Skandia overhauled and ready to roll

Skipper Brian Thompson comments on the mods made to Ellen's former Open 60 for the Transat Jacques Vabre

With just one week to go until Skandia leaves her in base in East Cowes, final preparations are being made to ensure she is ready for the delivery trip down to Le Havre, France, to arrive by the obligatory date of 28 October. Only 15 days remain until the start of the 4,340 mile two-handed race from France to Brazil and Skandia co-skippers Brian Thompson and Will Oxley and using all the available time left to fine-tune their Open 60.

"All going well in the preps for Skandia," says skipper Brian Thompson. "Even in a boat as well sorted as Skandia there are always a million and one jobs to do to get the boat ready for a transatlantic race. There is now a week to go before we have to be docked in Le Havre, and two weeks and a day before the actual start of the Transat Jacques Vabre. The job list is diminishing, and I am really happy with the work the whole team has put into getting her ready.

"We have configured the boat differently for this two-handed race to when Nick raced her in the Vendée. We now have a hank-on solent headsail instead of a furling one. This will give us a much bigger sail and less weight and windage aloft when the sail is not used, but is going to mean more work on the foredeck wrestling the sail up, down and into its bag. Glad that we are getting some new Musto foul weather gear with full drysuit seals, we are going to need them at 3am as we wrestle the sail down in 35 knots of wind!

"We have a bigger genoa now, again with battens in the leech. A new spinnaker has arrived and we are just waiting for less than 20 knots of wind to try it for the first time. This sail is going to be the biggest sail Skandia has ever had. 390sqm instead of the 340sqm of the previous big kites. Perfect for the downwind Tradewind conditions from the Canaries to the Doldrums.

"We have no generator, no watermaker and much less fuel and food and spares than in Vendée trim, so we are going to be setting off much lighter than ever before, but then, so is everyone else.

"Since our qualifier sail. Will and I have been out plenty of times, both to test equipment and to practice our boat handling. We have been sailing about three times a week and spending the rest of the time with our shore team of Matt and Erwan, with backup from Rudi, Rob and Charles to getting the boat as ready as possible. We have been out in everything from 2–30 knots and are getting a good feeling for the boat now.

"On our delivery to Le Havre we hope to get a long sail in, and get some last good training in. We will try to bring Nick on board to give us a few tips as well. That will be invaluable as he knows the boat so well now."

The day after all the competitors have arrived in Le Havre, Skandia and the other 13 60ft monohulls will be out on the water taking part in the Renault-Transat Jacque Vabre Prologue event which starts at 1400hrs (local time) on Saturday 29 October. For this Will and Brian will be accompanied onboard by four crew including a guest and one journalist. In each class, the racing boats will sail an inshore course of 3-4 miles, and with each round, the last boats to cross the line will be eliminated. In the final, two boats will match race for the trophy, a Renault Kangoo team support vehicle, on loan for the 2006 racing season.

The 50ft monohull prologue starts at 1000hrs before the 60ft monohull start with the multihull Prologue taking place the following day on Sunday 30th October.

37 entries confirmed

The entry list for the seventh edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre currently stands at 37 boats across four classes - 60ft and 50ft multihulls and monohulls. Some of the world’s most renowed sailors are competing this year including Michel Desjoyeaux, Franck Cammas and Thomas Coville in the multihull class, and Loick Peyron, Ellen MacArthur and Roland Jourdain in the monohull class. Skandia is one of two British boats competing this year, along with Ecover, with seven British sailors taking part in total, teaming up with French, Swiss, American and Australian skippers.