Chapter 2023

It’s typical at this time of year to put on the ‘gram’ a review of your year, and in keeping with my continuing efforts to bring back the 1990s/2000s through blogging I thought I’d write about it.

Dreaming

I started 2023 not really knowing where and how I’d end 2023, I knew that it would likely be my last year in offshore sailing. I dreamt of doing La Solitaire du Figaro again and sailing a race that finally I could be proud of, finally a race that in my head didn’t have a huge fishing net next size asterisk next to it (I’ll be honest I wish people would stop bringing it up that incident). There was a lot of work just even be on the start line.

2023 Objectives

During those January nights I dreamt of racing solo again and by day I tried to figure out my weakness and where to focus my energies on improving. I settled on the following to focus on.

Generally

·        Improve technical boat understanding.

·        Improve technical boat preparation.

·        Improve race planning and strategy preparation.

And more specifically to the demands of La Solitaire du Figaro.

·        Build confidence in maneuvers.

·        Build my confidence in boat tuning.

·        Become utterly obsessed with attention to detail.

Last and most importantly to HAVE FUN

The beginnings

The year started setting up a double Handed IRC project for a friend, helping Ben Beasley with his La Solitaire du Figaro project. While in every spare moment searching for partners to cover boat rental, entry fees, and the big dream of performance coaching and buying new sails.  

Things stepped up a gear when in March Pam Lee asked me to help get her Class40 up and running. It was exactly the opportunity I’d dreamt of to improve my skills ‘on the tools’ that I knew was my biggest weakness as an offshore sailor. I didn’t really know these boats, so it was going to be a great test to help me learn and adapt. I’m always a little awkward around people when I know that I’m the worst person in the room at that skill, I hate that horrible feeling that you’re slowing someone down or making their life annoying by asking ‘how you do you do this’ question. Massive thank you to Pam, Maxime, Tiphaine, Leah and Erica for tolerating me.

One of the first pre-season test sails think this was over the easter week-end

Slow beginnings

My Solitaire project hit the water in June (literally) meaning I’d missed 5 months of training and racing but hey better late than never.

I knew that the biggest time loss in racing was in maneuvers. I started with the boring stuff, doing every maneuver tack, gybe, and sail change over and over and over again. If you were on a beach in June on the North Finisterre coast during that June heat wave and wondered why there was a boat basically going in large circles for several hours, that was me and there was a method to the madness.

I’d time myself, trying to make every move as efficient as possible, to simulate other boats I got a friend to call me and scream tack and gybe at random to force me to have to react. I really wonder what your co-workers think of you Imy.

Back to racing

The 2023 edition on the Solo Guy Cotton in July was nothing special in terms of results on paper, but being truth full it was more about the process of trying to believe in myself again.

2022 rocked me more than I’ll ever admit too, and this year’s Solo Guy Cotton was more about overcoming a mental barrier. 2 days of inshore racing before the 340-mile offshore race. Only in the circuit Figaro Beneteau do they feel the need to wear you out with stadium racing before doing a 48-hour race, which is already a challenge.

Terrible starts the mark of someone with little to no confidence in their own abilities (I’m pretending to be Irish)

The grande Rendez-vous

La Solitaire du Figaro, it was a dream come true to make the start line and even more of dream to finish well. 1,800 miles, 3 weeks against some of the best in the world and all by yourself, this race is truly special.

As crazy as the start is 35 boats with just one sailor within meters of each other, the finish is like something else. The same 35 boats slaloming through rocks, battling at 100% while their skipper is at a point of sleep deprivation that means makes coherent thoughts rare. In the months after my first participation, I was so exhausted that, I couldn’t stay awake beyond 4pm in the afternoon such it’s the mental and physical test of this race.

The day before the start, think I’m hiding the nerves quiet well

I’ve put together a more detailed review of this race in the previous blog, https://www.davidpaulsailing.com/davidsdiary/happy-is-fast-my-2023-la-solitaire-du-figaro.  

I knew to perform at a higher level the missing piece was my knowledge or lack thereof weather and strategy, Thanks to Pep Costa, and his openness to help, gave me the confidence to make tactical moves and read weather situation significantly better. I don’t know how many annoying questions I asked him, but he took the time with all of them. Which led to my two highlights in etape 2 and 3 in making nice moves to come back in the race. He’ll win the Vendee Globe and the Ocean Race, and I’ll brag about when we worked together.

When I arrived in 2021, I came in as an amateur, my preparation, processes and mentality lacked a certain professionalism. When I crossed the finish line this year, I finally felt like I’d truly ‘levelled up’ and had earned the title of “figariste”. My newfound attention to detail, strive for perfection must make me a truly horrible human to be around before race starts, the beginnings of a mental process that enable myself to push at 110% for 4 days at a time and the constant desire to keep searching for even the tiniest speed improvement all things that were missing 2 years ago.

Active recovery

My post La Solitaire recovery was rudely interrupted 4 days after the formalities had finished, I found myself at another race. Helping Pam and Tiphaine for their final

Warm-up before the Transat Jacques Vabre, the 40 Malouine in Saint Malo. We did the fastest rudder change before the start in Class40 history (we’re waiting for world record approval).

They absolutely crushed that race, sailing brilliantly to beat boats several years newer than their own. Yeehaa!

The grande rendez-vous (The second)

The objective of Pam and Tiphaine’s project was the Transat Jaques Vabre, a double handed transatlantic race from Le Harve in France to Martinique (one I’d love race for myself). This race features 4 categories; Class40 for which we were in, IMOCA’s the amazing 60ft foiling monohulls that race around the world solo in the Vendee Globe (I kind of dream of doing this) and the two multihull classes.

The TJV race village is a seriously cool place to be

We had the whole team, present working in unison. It’s rare to be in a team where there aren’t any egos, and everyone puts on their best efforts for the goals of the project. It’s also rare to be on a team where you can admit to needing help with certain areas and that is what I believe to be the greatest strength of Ripple Racing.

Well-done Pam and Tiph on your awesome race, you two have inspired a generation of future sailors where or not you realize it.

The end of chapter 2023

I ended this chapter, doing my first public speaking event, talking about my sailing journey from its accidental beginnings in West London to now racing single handed at a professional level in France. I hate talking (maybe that’s why I love solo offshore racing because there’s no one to talk to), I think most people know me as David, a person of very few words, I was more nervous for this speech than I was doing La Solitaire.

It wasn’t in my 2023 objectives to become better at public speaking, and honestly it never will be, I am far too shy to put that in the notes section of my phone but I’m very happy to take some baby steps.

I hope my talk lived up to expectations

Chapter 2024

I started this blog by saying that it was likely that 2023 would be my last year in offshore sailing. As of writing this I don’t know what chapter 2024 holds but I’m proud of how far I’ve come in the world of offshore sailing, even in just one year January and December David are two very different people.

My head is full of ideas to sail faster, prepare better and communicate more of the journey when we put to sea alone in La Solitaire du Figaro. I’m working 110% do La Solitaire du Figaro again but there are no guarantees. If it turns out that was the last dance, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished!

My 2024 objectives? Well, I’m sorry that’s my secret. Britain’s best result in the 54-year history of La Solitaire du Figaro is 5th and that was back in 1975 I’d love to improve it a little. Three times I’ve started this race, each time with the smallest budget in the race, I think my budget was 10% of what the people who finished in front, ultimately the race to be on the start line is the hardest to win. Without sounding like an ‘wannabe’ influencer please please please like, share, and subscribe.

I would like to say a massive thank everyone who has given me opportunities to learn, supported me and develop in 2023. I am eternally grateful.