Team Cowes In Full Preparation Mode For Transat Jacques Vabre

After a 1,000 mile compulsory qualifier that took Nick and Sam co-skippers of Team Cowes five days in predominantly light and upwind conditions, Team Cowes has now qualified to compete in the two-handed 4,340 mile Transat Jacques Vabre race from Le Harve, France to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.

LUCKY ON QUALIFIER:
Nick Moloney: "From the launch at Team Cowes on the opening day of the Southampton Boat Show, the boat was ready to do the qualifier. The guys worked hard to get her looking good and ready. In some ways we were lucky with the light weather - although at times it was a bit tedious, the positive effect is you don't come back with a job list longer than when you left because you have just had a good thrashing! It wasn't all light airs and we did see wind strength in the mid twenties rising boat speed into the high teens. The wole excercise was more than enough for me to finish with total confidence in our partnership. I am sure that Sam will cope with any tempo that I set during the race...I just hope I can maintain hers. The passage also meant that Sam had a lot of time to familiarise herself with the workings of Team Cowes and also to get a decent amount of rest which she desperately needed after finishing her Figaro season on Skandia. I was really impressed with her level of knowledge and we aim to be major players in this race..."

37 DAYS UNTIL THE START:
Sam Davies: "We have worked out a schedule right up to the start date which is a combination of about 18 race training days including going offshore and the 11 days of maintenance and final preparations of the boat - as well as running some partner days for Skandia and Cowes Waterfront. We have to be in Le Harve one week before the start date where we will be focussing on the weather and race strategy - more the mental preparation!"

45 ENTRIES CONFIRMED - OPEN 60 FLEET LARGEST FLEET TO RACE: Forty-five entries are now confirmed for the sixth edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre including the biggest UK entry in the history of the race. The biggest fleet is made up of 18 Open 60 monohulls including 'Team Cowes', Emma Richard's 'Pindar', Mike Golding's 'Ecover' and Alex Thomson's 'Hugo Boss' (ex-Sill). Fifteen ORMA 60 multihulls depart one day after the monohulls and the crowds will be there en masse to see the offshore 'rockstars' of Michel Desjoyeaux, Loick Peyron, Alain Gautier who is racing Foncia with Ellen MacArthur.

For race information go to http://www.jacques-vabre.com

OC SAILING TEAM OUT IN FORCE:
In the 2001 Transat Jacques both Ellen and Nick competed - Ellen with Alain on Foncia (in the last 24 hours of the race they lost there lead due to gear failure and finished in second place 3 hours behind Groupama) and Nick raced with Mark Turner on Kingfisher. This time all three of the OC Sailing Team will compete: "It is part of evolving our sailing team by competing in the same events and racing together which ultimately means we all move along the learning curve much, much quicker as we share the experience of racing in these offshore races together," said Ellen MacArthur. "We all have our own different goals but the learning process is the same."

NOTES:

Skandia Set Sail: making sailing more accessible; growing the sport's reach; enriching people's lives. Skandia is the title sponsor to Sam Davies' 2003 Figaro Campaign Skandia Cowes Week is the oldest and largest sailing regatta in the world with up to 1000 boats racing in the Solent. Skandia Cowes Week 2004 takes place between 7th to 14th August. Skandia is a leading international long term savings company. http://www.skandia.com

Cowes Waterfront is a major regeneration initiative for the Medina Valley, encompassing the towns of Cowes, East Cowes and Newport Harbour on the Isle of Wight. It aims to strengthen the Island's position as a centre of excellence for the composites and specialist marine sectors by providing the resources and infrastructure that businesses need. It will bring new life and new visitors to town centres by attracting modern leisure and recreational facilities, including hotels, restaurants and cafes and promote the area as 'the home of world yachting'. http://www.coweswaterfront.co.uk

For further information on the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team please visit: http://www.nickmoloney.com
http://www.samdavies.com/skandia
http://www.ellenmacarthur.com
http://www.offshorechallenges.com