The third leg of the Solitaire du Figaro, 475-miles from Dun Laoghaire to Les Sables d’Olonne concluded this morning with French sailor and leg 2 winner, Jeremie Beyou winning the leg in 2 days, 20 hours, 39 minutes and 20 seconds. Phil Sharp was the first Brit and fourth ‘Rookie’ to finish at 09:28:28in 20th place, Sam Goodchild finished in 27th at 10:25:48, Conrad Humphreys crossed the line in 29th at 11:03:48, Nigel King then followed in 39th place finishing at 13:24:06.

In Dun Laoghaire the fleet of 46 solo sailors had a tricky start in Dublin Bay with shifting light winds with sudden gusts up to 15 in some of the squalls. The fleet completed an 8-mile course around the Bay before heading out into the Irish Sea and beating down to the English Channel.  “That was a real tactical toughie actually. I got really stuck at the beginning, a group of 6 or 7 of us went a little bit offshore and we got becalmed and we just watched everyone sail away” reported Humphreys.

Conrad Humphreys on the dock after finishing leg 3 ©  Artemis Offshore Academy

The Figaro fleet then had to contend with the 314 strong RORC Fastnet Race fleet who were crossing their path around Land’s End. Luckily for the solo sailors they had the French naval vessel the PSP Cormorant guiding them through the fleet. Goodchild, the youngest skipper in the race and dogged by sail damage in the first two legs was relieved not to suffer any this time. “I’m happy, I didn’t break anything and I made mistakes like you normally do, but it was a good race. Yesterday was downwind and it was quite encouraging” informed Goodchild. “I managed to find a few good guys and keep up with them which was quite a good morale boost for me!”

For 21 year old Goodchild, who was awarded the Artemis Offshore Academy Scholarship earlier this year, and his place in the Solitaire du Figaro race, he is very much enjoying the steep learning curve this race provides a ‘Rookie’: “This leg was much better, I’m improving all the way which is good, I still could have done better but I am really enjoying it.”



Sam Goodchild in action © Lloyd Images

There was frustration and disappointment for Sharp on The Spirit of Independence coming in 20th after he had been consistently placed in the top ten throughout the race. In the final stages of the race Sharp dropped over 10 places from a well-deserved 5th. “I ended up with a big clump of weed and I didn’t know what it was. I was in fifth place before we gybed, and when I gybed I couldn’t get any speed out of the boat. I thought it was me, I was quite tired and I wasn’t thinking too rationally, I thought I did something wrong with my trim. I was going slowly maybe for about one hour. But eventually I looked under the keel and there was a huge mass of seaweed. I was losing about one knot of boat speed. Then I looked for my weed stick and I didn’t have it, it must have fallen off the boat so I tried using a line to get the weed off and that didn’t work. I decided that the only thing to do was to stop the boat, take the spinnaker down, reverse the boat and put the spinnaker back up. I managed to free the weed, and then the boat was going instantly much faster again. I managed to get some places back, finish fast.”

The format of the Solitaire du Figaro’s four legs of racing in quick succession over a month is starting to take its toll on the sailors, who will all leave again for the fourth and final leg on Sunday at noon (local time). Sharp is particularly feeling the effects: “I got more sleep in the leg than ever before but I’m more tired, that’s what’s worrying. So I think the affect of the legs is catching up with me” explained Sharp. “The first morning I had to sleep for about an hour and a half, yesterday I felt good because I’d had a lot of sleep the night before but I pushed myself too hard, I was racing the boat and then in the evening I was suddenly monumentally tired and I couldn’t do anything, I couldn’t think what the tides or weather were doing. It’s really a big game of how to manage the sleep strategy.”

Phil Sharp onboard The Spirit of Independence on leg 3 © Sharp Racing

The famous home of the Vendee Globe provided the Figaro fleet with a warm welcome and spectacular thunder and lightning display this morning: “The thunderstorm and lightning was all around us, it was very impressive” described King. Overall for King it was an encouraging race: “It was a bit of a weird race, there are a lot of positives, I had good speed and a great race down to Land’s End. Then I had to make a decision which would either make me famous or be a disaster….and it was a disaster.”

Nigel King during leg 3 © Artemis Offshore Academy

For Humphreys it’s not the first time he has finished a race in Les Sables d’Olonne: “It’s brilliant to arrive here in Les Sables d’Olonne. It has very special memories for me coming in here (at the end of the Vendee Globe), and just to be back seeing all of these lovely people, is fantastic!”

The 430-mile fourth Leg will start from Les Sables d’Olonne at noon (local time) on Sunday and finish in Dieppe on Tuesday or Wednesday. The overall winner of the 2011 Solitaire du Figaro will be announced at the final prizegiving on Saturday 27th August in Dieppe.

Solitaire du Figaro Leg 3 Results:
1st - Jeremie Beyou (BPI) arrived at 08.39.20
20th - Phil Sharp (The Spirit of Independence) arrived at 09:28:28
27th - Sam Goodchild (Artemis) arrived at 10:25:48
29th - Conrad Humphreys (DMS) arrived at 11:03:52
39th - Nigel King (E-Line Orthodontics) arrived at 13:24:06

Rookie Rankings Leg 2:
1st - Morgan Lagraviere (Vendee) arrived at 08:59:12
4th - Phil Sharp (The Spirit of Independence) arrived at 09:28:28
6th - Sam Goodchild (Artemis) arrived at 10:25:48
7th - Conrad Humphreys (DMS) arrived at 11:03:52