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A Jersey sailor relying on only 'clean' energy popped champagne yesterday as he finished third place in a gruelling 3,550-mile race from St. Malo to Guadeloupe, having been narrowly pipped to second place.
Phil Sharp scored his podium position after completing the transatlantic Route du Rhum in 16 days, 13 hours, 1 minute, 50 seconds, with an average speed of 11.30 kts.
For most of the race, the skipper had been in second place at the helm of his zero-emission boat Imerys Clean Energy. However, he was narrowly beaten in the final stretch by French sailor Aymeric Chappellier, finishing 1 hour and 45 minutes behind him.
In his 16 days at sea, the skipper had to battle through several problems, some from day one including two ballast leaks, halyard failure, several electronics issues and more seriously, main auto pilot failure.
Video: Sharp said he really pushed himself hard during the race.
When there is only one sailor on board, as is the case for the Route du Rhum, the self-steering system allows the skipper to leave the helm while sailing a good course.
Sharp, however, had to install a back-up system which was less effective and repeatedly malfunctioned causing the boat to 'Chinese Gybe' - lie flat on its side - twice, and broach 30 times during the race. Each incident put Sharp's ship at risk of sail damage, while Sharp also lost crucial time to recovery from his problems. This, combined with sailing through "vicious squalls" with gusts that ranged between 30 and 50 kts, made for a particularly gruelling edition of the Route du Rhum for Sharp.
Pictured: Phil Sharp (right) with Aymeric Chappellier (2nd) and Yohan Richomme (1st).
Despite these challenges and sailing an older generation boat, Sharp battled it out. Speaking at the end of the race, he said: “It’s incredible to at last be here, I’ve been dreaming of Guadeloupe for a long time now.
“The last few weeks have been a real test coping with the weather, competition and with a faulty auto pilot I’ve been sacrificing a huge amount of sleep to helm the boat. The conditions were hard. Very unstable and at times where routine was impossible. The gusts meant that it was unsafe to sleep and I needed to be on deck to control the boat each time squalls hit. I was hoping that trade wind sailing would be consistent and stable from day one, but this didn’t materialise until just a few days ago."
Pictured: Phil Sharp spent over 16 days at sea.
Although disappointed to lose out the second place he held for most of the race behind French sailor Yohan Richomme (Veedol AIC), Sharp said he was pleased to finish on the podium. "For most of the race I’ve had a tremendous battle with a newer generation boat, a Mach 3 ‘Aina’," Sharp explained "Overall this made the racing very exciting and pushed me to my limits, which I think is what good racing is all about. I defended second place by playing VMG tactics, but the last 12 hours were not to be and on the final stretch I just missed out on the current."
After a much needed glass of rum, the Jersey-born sailor also thanked everyone who supported him during the race, by sending messages on his website. "It has been really uplifting to read the messages during the race and acted as a great motivator."
Video: Aymeric Chappellier praised Sharp after beating him to second place in the final stretch.
Photos: Alexis Courcoux
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