Upwind across Biscay

Latest developments on the final leg of the Solitaire du Figaro

Vincent Riou's PRB

The final leg of the singlehanded Solitaire du Figaro kicked off on Sunday with an arduous 465 mile long passage across the Bay of Biscay from Gijon in northern Spain to Cherbourg-Octeville in northern France. A day and a half into this leg the wind is still on the nose adding to the tactical tension on board the 30ft Beneteaus.

"The sea is up : hard, choppy and short," reported Race Director Denis Horeau from the committee boat following the fleet. "The waves are small and you have to climb them one at a time. The little Figaro Bénéteau is still able to leapfrog over them." Overhead the sky is squally, sometimes pierced by rays of sunlight and an oscillating, unstable wind.

"In these conditions, the skippers play the oscillations in the wind and follow the best tack. A spell on starboard tack, a few minutes on port tack and then starboard once again" describes Christian Gout, Assistant Race Director.

To get from Gijon to the turning mark at Ouessant on the northwestern corner of France involved sailing straight across the Bay of Biscay. So far the skippers are progressing in a group, about 30 miles below the direct course.

This morning last year's winner Eric Drouglazet has taken over the lead from Nicolas Troussel but there is almost no separation between the leaders and this will certainly change. Troussel is being chased on the right hand side of the main group by the consistent Philippe Vicariot, while Drouglazet, Jérémie Beyou, Vincent Riou and Sébastien Josse are further the north west. There is another break away group to the south east, but includes none of the top players.

"We're not sailing that far from the others but we can't see each other at all with the breaking seas. You can't let the helm go, the autopilot isn't very good in these conditions - I'm sticking to my course without worrying too much about what the others are doing, I am the wind," confides Beyou.

Currently the boats are trying to head north northeast on starboard tack and are expecting a shift to the left accompanied by building wind speed up to 20-25 knots. The fleet is still tightly bunched with less than five miles separating the first twenty. "24 hours of upwind sailing and not half the route covered yet. It's painful - you have to trim the sails constantly, but when you're fighting for the first places, you hang on in there," said Nicolas Troussel yesterday.

"We have a sea which could damage the boat but we're better off as monohulls than multihulls!" confirms Eric Drouglazet. "You take the full brunt in the spinal column when the boat drops of the waves. It's not that great for the guys! The route is still long but after Ushant, we won't have to tack any more. It'll be a good time to start the chronometer. Then we'll see the big picture in the general rankings." Positioned at 170 miles from Ouessant, the first singlehanders are expected there at the end of tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday). There we shall find the champion of the upwind event.

On Malice, Kito de Pavant unfortunately encountered a crate: "Everything was going well and I was maintaining a good speed. I passed Gildas Morvan with Jérémie Beyou. Then unfortunately I hit a crate with the keel and I didn't see it straight away. I dragged it along for four hours. I had to go into reverse to get it free several times. I lost 2 miles on the leading boats and I'm very disappointed to have dropped so many places like that!"

On Cherbourg-Crédit Mutuel Alexandre Toulorge reported: "I had a good night and tacked well. But I really like sailing upwind. Home is not far away and that's motivating me to get back, even if I'm having a bit of difficulty in moving the boat forward and getting the speed I want out of her. Ushant and the Raz Blanchard are the two passages required before Cherbourg-Octeville. It's a very welcoming town and I hope there'll be a big crowd at the finish."

Positions at 0800 GMT.