Bennett is back

Alex Bennett returns to singlehanded offshore racing

Mini sailor and former Team Philips crewman Alex Bennett has announced his return to shorthanded offshore racing with a two year campaign to win the Mini Transat in 2005.

Alex Bennett, 27, a former class winner in the Transat Jacques Vabre, is set to launch his new boat early next year and is due to announce a major title sponsor soon after.

The new boat, originally designed for America's Cup hydrodynamistic Peter Heppel by Groupe Finot, competed in the 1999 Mini Transat as Reality finishing second in the Canaries to Guadeloupe leg. Bennett himself finished in overall fifth place in the same race.

Made of carbon and foam sandwich core and with a new carbon mast, as allowed for the 2004 season, Bennett’s boat is one of the lightest and fastest Minis on the circuit with the same design as, but more recently built than, the current 2003 Transat winner Moulin Roty. It is currently being refitted in Totnes, Devon.

Torquay-based Bennett said: "It's a fantastic feeling to finally be in a position to actively plan another sailing campaign after being stuck behind a desk for the past 18 months dealing with the business side of my future yachting aspirations.

“With the early acquisition of one of the best Mini Transat boats around, we are clearly demonstrating our commitment and determination to win the 2005 Mini Transat race.

“I came close to a podium finish in 1999 and we won the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2001 so this time I feel I have the experience and ability to win the 2005 event. My future plans to compete in the Vendee Globe are still as alive as they ever were but for now it’s back to basics! "

Prior to this Bennett was mounting a campaign on the 2004 Vendee Globe but this came to a halt when on the delivery back from the 2001 Transat Jacques Vabre the boat suffered damage and he was forced to abandon her in the face of an impending storm.