It's a wrap

Sixth in the final leg, Nigel King assesses his performance in La Solitaire du Figaro

Overall Race

My goals were determined by what I saw in 2007, the level that I believe I am capable of performing at, what had changed in the 2009 fleet and also by knowing the standard of the 2009 competitors. I thought I knew where the fleet was at but, until I lined up against them, I would not totally know if my expectations were realistic.

My public goals were to finish the race, as I did not achieve this in 2007, and I would be happy with anything inside the top 30.

My private goals were set much higher. I knew the first two legs would be much harder and would have to be considered part of my training….the key here was not my position in the fleet but just not to lose too much time to the leaders and be within a couple of hours of them. This was something that I learned in 07, no matter how good or bad it seems things can change very quickly and you have to keep pushing.

Leg 3 - I aimed to improve and move forward on the fleet and this time position did matter – not only for the score sheet but also for my confidence, again time distance to leaders still important.

Leg 4 - I was keen to get a top performance and before the event I had set my leg four goal as a podium finish. Once the event started, and after the prologue, it was indicated to me where I was actually at and I felt my level was not as good as I had hoped - I was out of practice and therefore weaker. I recognised that the standard of this fleet was up several notches on 2007. This meant my leg 4 goal had to be amended and in my mind a top 15 finish was more realistic.

A big part of me is delighted with my sixth place leg 4 finish and the overall final result of 23rd. I am satisfied that I can do what I thought I could and happy to have given some return to those family, friends and sponsors who have supported me along the way. The other part of me feels like this is just another step towards my ultimate goals of a podium finish overall in La Solitaire du Figaro and also a competitive Vendee Globe campaign.

Top Runners and Riders

I put these in to 3 groups:
1. Vendee guys
Michel dejoyeaux – Foncia
Armel Le Cleac’h – Brit Air
Jeremie Beyou – Bernard Paoli (was Delta Dore)
Yann Ellies - Generali

2. Solitaire specialists
Gildas Morvan – Cercle Vert
Gildas Mahe – Banque Populaire
Thierry Chabagny – Suzuki
Nicolas Troussel – Credit Mutuel de Bretagne
Jean-Paul Mouren – M@rseilles Entreprises
Antoine Koch - Sopra Group
+ at least 10 other names that could be mentioned

3. The Young Guns
Nicolas Lunven - CGPI
Thomas Rouxel - Defi Mousquetaires
Francois Gabart - Espoir Region Bretagne

Those I admire

All of the above mentioned have reason to be admired because they are top performers but the ones that stand out for me tend to be the older guys with more life experience, maybe this is because I have more in common with them but I think they just have that little bit extra in the way they approach the race - their personality, behaviour to other sailors and the way they are around the fleet. They have a confidence that is not arrogance and they are extremely competitive. Morvan, Mahe, Chabagny and Desjoyeaux being the four stand outs for me. Lunven is the stand out young gun because he is so relaxed and approachable and I believe will be a star for many years to come. I am not sure that I seek to emulate any of them as I would like to put my own stamp on the race.

Jean-Paul Mouren deserves a special mention because he has put so much of his life in to this event. He has not only had some great results along the way but he still loves every race like it was his first - 24 years of La Solitaire and the same sponsor for the last 10 years.

Logo on Mainsail

This idea was born out of the fact that my sister pointed out it was very difficult to pick me out in pictures with a blank sail and it was time to say it how it is.

2010 campaign starts now

I am already working on the 2010 La Solitaire campaign. I firstly want to talk to all current sponsors to learn more about our partnership moving forwards. The faith shown by these partners to get involved at the beginning and the help they have given me can not be underestimated. The key thing is, however, I must find a title sponsor.

Next on the water

Unfortunately there is no more Figaro sailing this year because I do not have the budget. The boat will return to Portland where there will be some occasional day sailing with sponsors and supporters. I will go back to my role with Team Aqua in the RC44 fleet - who incidentally have been extremely supportive throughout 2009. I am scheduled to race in the Rolex Middle Sea Race and potentially another Sydney to Hobart.