#routedesprinces – Damian Foxall is Ireland's most successful ocean racer. After winning the Volvo Ocean Race with Franck Cammas' successful Groupama crew, his fourth participation in the Whitbread/Volvo Ocean Race, Foxall has returned to grand prix Multihull racing some ten years after he enjoyed a good run on the ORMA 60 Circuit racing with Sergio Tacchini, Foncia and Groupama. He lines up on Oman Air – Musandam along with skipper Sidney Gavignet and Brit Neal McDonald to form a core unit with a remarkable level of round the world and ocean racing experience between them.
Foxall joined the programme in January and says they have done more training miles this year than any of their rivals:
" I think we are in very good shape. This is the second year of the boat racing. This is the peak of the pyramid of the whole Oman Sail project so it is a very interesting mix of guys like myself, Neal, Sidney and Thomas and the best Omani sailors that have come through, the likes of Fahad is absolutely brilliant, as good as anyone else on these boats and a new young guy from the F18's who is learning really, really fast.
Some of these young guys coming on board are impressed by the speed, but not overly so and their approach is just great."
" We started sailing in January so we were the first boat in the water this year. We have been sailing around the western European coast since then. In January we went to Lorient to Portimao in Portugal where we sailed for ten days, inshore mainly sailing six up and so that was a good session. We have done more on the water than any other team. We went to try the Round Ireland but it was just too windy, we saw over 50 knots. And then we have been involved in the smaller races, the ArMen Race and in Douarnenez with Virbac Paprec 70. They confirmed that it will be very close racing for sure. Virbac Paprec are just getting up to speed with the machine, it is new to Jean Pierre but he has a fantastic team and the boat will go in the right direction for sure and once it is up to speed they will be very competitive. I think between the four boats it will be very tight. For example in the ArMen race we were five minutes behind Gitana."
A past winner of the Barcelona World Race with Jean Pierre Dick, now he finds himself back racing against his former co-skipper.
" I have not raced Jean Pierre since the Barcelona World Race but that is typical of our industry. There are great new teams which are formed around old alliances. In fact my first contact with the Whitbread was stepping on board La Poste on the Quebec Saint Malo and Sidney Gavignet who introduced me to Michel Desjoyeaux who got me to Port La Fôret and gave me an invitation to there. That was one of the main launching points of my career, and at the same time Sidney was doing a Figaro campaign and so we had parallel careers, and I have sailed round the world with Neal at least three times. So it is a very familiar team. Phil was a boat builder with Groupama, Ericsson and so on. And of course I have sailed against the other guys a lot. It is a great fleet. There is a great ambience. You keep things tight and close to your chest but on the other hand it is one big family."
The Oman Air – Musandam Team are ready to race:
" We are ready. We went out yesterday and did the most complicated manoeuvres possible and made sure we put them to bed with no skeletons in the closet. We pulled them all off and I think we are in a good place to go round the course looking to win. We are fast in most conditions. Last year I think they were less comfortable with their speed tight reaching and maybe in some boat handling but I think we are well up to speed on both counts now.
Inshore we sail with eight and offshore with six. We have a slightly different set up. Giles Favenec completments Thomas on the grinders inshore and helps Neal and Sidney on tactics inshore."
Foxall is very happy to be in the MOD70 fleet, seeing it as the best racing there is at the moment:
" I am not sure if our career passage is linear, circular or spirals but this certainly feels like where to be. I stepped on the boat for the first time in January and it was like I had stepped off the 60 foot trimarans. In fact these boats are a little bit easier. On the 60 foot trimarans you could cant the rigs fore and aft. I did two Transat Jacques Vabre races, a third and a capsize. We won the Quebec-Saint Malo. I did three years with Sergio Tacchini, Foncia and Groupama. At that time that was the very best sailing circuit in the world, 15 boats on the start line, fully crewed around the buoys, coastal races, ocean races single and double handed. This is the result a few years later, one design is great. The boats are solid and you can sail them with two or three people, and run them shoreside with two or three people."
" The boats are absolutely rock solid. We did 40 knots on the way down here. Of all the classes these are the best racing boats in the world right now. Yes the America's Cup boats are maybe faster but you would never take them offshore and do 40 knots. So to do that with between two and six people is just awesome. We race them round the buoys and offshore. They are brilliant. Now hopefully we will see more boats being built and coming into the class."
And most of all he is looking forwards to returning to Ireland:
" I have not been back to Ireland for more than six months. It is fantastic to see the momentum continuing in Ireland and Spain acknowledging that sailing events bring revenue and a lot of activity, they animate towns and cities and ports. Two Irish cities put in bids for this and that is a great endorsement after what the Volvo Ocean Race achieved."
