I’ve never known a month pass so insanely quickly! Despite the stopovers between the legs, the Solitaire was just non-stop the whole time. Racing for 3 days practically without sleep followed by a highly pressurised stopover where you’re trying to pack as much sleep, boat prep and navigation as possible before the next leg, gives you hardly any time for ‘winding down’. A very busy month looking back, but a very exciting one!

All in all the race was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. The highlight was definitely the adrenaline-fuelled sailing I had approaching the coast of Ireland in 25 – 30 knots of wind where we were sitting at speeds of 17-18 knots, quite something for a Beneteau. I remember doing quite a bit of whooping out loud that morning as I got launched off a a few big waves, as well as having a couple of monumental broaches.

The two occasions we passed through the Raz de Sein were heart-in-mouth moments as you were left to the mercy of the tide. That was always quite nerve wracking, especially the second time when I had to sail so close to the rocks to get out of the tide. The depth-sounder kept jumping around alarmingly due to the tide under the boat and would go from 40m to 2m, and you are left praying that it is just tide or seaweed under the boat and not rocks!

What struck me more than anything though is that the pace in the Figaro is just relentless. There is no time for a moment’s relaxation as there are always several boats right behind you. If you take your mind off boat speed for a minute, they’ll generally eat up distance. During the last leg in particular everyone was pushing extremely hard. In the middle of the night I was trying to claw back some distance by trying to gybe very precisely on the shifts, but unfortunately everyone else was timing them very well! I don’t reckon anyone was asleep for more 10-15 minutes at a time because you couldn’t afford to be late - you lose significant places if you are just 10 minutes late gybing. That summed up the whole race for me – just how close exciting the racing is and how you push yourself to the very limits of physical exhaustion as a result.

It’s a great boost to finish highest placed Brit in recent history of this race, as well as score a top 20 overall in my first season in such a highly competitive fleet. A lot of the sailors have raced for over a decade in the Solitaire, so in a game where experience counts for a huge amount I’m very encouraged by the way things have gone first time out. I’m already thinking about the areas I can improve already as I've learnt a hell of a lot in this race. I can now see why this race is so additive, and can say that there is definitely unfinished business in the Solitaire and that I’ll be back at some stage in the future.

Finally, I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone that made this campaign possible. In particular Glenfarclas whiskey, who showed great faith in stepping on board only a month before the Solitaire to help cover the boat charter, as well as providing some very nice 'light refreshments' for the finish in Dieppe. Also, a special thanks to the Artemis Offshore Academy, who showed a lot of determination in helping me reach the startline of the race, loaning me a set of race sails and being instrumental in sponsorship contacts. Lastly a big thanks to Franck, Nico and Sylvain at the CEM (training school in La Grande Motte), from whom I learnt a huge amount over the winter months and who provided invaluable support throughout the race.

All the best

Phil