This Friday, 11th January 2008 visitors to the Collins Stewart London Boat Show will get a sneak preview of The Artemis Transat 2008, ahead of the official launch on 20th February in London. The preview, hosted by Richard Simmonds, will take place on the new central stage in the North Hall at ExCel at 2.00pm and will feature Ecover skipper, Mike Golding, Brian Thompson, skipper of Pindar, IMOCA 60 Artemis designer Simon Rogers and Artemis Ocean Racing skipper Jonny Malbon (33), who will be talking about the launch of the new Artemis IMOCA 60. Malbon is raring to get his hands on his new IMOCA 60 having being forced to retire from the 2007 Transat Jacques Vabre and, therefore, missed out on the solo B2B race back across the Atlantic - The Artemis Transat will be his and the boat's first real solo test.

Class 40 sailor Phil Sharp will give his views on this burgeoning new class, yachting journalist Bob Fisher will recall some of the classic moments from the race's history and OC Events Mark Turner on the challenge of organising this solo classic. Come and hear what the sailors have to say about Britain's oldest solo race and why it holds such a unique place in the history of ocean racing.

There are now just four months to go until the start of The Artemis Transat, the oldest solo race in the history of ocean racing, which will start on Sunday, 11th May 2008 from Plymouth (UK). Up to 40 IMOCA 60 and Class 40 racing yachts are expected to gather at Sutton Harbour, Plymouth for the 13th edition of the race that will see the skippers face 2,800 miles of tough racing across the treacherous North Atlantic to Boston (USA).

The Entry date is 15th February but already some of the skippers have completed the official entry procedure for The Artemis Transat, and are throwing down the gauntlet early to their opponents. British skipper Mike Golding won the IMOCA 60 Class in the 2004 edition of The Transat and will be looking to defend his title this May in his new generation 'Ecover'. Awarded an OBE a year ago, 46-year-old Golding has raced around the globe five times. His tenacity for offshore racing knows no bounds and he will be a formidable defending champion. Brian Thompson (45) has been racing professionally for over 15 years and has held 25 world sailing records to date. His experience in the IMOCA 60 fleet is extensive, and now Thompson will be racing his brand new IMOCA 60 Pindar, in her first ocean race, in The Artemis Transat which will also serve as his qualifying race for the legendary solo, non-stop round the world Vendée Globe that starts later in the year.

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