Pro Sailing Tour: All systems go for Leyton's Final Rush this evening

by Leyton Sailing Team 6 Jul 2022 17:58 BST

Pro Sailing Tour Final Rush - Leyton © Jacques Vapillon / Pro Sailing Tour

After an intense 515-miles sprint between Saint-Quay Portrieux in Brittany and the Isle of Wight off southern England, Leyton took the win in the Solent on Tuesday morning. This race zone is familiar territory for Sam Goodchild, who kicked off his career as an offshore racer with the Artemis Offshore Academy. The pit stop is an express one though. Indeed, at 18:00 UTC this evening, Sam, Aymeric and Pierre will take the start of the final episode of the Pro Sailing Tour 2022: the Final Rush, a course spanning around 1,000 miles between Cowes and Roscoff via the Fastnet and Belle-Île in particular. They are due to finish in the bay of Morlaix on Saturday morning.

Second in the overall ranking, just 1 point shy of leader Arkema, it's safe to say that the Leyton trio will be mustering up all their fighting spirit. Since the start of the Pro Sailing Tour, the two crews have been constantly jockeying for the top spot. Ultimately, there was just 7 minutes separating them from the team led by Quentin Vlamynck on the orange and blue trimaran at yesterday's finish in Cowes. Boosted by their recent victory, the men on Leyton are determined to win this final race, which would also guarantee them outright victory in the Pro Sailing Tour 2022.

Reactions prior to the start

Sam Goodchild, skipper

"It was fantastic to be the first to make it into Cowes. All the memories of this place take me right back to the start of my career! The 24-hour Challenge was really intense. There was no room for error. As is often the case in the English Channel, the course was very technical with the currents, fluctuations in the breeze and the clouds, etc. All the conditions came together to ensure that it was a lot of fun! We were in close contact the whole time. It was game on from beginning to end.

The recovery time was short-lived as we're already back out on the racetrack this evening! The tactics will be fairly simple: we have to win! We don't need to get one boat between us and Arkema, but we do need to finish ahead of them."

Aymeric Chappellier, navigator

"The weather conditions are forecast to be like those we encountered between Roscoff and Cowes: medium to light wind. Upon exiting the Solent, we're going to make our way along the English coast, climb up to the Fastnet and then the Skellig Islands off south-west Ireland. From there, we'll drop back down to round a virtual waypoint at the north-west tip of Brittany, before heading down to Belle-Île, at which point we'll begin our climb back up to Roscoff, where we're due to finish on Saturday morning. Together with Sam and Pierre, our trio is starting to really get into its stride, which could make all the difference over this long offshore course."

Overall ranking before the Final Rush

1. Arkema / 22 points
2. Leyton / 21 points
3. Koesio / 17 points
4. Primonial / 14 points
5. Komilfo / 13 points
6. Solidaires En Peloton - ARSEP / 12 points
7. Groupe GCA - 1001 Sourires / 6 points

The crew on Leyton