There will be only 33 starters in the second leg of La Solitaire du Figraro on Sunday as injured Irish solo sailor Conor Fogerty of Howth withdraws.
Following his leg injury sustained during the final night of Stage 1, Fogerty (Immunex365.co.uk) has taken the medical advice of the race medical experts and has officially withdrawn from the 53rd La Solitaire du Figaro.
The entrepreneur from Dublin, a very experienced crewed offshore racer who has taken part in many of the classic long offshore races over his long career, says he will take stock from here and consider what his next moves are with the Figaro Beneteau 3, which he owns.
This morning in Port-La-Forêt: Fogerty said “ It is a question of safety and that decision is largely out of my hands. So I am quite gutted. The class doctor says I am not fit enough to race. It is an expensive operation to come over and do La Solitaire and then not be able to complete it. My sponsorship does not cover all the costs, so it has cost me quite a lot of money. That is tough. This muscular lesion will not repair itself on time.”
He added: “I have learned a lot but am not used to being down the back of the fleet. But the Figaro is such a high level you have to immerse yourself in the culture in France and live it and breathe it 24/7 to even be in the middle of the fleet. So I will reflect on where I go from here. My original plan is to do the Caribbean 600 on the boat as I believe the boat is a reaching boat, and I would enjoy that course. So I will put a plan together to do the RORC Transatlantic and then the Caribbean 600 doublehanded. Next season on the Figaro? Well, I am feeling pretty low and ego bashed at the moment and where I am just now. I need to build myself back up again.”
