Rolex Fastnet Race 2009

Rolex Fastnet Race 2009
Website - www.regattanews.com - Übersicht

Wednesday 12 August 2009
SAM DAVIES CONTINUES TO SHINE WITH PODIUM FINISH
British skipper and her crew secure a fantastic second place in IMOCA 60 class of Rolex Fastnet Race 2009

Visit http://www.artemisoceanracing.com for more information on the team and latest news

British sailing star Sam Davies and her crew onboard Artemis Ocean Racing took second place in the IMOCA 60 class, crossing the finish line of the classic Rolex Fastnet Race at 0615 BST this morning (Wednesday). The 608-mile race took Artemis Ocean Racing 2 days, 18 hours, 15 minutes and 41 seconds, and the crew are delighted in finishing less than an hour and a half after the winning boat.

Foto: www.ocftp.com

This has been an outstanding performance for Sam, co-skipper Sidney Gavignet and crew, Graham ‘Gringo’ Tourell and Gareth Rowley, in their first real test since Artemis Ocean Racing underwent an extensive weight-reducing refit and ahead of the two-handed Transat Jacques Vabre race in November.

Sam commented at the finish: “I think tactically we sailed the right route in terms of the wind and sailing round the coast – I don’t think we could have done anything more than we did. I’m quite proud of our track on the chart and it’s encouraging but a bit frustrating at the same time not to be able to stay in touch with them in the lighter downwind stuff. It’s been pretty tiring, the sprints always are, and I probably need to go and sleep for 24 hours!
“I thought they [BT] had got away from us more because the tide turned against us at the Lizard so they shut the door very firmly behind them! I knew it was impossible to get back at them.”
“I think between the two of us [Sam and Sidney] we have done a lot of sailing in the last year or so. Having done the Round Britain record on AVIVA that got me back on my toes, and sailing Roxy for over 2 years in Vendée Globe mode has been a good build-up to stepping onboard Artemis. I wasn’t too worried about joining a new boat and learning how it works. Obviously, we’re learning a lot but there is still plenty to do. We need to try and improve the performance in the areas where we’re lacking a little bit at the moment. It’s encouraging though because we know where we need to work and we’ve learnt a lot in the last two and a half days. Now we are going to sail back with the designers and start making a plan on what to do with the boat both on and off the water in the next two months,” explained Sam. “We will take the boat to France at the end of August and that will be our TJV 1,000 mile qualifier - we will sail a big loop on the way down to Concarneau - and then we will be based in France sailing with the squad in Port La Foret.”

Since the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race on Sunday, 9th August, Artemis Ocean Racing led the fleet in a tightly fought battle in a very competitive fleet. Sam and the crew led all the way across the Irish Sea and were the first IMOCA 60 to round the legendary Fastnet Rock, piping second place by just 10 minutes. The conditions after the Rock were not optimum for the boat as they were hunted by the teams hot on their heels. It was an epic fight to the finish as Sam and Sidney worked hard to stay in contention. Despite missing out on top spot it was a great result for the new team, and re-fitted boat, in their first competitive outing.

The Artemis Ocean Racing team is committed to supporting British offshore sailing talent across a number of events and classes, including Jonny Malbon in La Solitaire de Figaro, Ollie Bond in the Mini Transat and Sam Davies in IMOCA 60.
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