Heading for the emerald isle

Leg three of the Solitaire du Figaro sets sail

The 45 solo Figaro sailors set off for Ireland in variable conditions this afternoon. The start gun was fired at 17:17 local time off La Rochelle, after one general recall.

After the general recall the boats got away cleanly in light variable conditions as predicted by Richard Silvani from Météo France. The 3 knot WSWerly breeze for the start was forecast to increase as the sailors finished the initial windward-leeward course, before leaving the bay off La Rochelle and heading north. “The wind should become west or northwest at 6-12 knots this evening," said Silvani. "Slight seas with a risk of thunder showers and gusts of 25-30 knots for the night and towards the end of the night the wind should bear north or northwest at 10-15 knots decreasing to 5-10."

At the end of the inshore course, Michel Desjoyeaux on board Géant had taken an early lead. Italian Pietro D’Ali, the current overall race leader, hesitant at the start after the general recall and two hour penalty warning to all who crossed the start line prematurely, was down to 19th place after the first 30 minutes of racing.

Ahead lies the longest leg so far, 456 miles from La Rochelle to Crosshaven near Cork on the south coast of Ireland. Thus managing sleep will be key in order to sail competitively to the finish. For Liz Wardley on Sojasun “the most important thing will be to keep concentration at all times, particularly in the run up to the coast of Brittany. The first night could be straight ahead, so it will be important to keep alert. We have three possibly four nights ahead at sea, and the last will no doubt be tough. I am going to have to handle my sleep well and not hesitate to rest in order to keep going, but I know I can handle this type of leg.” Despite the demands of sleep during this leg the competitors will have to contend with a busy fishing area, shipping lanes off Ouessant and general traffic on the water and will have to remain constantly alert.

The competitors are expected to arrive in Ireland on Saturday evening, where they will enjoy the hospitality of Crosshaven's famous Royal Cork Yacht Club before setting sail on the final leg of the Solitaire du Figaro to Port Bourgenay in the Vendée region of France.

“This leg will be really good fun with lots of different weather systems to negotiate," commented Michel Desjoyeaux prior to the start. "There will be a lot more to do on this leg, and I think that there will be a particularly important decision to be made two days in. With regards myself, having just missed parking up on the second leg, anything can still happen [at present he is eighth 27’53’’ behind the leader], even if I get the feeling that 30 minutes today is like the hour an a half I had two years ago. The level is really even among the best… Apart from that I feel that my performance overall half way round is two ways: I thought I didn't have the best speed, but I am doing okay there and thought I would be good at navigating, yet that is were I have messed up a bit! I am still learning…”

One of the favorites at the start, Yann Eliès on Groupe Generali Assurances is ready to make a comeback. He is currently in 18th place, 1h10’33’’ behind the leader. “I set off focused on making up ground. It is a complicated leg weather-wise that could give me chance to catch up on the overall results.”

Currently 28th in the overall rankings, Armel Tripon, the 2003 Mini Transat winner is not placed as he might have hoped on this his second participation in the Solitaire du Figaro. The Gedimat skipper however, hopes for a lot from the longer leg. “On the first two legs, I probably sacrificed speed over remaining in close contact with the other sailors. I probably did not look outward enough. For this third leg I want to do my own race. All that said, I do not want to take uncalculated risks and options that could cost me a lot. I am not going to risk my all, knowing that the La Solitaire is a game that is played through elimination.”

Sam Davies on Skandia also has ground to make up, currently in 23rd place almost two hours behind the leader. “I’m feeling good, positive and I'm really looking forward to it! It’s going to be tough but I think I might to able to do well in this leg. This is a much longer leg than the ones before, and really more ‘offshore’ as we will cross the English Channel and the Celtic Sea. There are several shipping lanes to cross, and the Scilly Isles will be almost on our route.

"It’s really complicated at the beginning, and some people may get away and create a big gap in the fleet, and I think the same will happen at the finish - some boats will pull away from the rest.

"It’s really important to always be alert in this leg. We’ve got a long upwind run in strong winds towards Ushant so it’s important not to get too knackered. At the point of Brittany, the wind will pick up to 30-35knots so it’s going to be full-on sailing - this leg is going to work the muscles! At the end of the last leg, other skippers were feeling really tired but I felt rested, so I think I’m better prepared for this leg than others who haven’t had as much sleep, and are starting to feel the fatigue. This leg and the next leg will be the longest I have ever sailed in this type of event. I’m happy this leg is longer than the first two because I think endurance is one of my strong points and I prefer the endurance of a long leg rather than the sprint of a short leg. The longer the better!”

The Bracknell synoptic charts for tomorrow shows the shallow depression today over central Spain dividing in two with a second low formering over Brittany. Thee is also a high pressure situated just to the north of the Azores and another more intense depresion over Iceland and it will be the NNE-SSW orientated and east-moving cold front from this that the boats will have to negotate over the course of tomorrow. After this passes over the fleet they will be into the effects of the high pressure as a lobe extends towards the UK on Friday and Saturday.