Transat Jacques Vabre - Record Numbers Of Mixed Teams

Out of 95 entries competing in past editions of the Transat Jacques Vabre only six mixed teams have been on the start line. Only since 1999 have mixed teams competed - Catherine Chabaud/Laurent Bartissol and Yves Parlier/Ellen MacArthur in 1999, Ellen MacArthur/Alain Gautier, Karine Fauconnier/Franck Proffit, Dominique Wavre/Michele Paret and R Langevin/Henriette Lemay in 2001. In the first edition of the race in 1993 one female skipper started Marie Sergent but she capsized and did not reach the finish; since 1999 there have only ever been three all-female teams - Emma Richards/Miranda Merron in 1999 and Emma Richards/Mikki von Koskull and Miranda Richards/Frederique Brulé in 2001.

For the 2003 race there are a record number of mixed teams including Nick Moloney and Samantha Davies on TEAM COWES... Ten in total across all 4 classes and no all-female teams. Favourites for podium finishes in both the monoulls and multihulls include mixed teams - Karine Fauconnier, Ellen MacArthur, Sam Davies, Isabelle Autissier are amongst them. This is some indication of how offshore female skippers are now competing on equal terms in the sport of offshore sailing.

Sam Davies: "I guess in the past the majority of female sailors may not have done enough to be accepted in a mixed crew because there have been guys with greater experience but now that is changing through the advancement of all-female teams, like Maiden, that have gone out there and done the offshore miles or done it for themselves like Ellen and Isabelle Autissier. For me, it is a progression from sailing with a mixed crew on Maiden II last year and seeing how successful that was - we set four world records. We had an incredible atmosphere on board and the crew totally accepted each other and the different abilities they bought on board. This was something I had not experienced before as often in the past I had either sailed with all-female crews or been the only girl amongst a male crew. It is not just a male v female thing - every crew member accepts that you cannot be good at every job on the boat and the important thing is that the crew bring together the necessary skills to race at an optimum level. It is really good for this sport and should continue to encourage more girls to enter into the sport and push to get on the boats and campaigns they want to."

List of 10 mixed team entries:

Alain Gautier/Ellen MacArthur - Foncia (60' multihull)
Karine Fauconnier/Damian Foxall - Sergio Tacchini (60' multihull) Anne Caseneuve/Christophe Houdet - anne-caseneuve.com (50' multihull) Emma Richards/Mike Sanderson - Pindar (60' monohull) Dominique Wavre/Michelle Paret - name tbc (60' monohull) Sébastien Josse/Isabelle Autissier - VMI (60' monohull) Nick Moloney/Sam Davies - Team Cowes (60' monohull) Roger Langevin/Henriette Lemay - Branec III (50' monohull) Jean-Marie Bouchired/Marie Sergent - Défi Vendéen (50' monohull) Luc Coquelin/Chantal Foligné - Top 50 Croisieres Sportives (50' monohull)

TEAM COWES PREPARATIONS:
Over the last few days all the B&G electronics have been tested and a day has been commissioned with B&G to look at the autopilot systems on board...a crucial resource when sailing short-handed. In addition, the BT satellite systems have also undergone a thorough check including the two Iridium phones and the Thrane&Thrane Fleet77 satellite system used for the transfer of hi-speed data.

Nick Moloney: "We finished some corporate hospitality commitments at the begining of this week so the focus is now fully back on the job list to prepare Team Cowes for the race. We have checking and double-checking the on board instruments and will be making sure the auto-pilot systems are fully operational - we have two auto-pilots on board so if one fails you can manually engage the second pilot - before we leave Cowes to go offshore training next week."

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