Shorthanded Racing, where do you start?

After completing the mini transat, working aboard an Orma 60 trimaran and for a Figaro skipper, naval architect Simon McGoldrick discusses short-handed racing.

The Vendee Globe, Velux Five Oceans, Barcelona World Race, Solidaire du Chocolat, Portimao Ocean race.....the list goes on. The number of shorthanded events has sky-rocketed in the past few years. Designs such as the Class 40 and Series Mini have made solo and double-handed offshore racing accessible to ‘amateurs’, not just full-time professional sailors.   

I spent the last few years in Europe qualifying and preparing for the 2009 Mini Transat. The race was an incredible experience, and like many of my competitors, I’m interested in how to progress in this unique (and very French) world of shorthanded sailing. Here I’ll try to explain some of the options, and talk about the whole Mini Transat experience from an Australian perspective.  

Mini 6.50

For many, including myself, the Mini 6.50 is the first step in racing offshore alone. There is a huge learning curve: buying and preparing a boat yourself, surviving in a foreign country on a tiny budget, learning a language. You try to master every element of your boat and how to race it: navigation, electronics, power generation, even just feeding yourself well to survive the stress of sleep deprivation. Despite devoting endless amounts of time to it, you never seem to feel on top of each aspect, which is perhaps what keeps it interesting.  

I spent two years preparing for the Transat, from buying the boat to finishing the race, and see this as a minimum if you want to enjoy it. I chose a Series (production) boat, as I could be competitive for a third of the price compared to a carbon Prototype, and I never once regretted this decision. Prior to buying my Pogo 2, I spent two years working aboard large sailing yachts to save the 50,000 Euros for the boat, plus a bit more to get through the first season.  

Compositeworks, a shipyard in the South of France, took me under their wing while I was based there working on Skywalker, an ORMA 60 Trimaran. Following a successful qualification season in 2008 they became a key sponsor, with Ronstan, FSE Robline, and International Paints joining the program as equipment sponsors. I was humbled by the great support I received from my sponsors and all the people around me, especially in the face of the global financial crisis.

The Transat was my biggest race and personal challenge ever. The sailing, for most of the time, was great. Days on end chasing waves, making great averages (+200 nm a day was not unusual), the boats are really in their element going downwind with a big spinnaker.  

I had few technical troubles: the pilot always worked and there was enough power thanks to the fuel cell. The hardest part was not having accurate weather or fleet information. All you have is an HF receiver to hear the daily forecast, and after the doldrums the reception became so bad I couldn’t understand a thing.    

Position information, broadcast once a day, was limited to each boat’s distance to the finish line, not their lat/long. In the end you have little information to make good strategy, and this was my falling point. There’s also quite a bit of luck involved. I entered the doldrums in 11th, and in one night dropped to 24th. All it took was one breathless cloud for me and a lot of wind for the stragglers behind. A lead of +50nm over some key competitors, steadily built up during the previous week in the trades, disappeared overnight.  Of course that’s ocean racing, yet when you’re alone with little information it’s a different challenge, you must keep thinking ahead and try to remain positive. You have only yourself for support.  

I had a few other instances like this in the race, where a lot of hard work to gain places, days on end with only a few hours sleep, endless spinnaker changes, was laid to waste in an instant as I was becalmed and others weren’t. It takes a lot of effort to get back on track, and block the idea that all the hard work was worth nothing at all.  Yet when the sweet smell of coconut wafts over your boat, and the long awaited finishing line comes into view, all of this is forgotton. The elation of having crossed an ocean in a 21ft boat and survived, with your body and gear in good form, cannot be beaten. Visit www.classemini.com for extra information, or my own website: www.simonmcgoldrick.com

Figaro

I had a solid introduction to the Figaro scene last summer working as preparateur for a French skipper. The success of this class lies in its strict one-design nature, and that the best sailors drop back into these boats to keep their skills honed. Michel Desjouyoux, Yann Ellies, Armel LeCleach (skippers from the last Vendee Globe) were all there. The high standard of racing attracts lots of media attention in France, docks are packed with onlookers, and the sponsors get a great return. It’s also steeped in history: 2009 was the 40th anniversary of the Solitaire du Figaro, and you’ll see few changes to this class’ program in the future. For the French, it’s the essential stepping stone between Mini’s and 60’s.

For the non-French, however, it’s not so straightforward. To become a successful Figarist, you must devote several years, full time, to training and racing in France. There are a few schools around the country devoted entirely to Figaro preparation. Liz Wardley, originally from PNG, is one of few ‘Anglo Saxons’ to have based herself in France and persisted with this class, and last year there were only two foreign competitors (from 54).

