The time for action

James Boyd presents some views on what could be done to assist singlehanded sailors in the UK

Above: Karen Leibovici's Seb Magnen designed Mini

"I think we need to build the same structure as there is in Olympic sailing," says Mark Turner. "That means provision of the right coaching and assistance with the right boats from a resource point of view." Sailors graduating up from the Youth Squad need to know there is the possibility for them to get funding and a career as there currently is for the lucky few who get into the World Class Performance Programme on the road to the Olympics.

But what form should the coaching take? Turner believes that ultimately there should be a training base in the UK specialising in singlehanded offshore racing as there is for French sailors at the Figaro training centre in Port la Foret (see tomorrow's article for more on this). Remarkably several British sailors such as Ellen, Emma Richards and Miranda Merron have used these facilities in the past. Here sailors get to learn about the many specialist skills required for solo sailing, from sail trim to sleep management along with the opportunity for considerable tuition out on the water.

For training purposes it would make sense to use a boat that is already in service for singlehanded offshore racing, which narrows the field to two options - a Mini or a Figaro. The 21ft Minis have the advantage that there are now more than 10 examples in the UK and there seems to be a solid base of British sailors in this class. The Mini One Design - the Pogo - perhaps would be a good choice and there is already a new example which was delivered to the UK for a British owner last autumn.

However Turner's ideal scenario would be to get two of the new Lombard-designed Figaro boats that the class in France will be taking up in 2003. "The Mini is an amazing event, but it is a bit 'out there'. It is a difficult one to get officially backed," he says. "The Figaro is where it is at." The skills needed to win in the Figaro class are such that it puts it into a similar league to the Olympics, Turner maintains, so it is essential to get a considerable amount of practise and training to compete.

The downside to the Figaro class is that there are no British sailors actively campaigning boats in it at present. Irish sailor Damian Foxall is now sailing on Tyco in the Volvo Ocean Race, while Marcus Hutchinson is involved on the administrative side of the Louis Vuitton Cup, and Miranda Merron and Emma Richards dip in and out of the class, as does Ellen. However the reason for a lack of any serious British entries in the Figaro class at present may be one of chicken and egg.

Turner's vision would be to have the two boats set up as a training base and if he has his way, this would probably be in Cowes, near Offshore Challenge's office. The base might be attached to an existing sailing school. From here there would be opportunity for tuition - it is likely that Ellen would be keen to get involved with this and there is the possibility that specialists could be brought in to teach the range of skills required. Above all one gets the impression that Turner and Ellen would like to pass on the psychology and mindset that they feel is required to succeed in this demanding area of the sport.

The two boats could also be used to run some sort of championship to establish who was worthy of future support.

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