\n<\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\nCopham\u2019s route into the Figaro Beneteau fleet isn\u2019t the most quintessential, but he has the burning fire inside to match any one of his competitors. His long-term goal is to be on the start-line of the Vend\u00e9e Globe in 2028, but first recognises he needs the\u00a0\u2018experience of competing with the best\u2019\u00a0<\/em>in the Transat Paprec. A race he considers to be\u00a0\u201cthe most iconic sailing challenge you can do, short of racing around the world.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nHumble, honest and humorous at times, he gives an open and refreshing insight into his first ever Transat Paprec campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOriginally from the north-west of Scotland, Copham talks fondly about his Scottish roots.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve been sailing since I was six and sailed a lot off the Scottish coast. I actually made my first dinghy out of an old rowing boat and used a bedsheet as the sail. I would like to think I\u2019ve come a long way since then!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he joked. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nGrowing up he was influenced by his family and credits his can-do attitude to them,\u00a0\u201cAlthough I grew up far north of Scotland, I had a grandfather from Wales, and one from Ireland, who was married to a German lady. In some ways I had quite a European upbringing. \u201cOne of my ancestors was captured by Napoleon, then imprisoned in Brittany, before he made his escape to Wales on a stolen frigate. I\u2019ve always believed anything is possible.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nCopham now resides in Cambridge in the UK and has racked up a wealth of racing experience over the past few years, most recently competing in the single-handed\u00a0<a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/ocsport.us7.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=1cfb26131b868652ed730a333&id=8919bcef5e&e=38a38a2d14\">Solitaire du Figaro<\/a>, where he finished 32nd, and the\u00a0<a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/ocsport.us7.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=1cfb26131b868652ed730a333&id=fafc60015d&e=38a38a2d14\">Mini Transat<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cThe Solitaire du Figaro was a fantastic race. I had no expectations to even be able to race in the Figaro class, to me it is very much sailing at the top. \u201cIn car racing terms, it\u2019s like I had been racing a go-kart for years and then I found myself at the back end of the F1 fleet. I did not plan to be there, it all seemed to be too elite. But people around me gave me the confidence to go for it. I was told, \u2018well you\u2019re clearly not very fast but you are very capable!\u2019 It\u2019s all I needed to hear really. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cUltimately, if you are willing to learn, there should not be a barrier. Clearly, it\u2019s a competition, you have to be \u2013 and want to be \u2013 competitive, but I was willing to accept that I would most likely be pretty far back most of the time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nAs regards to coping with tough weather conditions, it\u2019s all relative.\u00a0\u201cIn last year\u2019s Mini Transat, it took me a little by surprise to find that I was one of only six out of 90 boats that stayed out in the big storm we had. If you are on the west coast of Scotland and get a forecast like that, you think \u2018oh well this is going to be a bit uncomfortable, but I\u2019ill carry on\u2019. But if you grow up in the west of France, where a forecast like that is seen as horrible, I imagine it\u2019s quite different.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nOther credentials include winning the UK\u2019s multi-sport endurance Three Peaks Yacht Race, competing in the Australian equivalent (in winds up to 77 knts), the Swan European Championships and the Fastnet, alongside his 20 years of dinghy racing in the Isles of Scilly.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cThe Transat Paprec race is now very much a step up from all my previous challenges. I\u2019ve been three quarters of the way across the Atlantic on a 40-foot boat and been across the Atlantic in my Mini. This is the next pursuit.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nSailing isn\u2019t Copham\u2019s first sport, he also rows and trains every day. He has taken part in the past 10 World Master\u2019s Championships and won a European medal. He likes the clear goal of rowing.\u00a0\u201cYou are heading in a straight line with somewhere to aim. Whereas sailing is very different , you still have the same goal and somewhere to aim for, which in this case will be the other side of the Atlantic, but firstly there\u2019s a chance you may not get there. Then there\u2019s a number of routes you could take to get there. It\u2019s all about how you navigate your options that makes it a bigger challenge.\u00a0 \u201cI think rowing probably reflects my get down and do it tenacity whereas for me, sailing is much more my strategic side and how to react to changes. In some ways my professional career probably reflects both.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Copham also runs a strategy advisory company, Granta Strategy, and has a number of degrees and a doctorate in metallurgy, the study of metallic elements.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cWhat I enjoy the most about this fleet and this racing is it\u2019s just a fantastic environment to be in. You may be racing by yourself at times, but you never really feel alone and for someone like me, who likes to talk a lot, it gives me time for reflection.\u00a0 \u201cOften in the intensity of racing in a large crew environment there\u2019s all sorts of dynamics that can detract from the actual sailing, also, being honest \u2013 I find it boring at times, I like to be hands-on.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cWhen you are racing solo \u2013 or double handed \u2013 there is nothing but you, the boat and the sea.\u201d<\/em>Add in the beauty of the crossing, and he describes the experience as \u2018very liberating\u2019.\u00a0\u201cWhen you are in the middle of the Atlantic and look up, the sky seems 10 times brighter, then you look down and see the fluorescence where the dolphins have been swimming alongside, there\u2019s really nothing like it.