Stepping stone

Phil Sharp discusses his new Class 40 campaign for the Route du Rhum

Phil Sharp is Britain's top up-and-coming solo sailor. The best demonstration of this the 25 year old from Jersey has made was in last year's Mini Transat. Fourth out of 72 starters into the Canary Islands on leg one, Sharp made a poor tactical call at the start of the second leg that saw him at one point drop to a lowly 57th place. Yet as the saying goes, he 'dug deep' and reached the finish in Brazil sixth, to take fourth place overall, the best British result in the Mini Transat save for Simon Curwen's second in 2001 (and this includes Brian Thompson, Sam Davies, Alex Bennett, Mark Turner, Nick Bubb, etc)

Sharp's ambition is to sail in the Vendee Globe but the transition from a 21ft Mini campaign to a full-on Open 60 is a giant one. To make the leap Sharp has chartered a Pogo 40, one of the new generation of Class 40s and this he will sail in Monday's RORC Sevenstar Round Britain Race as well as singlehanded in the Route du Rhum starting at the end of October. Sharp has been in Cowes this week showing off his new machine.

The Pogo's design by Groupe Finot has its roots in the Mini class. The Pogo for many years was the top Series production boat in the class and it French builders Chantier Navale Structures have followed this up with the Pogo 2 Series Mini. They have since introduced an 8.5m Pogo and the new 40, a boat which defined the new Class 40 class.
While Open 40 monohulls have been around for years, the Class 40 is effectively a dumbed-down equivalent aimed at keeping costs down. As a result boats can have a carbon fibre mast, but carbon is banned from the hull (ironically this is the opposite way round to what used to be allowed in the Mini) and movable ballast is limited to 750kg of water ballast each side, canting keels being verboten. The Class 40 rule maintains the Open class 'look' - ie a beamy hull shape (the Pogo 40 is 4.4m wide) with twin rudders - and allows a relatively light boat for its size at 4.8 tonnes. "There are some thin bits on it!" quips Sharp. "So it is a case of how strong the boat is and how hard you can push it - that is part of the success of making it through the Route du Rhum in one piece." This was borne out in the last OSTAR which saw a number of Class 40 retirements.

Most impressive about the Class 40 is its take-up, the formula having struck a cord both with sailors such as Sharp trying to make the step up and with older Corinthian sailors. As a result an incredible 30 of these boats will be pitching up in St Malo this October to compete in the Route du Rhum - by far the race's biggest class. "The restricted design will make for some really good racing - it will probably be the most competition we have seen in a Transat," says Sharp. Figaro sailors might debate this.



According to the entry list at present British Class 40 competition for the Route du Rhum includes Jonathan Crinion and fellow former Mini sailor Ian Munslow both competing in new South African-built Owen Clarke Class 40s, along with another top British Mini sailor, Nick Bubb. From France the field includes former Vendee Globe skippers Joe Seeten and Benoit Parnaudeau, Rolex Commodores' Cup winner Gery Trenteseaux, former Solitaire du Figaro winner Dominique Vittet who was second in this year's Transat AG2R and long term Figaro sailor Gildas Morvan.

With 30 boats entered the problem has been manufacturers churning boats out fast enough and as a result Sharp reckons because of this there will be a lot of last minute campaigns. What will make the difference will be time in the boat. As a result the Sevenstar Round Britain will be an opportunity for him to gain time on the boat as well as to build the profile of his campaign.

While the Pogo is the oldest Class 40 design - potentially the new Owen Clarkes should be faster - Sharp maintains that the Pogo has been proof-tested and is a boat he can just jump on and get sailing. "It is a Groupe Finot design, so a reputable design, considering they have got such a good track record with the Vendee (Finot boats have won the last four Vendee Globes). They know how to design singlehanded offshore racers, so I am sure it is a winning package," he maintains.

For Monday's Round Britain race Sharp will be racing eight up, six coming from Jersey. He is co-skippering the boat with Global Challenge skipper Will Carnegie while the others will be paying guests, Carnegie taking charge of the training program. The paying guests however are themselves exceptional including one fighter pilot and Rees Jones who by the time he was 20 had climbed the highest peaks on every continent. After the race the boat will be based in Jersey where Sharp hopes to acquire the necessary backing to compete in the Route du Rhum.

