Business as usual

As class leaders once again move to the front after leg two start of Les Sables-Azores-Les Sables Mini race

After postponing the start by 24 hours due to bad weather the second leg of the Les Sables-Azores-Les Sables from Horta (Faïal) back to Les Sables d’Olonne got underway yesterday. 58 solo sailors took the start line at 1340 GMT.

For the start the wind had calmed, down to 15-20 knots from the northeast, but the sea was still rough. On the meteo menu for this leg is a northerly wind till Sunday, then they should have to face a high pressure ridge once they reach the Bay of Biscay.

Winner of leg one, Adrien Hardy on Brossard, was promptest off the start line, while two boats returned to the harbour just after the start - Fabien Després on Soitec due to a problem with his jib and Pierre Brasseur on Peintures Ripolin to fix his automatic pilot. But they were both able to leave again very soon (2:45 pm UTC for Fabien and 3:15 pm UTC for Pierre). Winners of leg one in both the Proto and Series classes, - Adrien Hardy (Brossard) and Francisco Lobato (BPI) - were leading their respective divisions after a few hours of race.