Winning the Solitaire du Figaro is harder than a victory in the Vendee Globe, the non stop single-handed race around the world, according to Michel Desjoyeaux. This French celebrity sailor is the only person to have won the Vendee Globe twice so he should know.
In this special feature, PlanetSail report on this year's Figaro while also heading to the heart of the action at last year's 50th anniversary to talk to some of the world's greatest offshore sailors, all of whom had turned up for another taste of the toughest single handed offshore series in the world.
Alan Roberts started racing on Chichester Harbour out of Hayling Island Sailing Club, crewing for his dad in an International 14 and then racing with a number of UK small-boat legends including Nick Craig, winning the Endeavour Trophy for the Champion of Champions along the way. Alan has since served his apprenticeship in the solo offshore scene in France, and has his eyes on competing in the Vendée Globe and Volvo Ocean Race. In this audio Alan talks about what he's learned so far, and what he needs to do next...
Sir Ben Ainslie was the star attraction at the London Boat Show, where the four-time Olympic Champion sounded very positive about the prospects of mounting his own America’s Cup challenge. Ben, along with French star Franck Cammas, also told us his plans to race in the Extreme Sailing Series this season. With no Cup racing going on at the moment, the global cat racing circuit has given potential Cup challengers a playground to keep them occupied for the next year. 
