Sharp’s early gamble

Wednesday 23rd April 2008, 12:00AM BST.

TRANSATLANTIC sailor Phil Sharp is hoping his tactics in taking a more westerly route in the Figaro Transat AG2R will soon pay off as overnight he dropped to 18th place.

Some of the others are racing further inshore, but we’ve taken a more Western option, which may or may not pay off,’ admitted the Jerseyman.

‘It hasn’t done as much as we’d hoped in the night as the others may have got a shift off the coast, but they may also get nailed by the current – don’t wish them harm but I hope they get slowed by it.

‘We had a pretty rough night on Monday and it seems to take an eternity to get round Cape Finist่re. The last thing you want to be doing is upwind – we’ve been doing it all night, so we’re knackered!’

Sharp and team-mate David Krizek, who are supported by Dominion, sailing Atlantik FT currently lie 31.7 miles behind the new leaders Nicolas Troussel and Christopher Pratt.

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