With the 2017 European sailing season fast approaching, British solo sailors from The Offshore Academy have been hard at work preparing for a programme of gruelling racing in the lead up to the 2017 La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro.

The 2017 season kicks off in a week’s time, and will see Mary Rook compete in her Bénéteau Figaro II ‘Inspire+’ whilst team mate Hugh Brayshaw will sail ‘The Offshore Academy’ for his second season.  The 2017 Solo Normandy race will start on 17 March, following a course around the Cherbourg peninsular, starting from Granville, and finishing in Cherbourg after approximately 36hrs of racing.  It is the sailors first opportunity to put their winter training into practise, lining up against some formidable French opposition.

The goal of The Offshore Academy is to help talented British skippers work their way up through the ranks of the Class Figaro Bénéteau and ultimately put them on the path to the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world race. A 24,000nm non-stop marathon, the Vendée Globe is the ultimate solo challenge and a race known as the ‘Everest of Sailing’.

Both physically and mentally demanding, competing on one of the most demanding racing circuits in the world requires a unique skillset. Through the Academy’s structured training programme, skippers are given the expertise and training they need to race solo in the annual La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro – a 2,000-mile, four-stage solo race centred on the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay.

Following in the footsteps of British ocean racers Dame Ellen MacArthur, Mike Golding and Alex Thomson, it is the Academy’s ultimate goal to see one of its sailors victorious on the Vendée Globe podium and become the first British skipper to win this prestigious race.

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