Having a crawl around Sharp's boat moored at Cowes' Venture Quay, it initially looks like an 'average white boat' except that it has considerably more beam, a fat transom and twin rudders. However the rig has Open 60 style full-width dramatically swept back spreaders to keep the rig standing in case of any runner issues. There are runners going to the masthead but no checks. While the mast is carbon fibre, the sails are not exotic along the main has quite a square top and the standing rigging is....wire. The genoa/solent is on a furler which Sharp reckons prior to the Route du Rhum he may take off so he can use a sail with soft hanks and a better profile. The downwind sails are flown from a bowsprit which retracts on deck. The sail inventory, like the Mini, is limited to eight and this will include one big masthead kite, a heavier fractional kite and a heavy weight genniker for close reaching. Then there is the choice of dowsing these sails in socks or dropping them into bags - Sharp prefers the latter. "There is also an argument for using a conventional spinnaker pole downwind, because that is slightly faster, but it is a case of weighing that with the practicalities of singlehanded sailing," says Sharp. The sails on board are by X-Voiles.

All lines from the mast and foredeck run back to the cockpit which is surprisingly large for a singlehanded boat. Instead of a wheel or wheels there are twin tillers, the main sheet winch mounted on a central island. The main sheet track Sharp complains is not full width, limited by the cockpit coaming. As ever for a boat that will could spend a lot of its time being driven by an autopilot there is minimal helm. "The boat has incredible balance," says Sharp. "You would think that with the keel so far forwards it would be tripping out downwind, but in fact you have a lot of lee helm which is very unexpected..."
Down below is cavernous. Centre piece, as on Open 60s, is the laughably small chart table immediately at the bottom of the companionway. This is of the modern variety where he use of electronic rather than paper charts is anticipated and it is fitted with a large monitor, Sharp having to acquaint himself with MaxSea - such luxuries as routing software are not allowed in the Mini. Sharp will also have to get used to radar and satellite communications all of which must are mandatory fit for the Route du Rhum.

As to sailing the boat he says he is still getting used to its size - almost twice that of a Mini. "It is weird getting on a bigger boat where all the loads are just quadrupled. I’m not used to getting the winch handle out! We did the 500 mile qualifier for the Round Britain a few days ago and we were touching 16-17 knots downwind. The average speed is definitely higher than the Mini, but we are still learning a lot about the boat. It can go a lot faster. We were keeping the sails fairly small on the way down. Upwind we are obviously making more progress than you do in a Mini, ie you are actually going somewhere..."

The chart table and the saloon table foreward of the chart table are made from teak which Sharp feels is a little out of place for what is otherwise a race boat. Aft and to port there is also a head compartment of the size one might expect to find on a 60 footer compete with another unfamiliar piece of equipment for Sharp - a fully plumbed in head! There is a V-berth up forward, another cabin aft and to starboard and potential bunk space either side of the saloon area. Bunk space is enough that you could have an off watch of four sleeping to windward. The water ballast tanks, which look larger than the 750kg, allowed run fore and aft either side of the saloon.

After the Round Britain Sharp will have to complete a 1,000 mile qualifier for the Route du Rhum and there is the possibility of this taking place as an unofficial race between a number of other Class 40s. "That will be a really good way to find out where we are all at," says Sharp.

Sharp has chartered his Pogo 40 for 40,000 Euros for around six months (new Pogo 40s are around 220-230,000 Euros including sails and are one of the cheapest Class 40s) - and he plans to deliver it back from the Caribbean sometime early next year.

After this Sharp hopes to get stuck into a campaign for the 2008 Vendee Globe. "I want to do the Vendee for sure," he says. "I think the Route du Rhum will be a good stepping stone for that. I would like to do the next one, but not in a new boat. I am interested in getting hold of maybe a 2000 or a 2004 generation boat and taking part in that. But there is not much time. 2008 sounds a long way away but I need to get a boat organised by the beginning of next year to get down to training and qualifying.

"After the Mini I learned that when you are solo sailing you are not pushing your boat at 100%. A lot of it is about knowing your boat and if you can max out on an old generation boat better than a new one you will be at a pretty similar level of performance, I think there is a really good opportunity to go for a good result." Certainly Vincent Riou winning last Vendee Globe in a 2000 generation would bear out this philosophy.

A good result in the Route du Rhum would certainly help Sharp's cause.