The Jerseyman is stepping up preparations for next year’s Vendée Globe – a round-the-world race he is looking to complete single handedly on a self-sufficient, eco-friendly boat – and with conditions set to be ‘extreme’ over the coming days he and his team are hoping the trip from the country’s most southern tip to the north of Scotland will act as a good training exercise.
‘Phil is attempting to create a record between Land’s End and John o’Groats, as there has never been a sailing record for that route,’ said Phil Sharp Racing team director Gordon Ritchie. ‘It is one of the most iconic routes for people to travel, but nobody has ever sailed it, so Phil will set a time that Sail Scotland will use for tourism and look to have it beaten in the future.’
Ritchie continued: ‘He expects to do it in under 60 hours, with the ideal platform being 55 assuming there is no damage to the boat. They will be sailing through some of the choppiest waters and dealing with weather that some say potentially leads to the most dangerous sea conditions. There will be Arctic conditions, and the boat has no heating, so they could be very uncomfortable for 55 to 60 hours.
‘Phil is setting sail single handedly around the world next year, so he has to do something like this to see how he goes; there will be huge risks with this endeavour, but it is being used as a training exercise.’
Sharp, who will be accompanied by the Discovery Channel’s Sean Conway (a non-sailor), will be in charge of an Imoca 40 class racing boat for the trip after plans to use an Imoca 60 – the boat required for the Vendée Globe – were ruled out by the shallow waters at Wick Harbour.
