Easing in slowly

Light winds for the start of the Solitaire du Figaro

The 50 solo sailors competing in this year’s Solitaire du Figaro finally got off today on the first leg from La Rochelle to the Galician port of Vigo. This is the first of three legs that make up a 1,880 mile long race between France and Spain via the Northern Irish Sea.

The lack of wind forced the Race Committee to delay the start by just over an hour, but under grey skies and drizzle with a light southerly breeze, the impressive fleet of Figaro’s set sail for the 465-mile leg. Three boats were subject to individual recalls: Romain Attanasio ( DCNS 62), Laurent Guezigoux ( Hillion) and Eric Drouglazet ( Luisina).

Two miles into the race, Laurent Pellecuer ( Docteur Valnet – Aromatherapie) and Jean Paul Mouren ( M@rseillentreprises) led at the offset mark. Both sailors joined forces earlier this year winning the Transat AG2R.

With the race starting in such light winds and a current pushing the fleet west (offshore), it was the skippers that where patient and read the current right that gained the most from the start. The strong current caused half the boats to overstand on the right up the first beat, their skippers having to fight to get back to the windward mark, this was exasperated by a few big shifts that forced some to hoist their spinnaker to bring themslves back in the impossibly light conditions.

Andy Greenwood, sailing in his first La Solitaire du Figaro got off to a good start by staying away from the main bunch and keeping himself in the middle of the course. Although not at the favoured end of the line, he had clear wind and no boats around him to cause problems leaving him room to sail his own tactics and play the little shifts that where coming down the course. He also showed good boat speed up against the competition, something that will be required in the long nights ahead.

Former Mini sailor Adrien Hardy on Agir Recouvrement commented after the start: “There is not much I can say yet, we were expecting light conditions and we have them! It is very tiring. It was good to have my sponsor on the water to see me off earlier. I have been thinking about this race for some time now so I am just really pleased to be here. We will not get much sleep over the next couple of nights and it will be a matter of taking any opportunities that come my way. Conditions should improve slightly tonight.”

Christopher Pratt ( DCNS 97) added:“We are going to get some wind on the nose tonight, but right now I have just 1 knot of wind! It always feels good to get a off to a good start, but any gains we have right now are quite insignificant in the bigger frame of things. I am just going to have to be very patient. Tonight we should pick up more breeze coming in from the south to southeast which will veer to the north-northeast with the depression.”

Antoine Koch ( Sopra Group 1) said: “It is more like the Bol d’Or than the Solitaire! It is like racing on a lake here, you just do not get moving. We are going to have to row out of this and hope that tonight’s conditions get us moving along. With 50 of us racing, the competition is stiff, so we will have to see how I do at the end of the race.”

Radio France Mark at 19:30 tonight
1. Vincent Biarnes - Cotes d'Armor
2. Gilada Morvan - Cercle Vert
3. Erwan Tabarly - Athema
4. Eric Peron - L'Esprit d'Equipe
5. Nicolas Troussel - Financo

Full positions:



Prior to leaving Liz Wardley on Sojasun gave her take: “This is my fifth participation and I am really happy to be here. Each year it is slightly different, this year it is the course, the competitors, and new faces. My objectives for this year are to really enjoy it and do better than my 17th place last year. A top ten place would be great! I personally prefer stronger conditions for racing, but the cards have been played so we have to make do with what we have got. In these light conditions I will try and get some rest!”

Sole British competitor Andy Greenwood on Imtechsaid: “I am really looking forward to the start of the Solitaire and to the first leg, it is obviously the first time doing the race for me so there is a bit excitement and a bit of apprehension.

"Just looking to do as well as I can and finishing mid-fleet. It is an event I have always dreamt of competing in. The first time I saw the race was on the old boats about ten years ago when Damian Foxall competed. I just like the concept of the race; I like the fact that it attracts the best sailors in the world, the fact that it is a one-design, which is a true test of the sailor’s skills. It is a lifelong dream to get here. Personally I would like to finish in the top five of the rookie rankings and try and maybe break in to the top thirty, but that is a big ask and we will just have to see how we go. It is going to be a tough leg, obviously we have light winds off the start and then shifting round a bit, so we are probably going to punch south to the breeze on day two early or stay with the pressure in the north but loose out later on. It is going to be difficult to see how the fleet split. People are going to have to make decisions early on and then going to make the result later on.

"I have a nine-month old baby, so I am used to not getting much sleep!”