Harris makes his mark on debut in 2016 Classe Figaro Bénéteau

by Artemis Offshore Academy on 18 Mar 2016 2016 Classe Figaro Bénéteau - British rookie solo ocean racer Will Harris made a great start to his professional offshore sailing career today, running in fifth place in the early stages of the first race of the 2016 Classe Figaro Bénéteau circuit.

Harris, aged 22 and from Surrey, is the most experienced of the three British Artemis Offshore Academy rookies taking part in the 340nm Solo Concarneau Trophée Guy Cotten from the medieval French town of Concarneau.

Conditions for the start were fair, with 10 knots of chilly breeze setting the fleet on a reach along the Brittany coastline towards the infamous Raz du Seine and imposing Ouessant lighthouse.

Harris on board Artemis 77, got off to a great start, taking an early top-five position in the 23-boat solo fleet behind experienced French sailors Nicolas Lunven, Yoanne Richomme, Charlie Dalin and Thierry Chabagny.

“I was trying so hard to not think about the race ahead of the start,” Harris explained before setting sail. He said his goal is to finish in the top-three in the rookie division. “If I had thought about it, I wouldn’t have slept for nerves,” he added.

“Despite the pre-race anxiety, I am feeling ready for this race, I’ve been sailing the Figaro now for three years. I’ve put a lot of hours in on dock and on the water over the winter season, and I’m proving to be quite fast in training. I hope I can now apply that competitively,” he said.

Academy Alumni Alan Roberts (Vasco de Gama) and Nick Cherry (Redshift) joined the two other British rookies, Mary Rook (Artemis 37) and Hugh Brayshaw (Artemis 23), on the startline.

In the double-handed fleet, Britain’s Andrew Baker has teamed-up with Artemis Offshore Academy coach and Figaro competitor Nicolas Jossier (Artemis 64). Fellow Britons Sam Matson and Robin Elsey (Artemis 21) are also taking part, using the Concarneau race as a warm-up for the two-handed Transat AG2R La Mondiale.

After a good start to their race, Matson and Elsey have now settled into a steady top-half position as the 10 boat double-handed fleet races into the first night.

“The competition among the double-handed fleet is really strong,” Matson reported. “This is the first time Robin and I have sailed together in three years, so we’ll be using the race to adjust to sailing double-handed again.

“It will be a great test of where we’ll fit in against some of the more experience double-handed pairings also racing the AG2R. Yann Elies has also decided to do the Solo Concarneau double-handed, he just couldn’t let us have this one!” he joked.

Historically, the Solo Concarneau Trophée Guy Cotten has been a wet and wild race but, with plenty of transitions from sea breeze to land breeze forecast as the March air heats and cools, the 2016 edition looks set to be more of a tactical affair as Harris explained: “The wind conditions are looking relatively kind, but it still won’t be easy. There will be a lot of reaching which should give us some time to sleep, but we’ll need to stay ahead of the weather and make some tactical decisions.

“We are expecting lighter conditions with every transition, leading to a possible shut down of the wind on the first night. On the second day we’ll have a fairly long fetch down to Belle Ile and I’m hoping to get some 15 minute naps there to put me in good stead for the final day of racing.”

After 36 hours of light and tactical conditions, the wind is forecast to pick up to 25 knots on the home stretch to Concarneau, making for a tough last few physical hours for the skippers.

Following a figure of eight from Concarneau to Ouessant, around Belle Ile, Ile d’Yeu and back to Concarneau, the Solo Concarneau Trophée Guy Cotten course is expected to take approximately one day and 20 hours to complete, seeing the fleet finish in Concarneau on Saturday 19th March.

You can track the Will, Mary, Hugh, Sam, Robin, Andrew, Alan and Nick in the Solo Concarneau Trophée Guy Cotten here.

See the entry list in full below:

Solo division - 23 boats

Skipper/Boat name

• Yoann Richomme/Skipper Macif 2014
• Charlie Dalin/Skipper Macif 2015
• Alan Roberts/Vasco de Gama
• Sophie Faguet/Region Normandie
• Cécile Laguette/Cecile Cherche Sponsor
• Hugh Brayshaw/Artemis 23
• Aymeric Decrooco/Bretagne CMB Espoir
• Nicolas Lunven/Generali
• Mary Rook/Artemis 37
• Arnaud Godart-Philippe/Faun Environnement
• Justine Mettraux/Teamwork
• Arthur Le Vaillant/Un Bateau pour Demain
• Claire Pruvot/Port de Caen Ouistreham
• Nick Cherry/Redshift
• Anthony Marchand/Ovimpex-Secours Populaire
• Corentin Douguet/Sofinther-Un Maillot Pour La Vie
• Yves Ravot/Hors La Rue
• Will Harris/Artemis 77
• Marc Noesmoen/Team Vendée Formation
• Thierry Chabagny/Gedimat
• Damien Cloarec/Saferail
• Pierre Casaux/Welcome to LA
• Bejamin Dutreux/Team Vendée

Double-handed division - 10 boats

Co-skippers/boat name

• Gildas Morvan and Alexis Loison/Cercle Vert
• Adrien Hardy and Vincent Biarnes/AGIR Recouvrement
• Yann Elies and Antoine Carpentier/Queguiner Leucemie Espoir
• Sebastien Simon and Xavier Macaire/Bretagne CMB Performance
• Martin Le Pape and Eric Peron/Belloco Paysages
• Sam Matson and Robin Elsey/Artemis 21
• Tanguy Le Turquais and Hervé Aubry/Cuisine Ixina
• Andrew Baker and Nicolas Jossier/Artemis 64
• Tolga Ekrem/Stéphanie Jadaud/Freedom - Service á Domicile
• Milan Kolacek and Pierre Brasseur/Fulgur - Evapco