Dolan and Foxall prepare for Figaro Sardinha Cup

Dolan and Foxall team up as All-Irish Challenge for Figaro Season Opener © Tom Dolan Racing

The long weeks of preparation and training will be put to the test from today, Saturday, as Irish duo Tom Dolan and Damian Foxall take their place on Smurfit Kappa among a white-hot 34 boat fleet which lines up for the first ever Figaro class race for the new foil-assisted Figaro Bénéteau 3 the Sardinha Cup.

The double-handed series of offshore races comprises a first 147 nautical miles 24 hours opening stage which starts today Saturday, followed by two longer stages of up to 650 miles, starting on second and then the 9th April, each starting and finishing from Saint Gilles Croix de Ville on the French Vendée coast, a town well known for their sardines, hence the inaugural race series' name.

Dolan, 31, from Kells, County Meath finished third rookie in his first season in the Figaro class but as the fleet adopts the new Figaro Bénéteau 3, he has chosen to draw on the experience of his compatriot co-skipper 10 times round the world racer Foxall, 50, from County Kerry on what promises to be a steep learning curve for all the sailors as they adapt to the new design.

Although the new boat is equipped with foils there seems to be little chance to benefit from them on the first stage, a triangle course formed by passing Ile de Yeu off Les Sables d'Olonne passed on the outwards and the return passage from a buoy Banc de Guérande lying to the west of the entrance to the Loire river at Nantes. Only very light winds are expected and although the name of the opening stage is the 'Vendée Warm-Up' the nights will still be long and chilly. Among the 68 sailors on the 34 boats are Volvo Ocean Race winner Charles Caudrelier, Route du Rhum winner Loick Peyron, and two three times winners of La Solitaire du Figaro, Yann Eliès and Jérémie Beyou. But as there has been no racing at all for the new boat, except for informal practice among the training groups, there is no form book.

Foxall explains, "There is a great mix of sailors in the field, some like Erwan Tabarly who joined the class in my last year has done 19 La solitaires in the last 20 years, and Loick Peyron is back, then there are a lot of very, very good singlehanded Figaro sailors, this really is the best of the best. But out of the 34 teams racing there are at least 20 which could win. It is amazing."

The duo are happy with their preparation, on and off the water, and are itching to go racing.

"We feel good, we could all have done more and you can never have done enough," Dolan confirms, "There is always something more to do, but in that respect I think we are all in the same position. At the end of the day we have had more sailing than some of the other boats and we have had a couple of good solid weeks working on the boat too."

The format of the races, long offshore stages with little rest between them, are designed to mirror that of La Solitaire du Figaro URGO, the season's pinnacle solo event which takes place in June.

Foxall says, "It really is like a mini Solitaire, double handed. The nights will be longer and colder and it will potentially be windier at some points. But it is a very similar format, short, hard legs where you don't get a lot of rest, some crucial moments when you have to be absolutely on the ball, going fast and in the right direction, and you have to be doing that three times over the next three weeks. It is a really nice format. It is a really nice way to start with the new boat."

The duo will rely on their experience to support each other, ensuring Smurfit Kappa is going fast in the right direction, Foxall, who won the two handed Barcelona Race round the world, explains how they plan to work together on board, "I think it will happen naturally as it does in double handed sailing. Sailing the boat fast in the right direction is a two person operation with someone driving and looking after the performance of the boat and the other is maybe looking more out of the boat at strategy and tactics, and making sure the trim of the boat is right, and then when the odd occasion allows some rest we will try and do that. In light steady airs we will be really trying to get a bit of weight forwards. That will be the case on this first leg, there will be a lot of sitting on the bow feeding information to the guy who is driving or both of us up the front using the autopilot."

The light conditions will require maximum concentration, monitoring the weather and the movements among the fleet. Dolan summarises, "The first leg is very light, a 150 miles race and we might be lucky to get that all in. We will be on the edge of a high pressure and as we go through the race it will be very important to understand where the new breeze is going to come from and when, so there will be a transition between the land breeze and the sea breeze and making sure we are on the right side of those shifts. Sailing in clear air is also important is important in a fleet of 34 boats going at the same speed. You can quickly drop from the front to the back by just not keeping in clear air. So it is going to be interesting."

You can track the fleet on the race tracker at sardinhacup.com/cartographie