A tired Jonny Malbon after his autopilot failed during the Figaro race. Picture by Lloyd Images.
SAILINGA COWES skipper was left exhausted and suffering hallucinations after he was forced to go back to basics when his autopilot failed in the gruelling 1,717-mile Solitaire du Figaro.
Jonny Malbon, who made a good start to leg two of the race onboard Artemis and was lying 12th at the end of day one, quickly dropped to the back of the fleet and had an exhausting sail towards Brest, France.
Jonny said: "Being forced to helm most of the time involves spending a minimum of time, if any, at the navigation station, which naturally has a negative impact on race strategy. The same goes for managing sleep or food.
"It’s back to old-fashioned, full-time hand steering and in the absence of a crew, the experience is extremely demanding."
The second leg from Gijon, Spain, started off in light conditions but developed strong winds and choppy seas as the fleet headed across the notorious Bay of Biscay.
Jonny did not throw in the towel after his autopilot failed and carried on to complete the 385-mile leg, arriving in Brest after midday in a time of 70hrs 35mins.
Jonny, the only British skipper in the Figaro, said he had suffered major hallucinations on the final night, seeing people on the boat and telling them 'to get off’ as it was a solo race.
But he was proud to have finished what he called an 'epic’ leg and that he had not opted to retire from the leg.
Jonny was pleased he only finished nine hours behind the leader, expert Figarist Armel Le Cleac’h, a previous Solitaire winner who now leads the overall rankings after two legs.
Jonny set off on leg three from Brest to Kinsale, Ireland, on Monday. At the time of going to press on Wednesday, he had passed Wolf Rock in 43rd position and was heading to the Fastnet Rock.