Final leg underway

La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro fleet set sail from Dingle with 25 knot winds

Everyone agrees; it is going to be fast and furious sailing for the first 24 hours of the fourth and final leg of La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro. The Figaro sailors left the comfort of Dingle Harbour for the 1400 (local time) start to face the 458 mile race to Concarneau in France. The skippers completed a short 4 mile inshore course, set in the Bay of Dingle, before rounding the final offset mark, the Radio France buoy, to head off Southwest in strong 20 knots of wind gusting 25 towards the Fastnet and on to the Scilly Islands.

Météo France forecasts strong winds and big sea swell for the fleet over the course of the next 24 hours which could see the leaders reaching the Scilly Isles, 250 miles away within just 24 hours. The wind is due to build to a steady 25 and gust to 30 from the west. The next marks are the Fastnet Rock and the Scilly Isles, to be left to portside, before the crossing of the English Channel and the Racon buoy at Ushant.

These testing conditions will require delicate boat handling skills, particularly complex in strong downwind surfs when sailing single handed. “This fourth leg downwind will be fast: we will have the right wind for once and it makes a nice change!"explains Corentin Douguet ( E.Leclerc-Bouygues Telecom) "From the start, it will be full on under spinnaker. There could be around 25 knots of northwesterly with a big sea swell, so we will be looking for some good surfs…and try and make up some ground by staying at the helm as much as possible. On the other hand, near Ushant and Groix we could be really quite slow and finish in a calm. For me, I am 3 hours and 20 minutes from a place on the rookie podium. A man who has nothing to lose is always a very dangerous one! I am not going to fundamentally change my way of sailing, but then you never know: if there is going to any play, I am not going to hesitate and am going to grab any chance that comes my way. But then again, if I knew of any good options I would not be shouting about it form the rooftops! I just want to do well on this last leg. The finish I the Bay of Dingle showed us that anything can happen, particularly in something like La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro.”

This is fast and furious sailing, but racing with these conditions is not without its risks. Yann Eliès ( Groupe Generali Assurances) says this is the sort of sailing he likes best. “The objective is clear: I want to win, the others do not have a chance! It is a downwind leg which I like. It is also my last Figaro leg for two or three years (Yann is campaigning his new Open 60 in the Vendee Globe 2008), and it is a finish in Concarneau where my father won when it was the Aurore in 79. There should be some friends and family there to meet me…all the more reason to do well! We are going to have to be really careful with the spinnaker…in two seconds it can be shredded in 4 parts and then it is all over. The first 24 hours will be full on speed. There is still some doubt as to what is going to happen to the weather once we get to the Brittany Head which could mean a bit that there will be all to play for at the finish.” said the former Orange II crewman.

Liz Wardley (Sojasun) gave her view about the leg ahead: “It looks like this leg could be quite complicated with regards the meteo, especially after the Scilly Isles south of England. One thing is for sure, it is going to be more fun than the last one because we have the wind with us going pushing us the right way. No doubt we will be warmer too! The first part will be fast. Then there are two possible scenarios, either calm or quite a bit of wind. Whateverhappens, there are things that can be done and things to try on the second part of the leg. It will be really important to protect the gear, particularly the spinnaker which we are really going to need. We head for Concarneau and I say to myself that it is always nice to go somewhere you know.

"I have enjoyed my third Figaro. It has also been less exhausting compared to the others, probably because I am more experienced. The last leg was physically exhausting, but then we have had quite a bit of time to rest here in Ireland.
When I cross the finish line on the last leg, I would like to say to myself that I did as best as I could and that I gave it my all to win and that I have earnt the right to come back again next year! I know just how hard it is to come back in this race. So I am going to leave on this leg in the same frame of mind as on all the others… let’s see what happens at the finish in Concarneau…”

For present leader overall, Nicolas Troussel on Financo, he can only lose: “I can’t wait to leave and just finish as soon as possible. I am going to try and stick as close to Thierry (Chabagny) as possible and not let any gaps build. I am not worried about the other competitors; Thierry is the only one I am going to watch. I am going to track him. When Thierry is somewhere, I will not be far off. I am not going to risk this leg. As we are going to have quite competitive, we aim to have the boat as best prepared as possible; check the screws and bolts, the mast, the spreaders…there will be quite a few manoeuvres to do under spinnaker and we are going to have to take car about not broaching. It is going to go fast and there won’t be much time for thought, we are going to be going for it and hope for the best.”

Nicolas Bérenger (Koné Ascenseurs) gave his views: “It is all really open in the sense that there is just nothing to lose. I like downwind and windy conditions. I am going to forget about the overall results and just head off alone to get home as fast as possible. I am going to really go for it. If I can have a go at winning the leg, I will try. You can’t miss the connection at Ushant because after that the TGV goes through. Let’s hope there are a few gaps at Groix, because once we go up wind they can be extended.”

The inshore course was covered swiftly and all 44 sailors rounded the final offset mark within 6 minutes of each other.

First round the Radio France Mark:
Nicolas Troussel – Financo
Robert Nagy – Veolia
Pietro D’Ali – Nanni Diesel