Davies on the Generali Solo

Update from Skandia's skipper after the prologue race

Prologue racing for the Generali Solo began this weekend with two proposed days of inshore racing for Davies on board her Figaro, Skandia. Saturday’s first day of racing saw Davies gain 14th in the competitive Figaro fleet. With a gusty 20-30 knots breeze Davies completed 2.5 laps of the windward-leeward course in just over 1.5 hours. Race winner was Yann Elies on board Groupe Generali Assurances.

"It was close racing throughout," explains Davies, "and from the outset I was in a reasonable position. A couple of the guys were pushing their luck trying to cross me on port tack but Skandia and I were holding our own. Unfortunately, at the final windward mark I underestimated the angle to the mark and tacked early - with so many boats around it was a tough place to be and it lost me some places in the overall ranking but no damage and a great overall race, so I am looking forward to tomorrow's inshore."

Due to strong, gusty winds in excess of the racing committee's starting limit of 30 knots, racing today, Sunday 13th June, had to be cancelled.

Along with Liz Wardley and Marie Daniel Marie-Albane, Davies is just one of the three female competitors in the thirty-five strong fleet.

All the races of the Generali Solo will see Davies pitched against some of the biggest names in French offshore solo sailing including past Solitaire du Figaro winners: Dominic Vittet (1993); Eric Drouglazet (2001); Kito de Pavant (2002) and Armel Le Cléac’h (2003).

"To be able to race against these guys a month before the start of the Solitaire du Figaro is a great opportunity for me. Due to the long-term support of my sponsors Skandia, I have been able to train through the winter at Port La Forêt, with some of the best Figaro skippers; Armel Le Cléac’h, Gildas Morvan, Jeanne Grégoire (Sam’s co-skipper in the recent Lorient – St Barts), Erwan Tabarly, Yann Eliès but to be able to race against them competitively will be fantastic, and nerve-wracking, because I know that throughout the event the level of competition will be very high" Davies commented.

The first offshore section of the event begins tomorrow, Monday 14th at 1400. "The course will take us in four legs from Port Leucate to Porquerolles along the French Mediterranean coast. The longest leg is only 190 miles, so the whole event will be very tactical and will be totally reliant boatspeed and good weather information.

"This will be a completely different event to the two handed Lorient to St Barts I raced last month as not only will I be racing single-handed, but the conditions are totally different. There is minimal tidal effect and the wind conditions can be very tricky. One thing, however, is the same. The racing will be relentless and there will be little down time to rest even during the short stop-overs as well be doing a series of inshore races at each port. Luckily, I have a great “preparateur” – Laurent Bedarrides – who will be working with me and looking after the boat to ensure that I can get some rest and prepare my weather information when I am not racing."

With Skandia, the long-term savings company, supporting her throughout her three-year campaign she has been able to use the winter months to fine tune her boat. Sam and her team are confident that Skandia is totally ready and her experience in the transat Lorient – St Barths [where Davies finished fifth] will come in very useful. Davies finished 24th overall in her first year at the event in 2003 and this early improvement in her rankings is an encouraging start to the 2 weeks of intense racing ahead.