Jersey sailor snatches victory in 1,000 mile race by six seconds

Monday 04 June 2018

Six seconds - that's all it took for Jersey sailor Phil Sharp, and his co-skipper, Frenchman Julien Pulvé, to take the first place in the Normandy Channel Race, after 1,100 miles of a frantic race at the helm of Class 40 zero-emission boat, Imerys Clean Energy.

It's the second year in the row that Phil Sharp has won the race after breaking the record last year in four days, 11 hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.

This year, it took Sharp just a little over six days and 50 minutes to complete the 1,100 mile course. Ultimately, victory came down to just six seconds in the finish line at Ouistreham yesterday afternoon, between Imerys Clean Energy and Carac, skippered by Louis Duc and Gwen Riou.

The race was described as an "intense battle from beginning to end," giving rise to a merciless elimination race. The original 27 competitors gradually fell out of contention from one course mark to the next. The leading group then went from 14 in the Solent, to 11 at Wolf Rock, then around six at Tuskar and Fastnet and eventually to just three for final victory.

Phil Sharp and Julien Pulvé win the 2018 Normandy Channel Race by six seconds from Bailiwick Express on Vimeo.

Video: Sharp and Pulvé crossing the finish line. (F&G Productions)

The three-way final that started at the Channel Islands went right to the wire, each of the duos taking a turn in the hot seat on the last morning of the race. 

Speaking after the race, Jersey-born Phil Sharp said: “That was the best gybe of the whole race! Just before the final mark, I thought we were dead in the water. There was one last gybe to put in and there was little chance it would work, but we managed to slip along like a dream to windward of Carac.”

Pictured: Phil Sharp with Louis Duc, who came second in the race.

For Sharp, the close-contact, action-packed racing, where not once did an advantage prove decisive, is not surprising in this race. “It’s all down to how the class has evolved”, he said, “with ever more high-performance boats and skilful skippers to drive them. Added to that, the way the Normandy Channel Race is configured constantly kick-starts this feature, making the event an absolute one-off.”

Following behind Imerys Clean Energy and Carac, Aïna Enfance et Avenir finished just five minutes shy of the winner. “We were jostling for first place from beginning to end with the other two,” Aymeric Chappellier, one of the skippers, pointed out. “The three-way match was transformed into a duel as we approached Raz Blanchard and we thought Carac was cooked. But no. That’s how it goes! We made a few errors, but overall we sailed well.” 

Pictured: Phil Sharp and co-skipper Julien Pulvé.

This year, the Jersey sailor will tackle the Route du Rhum, a 3,543 mile single-handed race from St. Malo to Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) which he previously won in 2006 in 18 days 10 hours 21 minutes 18 seconds.