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nHe is highly complimentary of his competitors.\u00a0\u201cI love that it\u2019s an international community, I really enjoy the camaraderie. There are many brilliant sailors; some of the best offshore racers in the world, Olympic sailors and some who have won under 23 World Championships.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s competitive but we are all learning from each other in some ways too, swapping notes and training together. It\u2019s a group of people wanting the best from each other.\u00a0 \u201cThe mentality is incredibly collaborative off the water. I\u2019ve gained a real insight into what developing at this highest level is all about. It\u2019s been such a huge pleasure.\u00a0 \u201cFrom the outside, the class can be seen as very elite so in some ways I feel like I\u2019m helping to spread the net wider.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nFor Copham, the racing format of a mixed crew is exciting but not new for him.\u00a0\u201cI think sailing is one of the most gender inclusive sports you can get, I\u2019ve always been competing with or against talented female athletes. Both my daughters sail, one of my daughters is definitely a better sailor than I am, at least technically!\u00a0 \u201cI was hoping to entice her to enter the race with me, but her background is mostly sailing on a Swan \u2013 the Figaro would be too uncomfortable!\u201d\u00a0<\/em>He is still on the lookout for a co-skipper, hoping to team up with someone in the next few months. In preparation for the race, there will be a series of pre-events, which will help those crews who have not sailed together before.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nOn his goals for the Transat Paprec, he said,\u00a0\u201cWell firstly, it\u2019s to not be last. When I started racing this class, and in previous qualifiers, I was initially thinking it\u2019s not if I come last but how last will I be\u2026 but I haven\u2019t actually finished last yet! So, I\u2019ve surprised myself there.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis will be Copham\u2019s third year racing for the Voiles des Anges cause. Over the years he has become close to founder Celine and her family, first meeting Celine through the previous owner of his Mini 6.50\u00a0\u201cVoiles des Anges has been around for nine years but talking about loss is an incredibly sensitive topic, it can still be quite taboo for some people.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve now done a transatlantic crossing and the Solitaire du Figaro supporting the charity. I would like to think it offers some comfort for the families. Siblings can be involved too, by following and drawing the boat, it\u2019s incredibly rewarding to be supporting them. \u00a0 \u201cCeline and her family, as well as the current president, Cecile, in turn have been very supportive in practical terms. Celine has even offered to be my manager for my Vend\u00e9e Globe campaign\u2026 I might have to take her up on that!\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nAlthough he may have a positive outlook, he\u2019s not unrealistic about how ambitious it will be to be on the start line of the Vend\u00e9e Globe in 2028.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s an expensive sport, that\u2019s for sure. I\u2019m actively looking for sponsorship to fund my campaign.\u00a0 \u201cBetween now and then the focus will be to do as much solo sailing as I can, in whatever form. If I had the budget now, I would be racing the Figaro for at least one season, if not two.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nFor now, with five months to go, all focus is on Copham\u2019s first ever Transat Paprec.\u00a0\u201cIf you called me up and said the start is tomorrow, I would be like OK let\u2019s do this then! Mentally and physically,\u00a0\u00a0I would say I\u2019m feeling prepared.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nFor more information, visit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ocsport.us7.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=1cfb26131b868652ed730a333&id=7ec6a8efa2&e=38a38a2d14\" class=\"\">www.transatpaprec.com\/en<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the hull of his boat will be 100 names, a living memorial to those who have passed away.\u00a0\u201cIt keeps touching people wherever I go, it\u2019s an incredibly moving cause to be racing for,\u201d\u00a0he comments. \u00a0 Copham\u2019s route into the Figaro Beneteau fleet isn\u2019t the most quintessential, but he has the burning fire inside to match any one of his competitors. His long-term goal is to be on the start-line of the Vend\u00e9e Globe in 2028, but first recognises he needs the\u00a0\u2018experience of competing with the best\u2019\u00a0in the Transat Paprec. A race he considers to be\u00a0\u201cthe most iconic sailing challenge… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,3],"tags":[555,142,556,558,45,143,53,44,557],"class_list":["post-3582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-unorganized-sport","category-the_show","tag-granta-strategy","tag-karen-lile","tag-la-transat-paprec","tag-piers-copham","tag-racing","tag-rick-tittle","tag-sail-sport-talk","tag-sailing","tag-voiles-des-anges"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sailsporttalk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/84440f52-c48c-3c8b-536d-d1a7a5423ad4.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sailsporttalk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sailsporttalk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sailsporttalk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailsporttalk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailsporttalk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3582"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/sailsporttalk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3602,"href":"https:\/\/sailsporttalk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3582\/revisions\/3602"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailsporttalk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sailsporttalk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailsporttalk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailsporttalk.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}