several reversals in the fleet before the finish and I still had plenty of energy to deal with it and not end up sailing myself to the back. Exactly the same can happen at the other end of the fleet, but in your head you just have to remember this race is never over until you cross the finish line. Finally, I need to look at my overall objectives. What was I really
trying to achieve by doing this race? The answer is: building a platform to do the Vendée Globe. During the Solitaire I was very active media wise. I may not have
achieved the racing results I was hoping for but this was made up for in media exposure. It’s always a tricky balance when doing the Solitaire, with little time between legs, and so many media oppor- tunities, interviews, public signings. Remembering that it’s not just about the racing is always important – though sometimes it’s very hard. I felt I managed myself well. I have a few more races coming up, including the Fastnet, when
I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to sail with Boris Herrmann on his Imoca 60 Team Malizia. Following that I will be racing in the Tour de Bretagne, a double-handed Figaro 3 race in September. The focus then moves onto building my campaign for next year and beyond, hopefully towards that Vendée Globe...
SNAPSHOTS Brought to you in association with
q
Uffa Fox’s original idea for an airborne lifeboat (page 38) was quickly picked up by other manufacturers elsewhere – this is a later, more sophisticated Boeing derivative, built in aluminium instead of hot-moulded plywood and with this sacrificial cowl which is being added to reduce the drag for the mother aircraft and to protect the rudder and propeller on impact with the water
16 SEAHORSE
l Genuinely…outstanding l 30 plus…Imoca will take the start of this year’s two-handed TJV l Crisis…what crisis? l Terrifyingly slow…a (very) little progress is being made in how to get rid of old grp boats l Where…there is movement it revolves around money (obviously) l As in…paying owners to play (or rather not) l A French…pilot scheme is seeing a take-up rate of less than eight per cent once the disposal cost is quoted l A completely free…programme in Texas is doing rather better l European champion…Lorenzo Chiavarini is also GBR’s current no1 Laser sailor l Counted…the Poms in the Premier League recently? l But does…he drive a Ferrari (and a Bentley and a McLaren)? lBilge keels…rumours are the French designers are onto it (page 45) l Be aware…following a tragedy involving the capsize of a disabled class centreboarder the UK authorities have taken an interest in how all such foils are secured l (Lots of)…nice work if you can get it... l Thirty-seven… crews raced the 2019 Etchells Worlds l Just six… of them Corinthian l Something to… look forward to l The first Eagle 53… is back in the shed having its automated flight system installed (issue 471) l Ciao…Golden Globe 2022 will start from Les Sables as in 2018 l A bientôt… surely? – ed l It has to… be mentioned…. l A new… record for a Grand Prix pitstop was set by Red Bull during the British GP l 1.91 seconds… to change four wheels and get moving again l A whole… 0.01 seconds under the previous mark l Now those boys… practise l Go try that at… the nearest Walmart Auto Center l Something… in the water? l Stanford… rowing coach Craig Amerkhanian has also been ‘moved on’ in the student entry scandal that saw the departure of sailing coach John Vandemoer l Hot stuff… among those on Gladiator for the humble IRC UK Nationals… Iain Percy, Jules Salter et al l WDFA… Gladiator(s)’ owner Tony Langley certainly does not l So too… after a few years on the golf course Wolfgang Hunger (with Holger Jess) returned to the 505s at Kiel where the five-time world champion won with a day to spare l A very… classy sailor l Props too… to the America’s Cup Hall of Fame for (finally) inducting Bill Trenkle, three-time Cup winner with Dennis Conner and among the most loyal of that incredibly loyal team l There’s hope… for all of us… l Monsieur… Paul Cayard is a grandfather! l Brokerage tip… (the) Bob Fisher/Barry Dunning 1896 Solent One Design Rosenn deserves a very special new home l Interesting… that there is also a brand new Contessa 32 under construction in the UK... l Yes… so did we l Rosenn… every time for us l Bravissimo… Trevor (son of) Davis won the opening race at the 470 Junior Worlds with Trevor Bornarth l Club 420… to 470 Worlds in two months l And in spite… of his Dad l Sorry… Dobbs l Here follows… (another) gold medal level apology… l Sailor of the Month… last month’s photo of three-time Finn World Masters champion Vlad Krutskikh was not Vlad Krutskikh l Sorry… comrade l Sad times… in July we bade farewell to Dick McCurdy who among his many achievements gave us those amazingly watertight plug-and-play Ockham offshore instrument displays in the 1980s (the ed was a big fan... back in medieval times) l Find Rosenn… at
RaceboatsOnly.com l Learn about her… at
eurosailnews.com l Don’t say… we don’t care about you (all)
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110
