Jonny Malbon completes La Solitaire Du Figaro in a nail biting finish

by Artemis Ocean Racing Media on 20 Aug 2009 In a close-fought end to this notorious race, Jonny Malbon onboard Artemis, completed the gruelling Solitaire du Figaro with an impressive final leg into Dieppe after over 75 hours at sea. It was a tense finish for the fleet but for Jonny it was his best position yet, gaining 10 places overnight and leaving previous winners of the event in his wake.

Jonny’s final leg position of 35th means that he finishes as 10th placed Rookie and 47th overall in the race that has seen him go ‘back to school’ to hone his skills.

“This race teaches you so much,” commented Jonny. “You know the guys around you are not going to let the pressure drop, and since the boats are all identical, only the sailor’s concentration and trimming precision can make the difference. It’s incredibly tight and when your adversaries are only metres away from you taking a nap or forgetting about your speed even for a few minutes is not an option.”

“I’ve made continuous progress throughout this Solitaire and that’s what I’m happy with. On that monster of a last leg (511 miles), I made a tactical blunder off Plymouth and I was devastated, I thought I’d never come back in the game… But I pushed myself and being all the way down the rankings on the first morning triggered a strong reaction. I just wanted to sail the boat as well as I could, and not having anything to lose I think I went about things in a healthier way, being more relaxed and focused. It worked and yesterday evening I was back in it. By then I was already exhausted but my motivation was intact, so I decided to give all I had for the final 100 miles or so. During the night I made some very good gains.'

'Never once during that 3-day leg did I consciously decide to take some rest - I woke up steering or even standing up in the companionway not even having realised I had fallen asleep! That’s how crazy this race is but I absolutely love it, I’m hooked! For the moment I feel good but I know I’m going to collapse in a few hours. I’m so happy to have improved and I also love the atmosphere in the class. The level is incredibly high yet most of the guys are willing to help you to improve, that’s the spirit! I’d love to be back next year having had a full season of training.”

Jonny will next race the Artemis Figaro double-handed with his boat captain Nick Bubb in the upcoming “Tour de Bretagne” (Round Brittany), starting from Saint Malo on the 5th of September.

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