Top British result in 40 years

As Alan Roberts and MAGMA Structures finish ninth overall in La Solitaire du Figaro

This morning at 02:22, 24-year-old Magma Structures skipper Alan Roberts became the top British Solitaire du Figaro – Eric Bompard finisher in 40 years.

Concluding the four stage solo race in Dieppe ninth overall, Roberts beats Sam Goodchild’s record, 11th in 2013, by two places and now sits second only to Claire Francis, who finished the race fifth in 1975.

Crossing the leg 4 finish line in 14th, Roberts has gone from strength to strength since starting just his second Solitaire in Bordeaux on 31st May. Finishing 24th in Leg 1, 10th Leg 2, ninth Leg 3 and 14th Leg 4, he completed the 1,661 mile 2015 Solitaire du Figaro in an accumulated time of 12 days, four hours, 14 minutes and four seconds – seven hours, 12 minutes and 21 seconds behind France's Xavier Macaire on Skipper Herault, who pipped race favourite Yann Elies on Groupe Queguiner – Leucemie Espoir to the post, the former Vendee Globe skipper finishing in second, just 15 minutes and 31 seconds behind the winner and narrowly missing out on his third Solitaire win.

“I’ve grown in confidence this Solitaire," said Roberts. "I’m learning more bit by bit. The starts are good for me due to my experience with dinghy sailing, but the rest of it I’m learning from the top guys. I’m pretty happy with how I sailed – slowly creeping my way up through the fleet in both day and night. I was well within the top 10 at one point!”

Finishing Leg 4 just 41 seconds ahead of Roberts in 13th, Artemis Offshore Academy Rookie Robin Elsey finished a very creditable 15th overall and was top Rookie (in fact we suspect he is the top ever British rookie overall finisher). Jack Bouttell finished 21st overall in 2013 to become the first British skipper to win the Rookie division, and Sam Matson finished 14th overall in 2014, earning him second Rookie – Elsey now continues their success. Going into Leg 4, he was just 53 seconds ahead of chasing Rookie Benoit Mariette on Entrepose. Mariette was far behind Elsey on the course to Dieppe, finishing the stage 25th overall.

“That was the toughest leg I’ve had by far," said Elsey. "I kept having these visions of Benoit turning up a few metres from the finish and sailing past me! That wasn’t much fun, but once it started to look secure, I relaxed and enjoyed the leg.”

This year has seen the best results yet for the Artemis Offshore Academy and British solo offshore sailing. Jack Bouttell on GAC Concise has led the British charge for the majority of the race, sailing consistent legs since the start. Finishing Leg 4 23rd of 39 boats, he finishes the 2015 Solitaire du Figaro 10th overall, just seven minutes and 46 seconds behind Roberts. Chatham skipper Sam Matson also sailed a solid race, upping his 2014 Rookie position by one place to finish 13th overall in 2015 – meeting his goal of a top 15 result.

Nick Cherry on Redshift finished Leg 4 in 21st, to see him 30th overall at present, despite having to abandon Leg 3 after hitting rocks at Ile de Batz. There are still many boats to finish though, with Henry Bomby on Rockfish and Academy Rookies Andrew Baker on Artemis 23 and Rob Bunce Artemis 37 still to complete Leg 4.

All results are currently before the jury, with some protests expected.

Provisional results after Leg 4

1. Xavier Macaire/Skipper Herault/3d, 9h, 14’, 16”
2. Adrien Hardy/AGIR Recouvrement/3d, 9h, 15’, 10”
3. Vincent Biarnes/Guyot Environment/3d, 9h, 41’, 27”
10. Sam Matson/Chatham/3d, 10h, 18’. 26”
13. Robin Elsey/Artemis 43/3d, 10h, 20’, 23”*top Rookie
14. Alan Roberts/Magma Structures/3d, 10h, 23’, 24”
21. Nick Cherry/Redshift/3d, 11h, 7’, 5”
23. Jack Bouttell/GAC Concise/3d, 11h, 17’, 6’

Overall positions after four legs (provisional)
1. Xavier Macaire/Skipper Herault/ 11d, 21h, 1’, 43”
2. Yann Elies/Groupe Queguiner – Leucemie Espoir /11d, 21h, 17’ 14”
3. Charlie Dalin/Skipper Macif 2015/11d, 21h, 40’, 30”
9. Alan Roberts/Magma Structures/12d, 4h, 14’, 4”
10. Jack Bouttell/GAC Concise/12d, 4h, 21’, 50”
13. Sam Matson/Chatham/12d, 4h, 53’, 46”
15. Robin Elsey/Artemis 43/12d, 5h, 16’, 15” *top Rookie
30. Nick Cherry/Redshift/12d, 17h, 56’, 49”
– Henry Bomby/Rockfish Red
- Andrew Baker/Artemis 23 *Rookie
- Rob Bunce/Artemis 37 *Rookie