FALMOUTH sailor Sam Goodchild is all set for his first solo race of the year in France today.
The 23-year-old will be one of 26 sailors at the start line in Les Sables d'Olonne for the 'Solo Arrimer' race.
The 320-mile race begins and ends in the famous port on the west coast of France, the home of the Vendee Globe race, which is Goodchild's goal. But for now he can't wait to put his winter training into practice.
He said: "There are lots of emotions for my first race of the season. It's exciting to be taking part on my own boat and after a few months at our new training centre.
"I am confident the boat is in good shape and I hope I am the same. I have spent a lot of time in the last few months setting up my project and chasing leads on potential sponsors, so I haven't sailed as much as I would have liked, but the days I have been on the water have been really productive and really good quality.
"It's always a bit nervous to line up against the competition for the first time every season, especially with so much change from last year, but the challenge is exciting all the same."
All the sailors will be racing on identical 33ft Beneteau 'Figaro' boats, making for close and extremely competitive racing. This 48 hour race is one of the qualifying events for the month-long, 4-leg, Solitaire du Figaro race around France, Spain and Portugal in June.
Goodchild said: "This is the first chance to tell how my winter has gone. The quality of this fleet is high and although 14 other competitors are sailing in a Transatlantic race at the moment it will be great for me to see how much work I have to do in the next six weeks before the start of the Solitaire."
There are a growing number of British sailors taking part in this French-dominated racing circuit. Goodchild, a graduate of the Artemis Offshore Academy, will be one of five young English sailors taking part in this race.
The academy was set up to support and encourage offshore sailing in the UK. It hopes that one day there will be a British winner of the Vendee Globe. Doing well in the Figaro has been an important training ground for many solo sailors with global racing ambitions.
