Phil Sharp, the young British sailor who took a creditable fourth place on Leg 1 of the Transat 6.50 Charente-Maritime last Saturday, has proved his talent enough to be recognised as serious contender for an overall top result.
In the gruelling 20kt blast off the startline from La Rochelle on Saturday 17 September, Sharp, sailing Le Gallais, a 2003 Magnen design proto (formerly owned by fellow British sailor Nick Bubb), took a reasonably conservative start but by focussing on keeping in clear air away from the bulk of the 72-strong fleet, rounded the Fort Boyard mark - the turning point before heading south - in fourth.
The swift sleigh ride that followed into the first night was the point where Sharp decided that preservation would be the most sensible option and drew back a bit on the throttle: Commenting, Sharp said: "I had my medium spinnaker up and was just flying. I just seemed to be catching everyone. But as the night fell and the wind began to build I decided that this was not the time to be pushing the boundaries, so I changed to my small spinnaker and continued to keep on pace."
Having survived the first night unscathed Sharp was feeling fairly confident about the situation but the breeze dropped off and during the next spinnaker change it all went horrible wrong. Sharpe continued: "First of all it [the spinnaker] got twisted round the forestay, so I tried to drop it but it went in the water and then got completely wrapped round the keel and rudder, and I had to cut it away completely. So I lost the spinnaker on the first morning which was a really stupid thing to do."
One day into the race, minus his most versatile spinnaker, and in a highly vulnerable top of the fleet position Sharp felt decidedly disillusioned. All that remained were his large, light wind, and fractional kites that were totally unsuitable for the conditions. "I couldn't believe it, "added Sharp, "it was perfect conditions for the medium kite and it really affected my performance throughout the race.
"Unfortunately my spinnaker problems didn't end there. The next day I re-hoisted the large kite and it totally ripped in two. I was absolutely distraught; I thought that was my Transat over. There was nothing I could do. I got it down, it was tangled and in such a mess. I spent a couple of hours untangling it and the rest of the night repairing it. I basically stuck it together, from the head to the clew, with gaffer tape and it actually held for the rest of the race. I ran out gaffer tape but I had loads of sticky Dacron on the boat which was concealing all my electronics so I ripped that off and stuck it on the sail. Interestingly, the worse thing I found for repairing the spinnaker was spinnaker repair tape. It's the most useless stuff you can imagine."
Handicap or not, it didn't take too long for Sharp to seek an alternative tactic and work out how out-perform his closest rivals. Sharp continued: "Off Finisterre and the top of north-west Spain the wind went from 25kts to about 5kts in a matter of minutes so I took a decision to head west and seek out the forecast stronger offshore breeze. At this stage I think I was probably the most offshore boat in the fleet. Fortunately I found the wind and that night [third night] I gained at least four places and found myself in third."
With the pressure on once again in a building breeze, Sharp was in no position to take time out to sleep or eat. Basically with the big kite up it was impossible to use the autopilot without risk of broaching, crash gybing and losing vital places. "I was so tired after three days I made a decision to hoist the fractional kite and take a 20-minute nap. By day four I was absolutely screwed, so I did the same again and managed to sleep for 2-3 hours which did me the world of good. As far as eating was concerned, that was difficult too. Because I couldn't leave the helm I ended up just squeezing food out of the bag and helming with the other hand."
Still blasting downwind and holding onto third place Sharp was on a roll but had the ever-threatening Yves Le Blevec sailing the 2003 Mini Transat winning, super-fast downwind flyer snapping at his heels. Unfortunately for Sharp in the last 24 hours to the finish line in Lanzarote the wind was up to 18kts and, without the medium kite, was unable to hold off his pursuer. Sharp continued: "When he [Le Blevec] appeared behind me on the opposite gybe after six days there was little I could do. He just cruised past me."
Now in Lanzarote with the rest of the fleet, Sharp is preparing for Leg 2 which starts on 8 October. Sharp added: "I have loads to do including a repair the rudder system which came completely lose towards the end and I wasn't sure if it would hold out to the end. Plus I need to do a repair to the spinnaker pole. And of course, the spinnaker. I can't have a new spinnaker because that means I'll have to take a 24-hour penalty. I'm actually thinking of trimming the big one down a bit which I know will be more useful."
Lessons learnt from Leg 1? Sharp concluded: "Keeping yourself together even when things look impossible. Whatever happens you just have to keep plugging away. And most importantly, making sure you get enough sleep to help you stay mentally focussed."
Sue Pelling/Yachting World, 28 September 2005
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Phil Sharp, the young British sailor who took a creditable fourth place on Leg 1 of the Transat 6.50 Charente-Maritime last Saturday, has proved his talent enough to be recognised as serious contender for an overall top result.
