HAMBLE sailor Sam Davies has described her first week competing in the French-run Figaro short-handed race course as: "exhausting and exhilarating."

The 28-year-old is currently engaged in the first round of the event, the six-stage Tour De Bretagne A La Voile.

Davies is the first female to have entered the solo monohull event since Clare Francis back in 1976, though the first stage is being raced as a double-hander with Emma Westmacott.

"I always knew the solo Figaro circuit would be tough and I was right!" said Sam. "It is proving a steep learning curve. Sometimes the hard way!"

The Tour De Bretagne, which began last Sunday, is due to finish tomorrow. Six legs make up the race skirting the north-west coast of Brittany.

Davies admits the racing, in their Skandia-sponsored Figaro Beneteau 2, has been: " intense and relentless as well as exhausting as it is exhilarating.

"We are covered in bruises from a rough race on Tuesday and physically tired from not only racing but fixing and preparing Skandia for the next leg.

"I was very nervous and apprehensive as we approached the start line of the initial race.

"The opening 34-mile leg from St Malo to St Quay was a good first outing for us. It was an intense five-hour race in which Emma and I were constantly trimming for speed.

"The start reminded me of the Route Du Rhum where hundreds of people had turned up to watch.

"Spectator boats buzzed around and helicopters hovered above.

"Off the start it was very much follow my leader and we were in the dirt.

"The second race, a 48-mile race from St Quay to Perros Guirec, was shocking.

"The weather began with a moderate 15 knots from the west but quickly increased and we saw 38 towards the end.

"After two general recalls we were lying mid-fleet. That is until the jib ripped in a 28-knot blow. This happened twice.

"But it's not a bad thing to have a bun fight at the beginning. It just keeps you on your toes."

Davies is already looking ahead to the "ultimate event" of her Figaro season, the Solitaire Du Figaro.

"Every minute I spend on the water is taking me closer to that solo event. I have to soak up every bit of experience I can to make sure that I am at my best going into it," she said.

Skandia crossed the finish line of leg three at 2.01pm on Wednesday in 23rd place, 90 miles from Perros Guirec to Brest.

It was 16 hours and 31 minutes of exhausting short tacking through rocks in darkness.

"You just have to be switched on 100 per cent - there is no time to switch off," concluded Davies.

"There's one person helming, and the other looking where we are going, looking for rocks and other competitors. You can't make a single mistake. A few metres wrong and it could be all over."

The 26-boat fleet finished within one hour of each other.