Phil Sharp is currently campaigning a Figaro, he has skippered in the Class 40, Mini 650 circuits over the last 3 years. Sharp was born on 11.05.81 in Jersey and aims to win the Vendée Globe one day. Phil has been in the class for a couple of months and is sponsored by Harken UK, Jersey Harbours, Herald Sports but is currently looking for a title sponsor for IMOCA 60 circuit. He is about to participate in Figaro Transat AG2R with co-skipper David Krizek What he says about Harken: - “I have used Harken because it is not only high performance but ultra reliable, and has never once let me down.”
Phil Walker and David Krizek onboard their new Figaro boat Atlantik FT at St .Bart's finish of Figaro Transat AG2R .
Finished!
Thursday, May 15th—Phil Sharp arrived into St Barts just after 0700 local time onboard his yacht Atlantik FT in 23rd place out of 26 starters. The race took him 24 days, 23 hours, 13 minutes and 13 seconds. Phil and his team-mate David Krizek were at the front of the fleet for much of the race and enjoyed a podium position for several days.
After taking a few days to settle into the race routine and to get to know their new Figaro boat, they stealthily climbed the ranking each day before choosing to take a northerly route in search of wind. This one tiny discrepancy in the chain of the weather upset the rest of the race for them and yet it could have just as easily been the other way round...Mother Nature played a harsh card and it cost them dearly.
A philosophical Phil reported in after a beer and a swim: “It’s not the result I wanted at all, but the main thing is that we got across - some of the boats didn’t make it, so we should feel pleased. We pushed really hard for the last couple of days, our adrenaline was running as we knew we were finally getting in. The miles came whizzing down in the end. It was great to see the rocks of St Barts earlier this morning and we got in without any problems. It is amazing to be in, finally we can behave like human beings and not like machines. It is amazing how much you appreciate the simple things in life when you’ve been at sea. Just eating and washing seem like luxuries, things you take for granted on land.“
“Amazingly there was a box waiting for me on the dock - full of 20 tins of spam and a bottle of rum, I have no idea who they are from. My father was disgusted to watch me tuck into a tin of spam before he could take me for a slap up breakfast! I had a beer as well, never known beer to taste so good at 0700 in the morning!”
“There were quite a few boats to see us in, it was a lovely experience. There was one boat making a lot of noise setting off fireworks, so will have woken up the whole town and all the other skippers who had already got in! We’ve still been treated like winners, despite our position, which is really nice. I suppose it is still a big feat and not your ordinary job…I’m just thankful that we held it all together and nothing dramatic happened. Once we’d made our mistake with the weather, it’s difficult to make back the miles. Our northern route could have really paid off, but it didn’t, so we had to plug further and further south in painfully light winds. It was pretty miserable knowing you couldn’t win it back. We were left in the lurch with no weaponry.”
“Figaros are quite slow underpowered boats that are always screaming for more power downwind and they don’t accelerate, just lollop over. You’ve just got to be patient, point in the right direction and trim to perfection. There is such a difference to Figaros and 40s. It’s taught me a lot about myself and taught me how to be patient. We had some pretty black moments out there, but you can’t stay like that for long as there is no point in being down in the dumps - you’ve got to get back on a positive note and look forward.“
.
Swallow or Squid for Breakfast
Just over one week into the AG2R double-handed, transatlantic race, with rations low onboard, Phil Sharp and David Krizek have been reduced to eating any flying friends that happen to land on deck! Albeit seemingly willingly! 1,700 miles into the race, most of the fleet have passed the island of Madeira and the majority of them are heading out to the west, waiting to dive south into the illustrious trade winds, with just 4 boats taking the southerly option. Phil Sharp had made the choice to go west before many and has been rewarded with a climb of 6 places in the ranking since last Friday's report!
"One week into the start of the Transat AG2R and on 'Atlantik FT' the island of Madeira is now behind us! After a very slow couple of days going downwind in light airs, we took a more westerly course in order to give us better wind and a better angle to Madeira last night. We had 'Sopra Team' (Antoine Koch) in visual just in front of us Saturday afternoon, who soon gybed off to leave us the furthest west. This option paid off a treat, and Saturday night we had great breeze to notch up 201 miles over 24hrs, which doesn’t sound that spectacular but was the fastest in the race so far, and we managed to leap up 4 positions to 12 place and top half at last! We arrived at Porto Santo, the north-eastern island of Madeira, just in front of 'Group Celeos' (Treussart/Marchand), who are still currently nipping at our heels as I’m writing this, and we are now both heading on a westerly course out into the Atlantic. After over 1,000 miles of racing we are only 68 miles behind the leader, the fleet still being really tight, and routing strategy is going to be paramount over the week. The weather systems in the Atlantic are currently quite unusual and with a depression travelling quite far south, there are no Trade Winds to speak of that are accessible enough to tempt us south as yet. Instead, it looks like a northerly route is best for us so we’ll see what this has in store for us over the next couple of days - rain most probably."
"Life onboard has been pretty enjoyable actually for a boat with no luxuries such as toilet or running water. David and I are pretty upbeat about picking off some positions and are doing everything possible to help this continue. Last night was a good blast, fast conditions, in the pitch black, but we were both fairly well rested to be able to make the most of it. This morning we had a choice for breakfast of squid or swallow to reward our efforts, both of which appeared on the deck this morning having sadly not made it through the night. Given that we hadn't really had a choice of breakfast so far, as basically we don't have any, I went for fresh squid although David was less keen to tuck in, despite our limited rations. The best news about passing Madeira is we can tuck into our second saucisson of the trip, one of France's classic in fact and the best offshore sailing foods - Le Baton Berger. You can't go to sea without it, you can steer with one hand whilst simultaneously consuming vast quantities of food with the other, whilst keeping the boat at max speed. Talking of which I better get back out there and get on with the job of getting into this Top 10!"
"Hope you continue to enjoy following the race. Phil"
Highlight of Day: For David this was apparently watching me eat the squid. Mine was for sure eating it. Music highlights: Roxette (Phil), Pink Floyd (David)
Links:
Website: www.PhilSharpracing.com
