Go SolO
A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR OLD HANDS
![Go Solo Go Solo](/web/20140908055403im_/http://www.southamptonboatshow.com/images/dat2013_gosolo_680x200.jpg)
As
part of the 'Try a Boat' experience, the Artemis Offshore Academy
will be running daily one hour GO SOLO sessions between
the 12th -21st of September, aimed at giving experienced keelboat
sailors the chance to give solo sailing a
go.
Usually hidden away in the marinas of northern France, two of
the Artemis Offshore Academy’s five striking blue Figaro Bénéteau
II’s will be on display at this year’s Show, giving visitors
the opportunity to have a go on the helm, inspect the high-tech
instruments or just have a poke around the modest cabin below – 10
points if you can find the loo!
At 33ft, the Figaro Bénéteau II is French short-handed
racer built for speed, designed by Marc Lombard for the purpose of
competing in the 2000-mile solo Solitaire du Figaro – the pinnacle
race in the class Figaro calendar. As well as a guided
Figaro tour, the Artemis Offshore Academy will offer a ‘GO SOLO’
experience to those with a few more sailing miles under their belt
- a first for the PSP Southampton Boat show. Under the watchful
eyes of the Academy’s professional team and skippers, a more
experienced visitor to the show will have the opportunity to try
their hand at ‘solo’ sailing as part of the Show signature
attraction Try A Boat.
Those with the right skills can expect about an hour of sailing
with an Academy skipper. Academy skippers typically undergo
72 hours of grueling physical and mental testing before they’re let
loose at the helm of the Figaros, visitors to the PSP Southampton
Boat Show are privy to an exclusive coached solo experience this
September. “The Academy specialises in providing the Solo
sailing training to an elite group of sailors,” explained Artemis
Offshore Academy Sailing Team Manager Charles Darbyshire. “By
bringing this GO SOLO experience to the show, we hope to raise the
profile of solo sailing in Great Britain, and provide those sailors
who have a wealth of fully crewed experience with a fresh
challenge. Perhaps we'll even find the next Alex Thomson at the
show.”
Established in 2010, the Artemis Offshore Academy is the
UK’s only centre of excellence for solo and short-handed offshore
racing, giving British sailors the chance to train exclusively in
the discipline. Physically and mentally demanding, highly
competitive and all encompassing, single and shorthanded racing
requires a unique skill set and the Artemis Offshore Academy
provides a structured training programme for British sailors
competing on one of the most demanding and dynamic racing circuits
in the world. Having this year recorded some of the best British
results in the history of the prestigious Solitaire du Figaro, the
Academy is moving ever closer to the overall goal – to see a
British sailor win the Vendée Globe.
Budding solo skippers will be welcomed by one of the Artemis
Offshore Academy's experienced sailors or coaches and coached
through a short drill of manoeuvres, including hoisting the
mainsail & headsail, tacking, setting spinnaker, gybing,
dropping spinnaker and finally dropping the mainsail alone. The
session will be a non-stop high intensity session designed to give
Academy guests the true solo experience (weather dependant), with a
hope to wetting their appetite for short-handed sailing.
All the nessessary wet weather and safety equipment will be
provided by the Artemis Offshore Academy and guests need simply
turn up 15 minutes before their allotted time at the Academy berth
on the 'Try a Boat' stand in the PSP Southampton Boat Show
marina.
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