The Generali Solo is a Figaro race that’s like a slightly smaller version of the solitaire but including six days of inshore racing along with two longer legs and it’s run in the Med. Basically it’s the perfect event in my book. In recent times the Brits have always been too focused on getting our act together for the next season to make it down to this little season closer which is a shame because for the rest of fleet it’s a fun event and also a little bit of experience we normally miss out on.
In the British tour group we’ve got a nice sized team of six (me, Sam Matson, Alan Roberts, Pistol Pete, Sam Jacklin and Alizee) travelling between Sete, Nice and Barcelona. This makes the logistics of getting around and eating etc a lot closer to a fun little family than the massive travelling circus of 22 (not including family and friends) that springs up for the Solitaire. Looking at the schedule for the next two and a half weeks I sense things are going to get fairly hectic with the mix of day racing and longer legs not leaving much time for frolicking on beach or sightseeing. Recovery skills will be even more important as the inshore days get super physical due to the amount of maneuvers and sail trimming that has to be done around a short course. Luckily Alizze is putting in long hours in her pinny and rising to the task of cooking healthy tasty meals at sensible times and Sam and Pete have got the shore crew stuff down to a polished art form.
For me, having had such a shocker in June at the Solitaire I’m hungry for a decent performance here. The fleet is a bit more distilled due the med logistics but there’s still at least 18 boats out of the 23 that have strong Figaro credentials so I’m taking nothing for granted. In the past I’ve done better in the shorter races and whilst I hope I can do well there the real focus will be performing in the long legs which is what the Figaro is really all about. Hopefully my busy summer squeezing in a lot of Redshift fun on and off the water will have prepared me well for the next 16 days.
Cherry Racing 