Jersey sailor takes lead in Sevenstar race off Ireland in high winds

Thursday 16 August 2018

Jersey-born sailor Phil Sharp and his teammates have taken the lead in the 1,805nm Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race amid "crazy" conditions and 30 knot winds.

Joining Phil for the race are familiar faces Pablo Santurdé and Julien Pulvé, who have previously sailed aboard Imerys Clean Energy as well as Sam Matson, the newest addition to the team.

The quartet left from Cowes in the Isle of Wight on Sunday for what is the final race ahead of November’s Route du Rhum solo transatlantic race. The 1,805nm course of the Sevenstar takes competitors around some of the busiest and most tactically challenging sailing waters in the world. The fleet first raced through the Solent and past the famous headlands of the South West of England. They then reached the Celtic Sea, past the Fastnet Rock and Mizen Head onto the wild west coast of Ireland.

It was just past the coast of Ireland that the crew took the advantage over Corum last night. Phil said: "Conditions are getting quite crazy out here…The wind is around 30 knots now and increasing slowly as we pelt towards a front in the low pressure.

"We just had a sustained surf of 22 knots which lasted a good 30 seconds with the boat absolutely screaming. This is really the limit for the spinnaker, and we will probably change down soon to the Code 5 furling sail if it gets any windier."

Pictured: The 1,805nm course of the Sevenstar takes competitors around some of the busiest and most tactically challenging sailing waters in the world.

Imerys, Corum (Mach 3) and Phorty (Mach 2 sistership) had been battling it out at the front of the Class 40 pack since the start of the race. Phil said It was a great feeling to take the lead, but regretted to hear that Phor-ty, skipped by two-time Vendee Globe sailor, Mike Golding, had had to stop. " We were enjoying the battle, and not too sure why Corum have slowed, but fingers crossed they will be up and going very soon," he said.

“In the meantime we have some breathing space," he added. "But we are all too aware of how many twists and challenges could lie ahead, so we will continue to race hard and hopefully continue the lead margin just in case we too face problems aboard."

Video: Imerys racing neck and neck with Corum and Phorty.

While the Class 40’s aren’t so famous for their onboard luxuries, sleep comes in short bursts and there is never a bunk spare - but it seems that one marine specimen was keen to experience it first hand. “We had a visit from a snipe last night (Monday), the long thin fish with the sharp beaks – which wanted a bit of Class 40 action and jumped on  board," said Phil. Funnily enough we didn’t have any takers – everyone preferred to eat the tuna sandwiches onboard, so luckily for him he got returned to the water."

With over 1,000 nm to cover before the arrival line, the crew will next be sailing up past St. Kilda, up to the most northerly point of the course, Muckle Flugga on the 61st parallel. Then, they will turn south through the infamous North Sea and will have turned their bows for home. The English Channel and Solent will form the final stages of the marathon race.

Pictured: Phil Sharp, Sam Matson, Julien Pulvé and Pablo Santurde.

The stakes are high for the remaining pocket-rocket Class 40s who are racing not only to cross the finish line first but also to hopefully set a new official record: the 40ft Monohull World Record. The time to break was set in 2014 by Roderick Knowles’ Swish, with eight days, 19 hours, 06 minutes and 49 seconds. It is estimated the first boats will be back in Cowes on 20 August.

The Sevenstar is Phil's third race this year after the 1,000 Milles des Sables, in which he finished third, the Normandy Channel Race he won in May and the most recent Drheam Cup in which he took second position.