Helming a Figaro is not going to blow your mind (they’re a bit underpowered) but the racing will, especially around the rocky shores of Brittany where navigation skills are pushed to the limit. The circuit is also interesting, with a Transat to the Caribbean in April, followed by the Quiberon Offshore Championships, the Solitaire du Figaro, and in even years the Cap Istanbul.  For more information take a look at: www.classefigarobeneteau.com

Class 950

Based around a similar rule to the Class 40, the Classe 950 was developed to be the ultimate step up from the Mini. The fact that you can build one for less than a prototype Mini makes it attractive, along with the ability to take sponsors day-sailing without scaring (or drenching) them. The rule was released in 2007 and there are already a bunch of boats in production.  The program for 2010 shows a collection of races in the Med and Atlantic but there is no sign of a Transat yet. Although very similar in size to the Figaro, what it does offer is a powerful open style rule and the room for restricted development: the class is open to new designs, which makes it interesting to young designers like myself.  Visit www.classe950.com

Class 40

With 90 Class 40’s constructed since its inception in 2004, this fleet continues to develop and evolve. The first Portimao Ocean Race (double handed), despite its sceptics, proved the ability of the 40 to make it around the globe. The fact that you can buy a production boat and be competitive in a round-the-world race has big appeal, and Pogo Structures have just released their new 40, to Cat O requirements, specifically tailored for these events. The new Akilaria RC2 and latest Owen Clarke design (40 degrees) are already racing.

I spoke with Nicko Brennan, who was the first Australian to ever finish the Mini Transat (5th place in 2007). He made the step up to Class 40’s last year, taking an excellent fifth place in the transatlantic Solidaire du Chocolat, and had the following to say: “For starters, there’s certainly a greater level of comfort in the 40’s.  It was nice to be able to stand up down below, a luxury given I couldn’t even kneel in my Mini. They’re also not as overpowered as the Mini, so from this aspect, they are easier to sail. However, the jump in scale means that much more thought and planning is required: on a Mini you can pretty much “brute” anything that’s required (even a 90sq.m kite), but with a 185sq.m kite that’s just not possible. Heavy upwind sailing is still uncomfortable but you are much further from the water, and considerably drier. After having spent two weeks sailing hard upwind with the most horrendous slamming, I was pretty impressed with the boat’s durability.”

This year’s circuit is packed with both shorthanded and fully crewed events that stretch from the English Channel to the Mediterranean. Highlights include the double-handed Round Britain and Ireland race, the fully crewed World Championships in Spain, and the Route du Rhum in October.  There is even an association in the US with events such as the Newport – Bermuda and Pacific Cup on the calendar.  Currently two very similar round-the-world races are planned for 2011, the Global Ocean Race and Portugal Ocean Race.  The latter includes a division for fully-crewed boats (4-6 people). Visit www.class40.com for more information.  

Open 60

The fastest and most sophisticated class, racing a 60 is the Everest of solo sailing and 2010 promises to be an interesting year. Three big races are planned; the Route du Rhum (solo), Velux 5 Oceans (solo) and Barcelona World Race (double-handed), all run at more or less the same time.  Are there even enough boats to go around? Since the GFC, many campaigns have been shut down, especially the British teams.

I spoke with Denis Horeau, former race director for the Vendee Globe and now the Barcelona race, about the future of the Open 60’s.

“Each race has its place in the Calendar.  The aim of the Barcelona race was to open up shorthanded racing to the likes of high profile Volvo race sailors.  The Velux is continuing the tradition which began with the BOC and now offers great opportunities for the new breed of sailors with the more accessible Eco 60 (a division for Open 60’s built before 2003).  The current economic climate is not good for campaigns, yet it’s unlikely we will see events combine to increase fleet sizes.

“In the future I can’t see a one-design division in the IMOCA class. The skippers, sponsors and spectators are attracted by the high-tech nature of these boats, the challenge of handling the huge sailplans and the continual development. The boats are a true spectacle. The 60’ skippers experience one-design racing when they hop into the Figaro for summer,” Denis said.

 Crewed races in Europe, such as the 2009 Istanbul – Brest event, have been run to add to the diversity and increase exposure for sponsors, yet have never attracted huge numbers. David Adams, race director of the Velux 5 Oceans, added: “A race calendar which includes a mixture of crewed and solo races also raises design issues; what should the boat be optimised for?  There are huge differences in setup between the two.”

One thing seems certain; despite the reduced fleet sizes and increased costs, the Open 60 is not destined for extinction like its ORMA 60 Trimaran cousin, which became too expensive and difficult to sail.  It’ll be a long time before we see the fleet sizes of the last Vendee Globe (30 boats), yet the events will continue and so will the innovation, which makes this such a fascinating class.