Henry Bomby - fourth on leg two

As La Solitaire du Figaro – Eric Bompard reaches Concarneau

At 2145 this evening, Sébastien Simon on Bretagne – Crédit Mutuel Espoir was first to cross the finish line of Leg 2 of La Solitaire du Figaro – Eric Bompard Cachemire. The leg which was shortened to 330 miles - from La Coruña, Spain to La Cornouaille, France - took him 2 days 8 hours and 45 mins, and leaves him 11th overall on the leaderboard.

Second was Xavier Macaire on Skipper Herault, who moves up to second overall, while third place was Yann Elies (Groupe Queguiner – Leucémie Espoir), who now takes the overall race lead – after the two legs – by 4 minutes and 23 seconds.

But for British followers of La Solitaire the big news is that Henry Bomby on Rockfish Red came home fourth – the highest leg finish ever achieved by a British sailor in any Solitaire leg since 1975. Bomby finished in a time of 2 days 9 hours, elevating him to 13th place overall after the two legs.

“I just kept taking places the whole time!" commented Bomby. "I didn’t really have confidence in the beginning – there were about 4 guys in front of me and my aim was just to stick with them for as long as possible. Then I started to take one, then another, and in the end I just thought ‘What the hell, I’ll just go for it!

“Arriving here after the finish was amazing. I’ve never been welcomed into a place like that – with everyone clapping. There are so many people, and everyone’s interested. It’s fantastic.”

However Jack Bouttell on GAC Concise is currently the top British sailor on the overall leaderboard after another strong performance, finishing 14th. After two legs, he sits in 12th overall, 2 hours and 56 minutes behind overall race leader Yann Elies with his British rival only 21 minutes and 25 seconds adrift of him overall.

Bouttell commented: “On the second day we had a magical sunset. There were dolphins everywhere around the boat, and I was going quickly across the water. It was such a gorgeous evening, I sort of forgot about sailing and racing altogether!”

Robin Elsey on Artemis 43 lost his place atop of the Rookie podium, finishing 4th in the rookie division on Leg 2. Despite this, he is only 2 minutes and 13 seconds behind his main competition – Benoit Mariette on Entrepose. He said: “I think my motto is ‘Just keep plodding along’ but you’ve got to do it. You just need to go out there and enjoy yourself, and see where you come out the other side.”

Alan Roberts on Magma Structures was second British boat home in a creditable 10th. “I’ve actually done so little of the offshore stuff, every time I do a race or a leg I’m constantly learning. It’s such a great experience for me as a sailor.”

Andrew Baker on Artemis 43 was 18th: “This time I just sailed my own race – the race I wanted to sail. I just made my own decisions and did what I thought was right, forgetting about the rest of the fleet. It all seemed to come together so that’s good.”

Sam Matson on Chatham Marine was 20th: “My biggest challenge was definitely trying to move towards the front pack. I had to save time wherever I could and was constantly looking for the next opportunity. That was quite tough.”

Nick Cherry (Redshift) had a disappointing leg. He, but in the good company of Alain Gautier,  Thierry Chabagny (winner of leg 1), Adrian Hardy and a few others, made up the southern pack three hours after the start, and were never able to get back into the game…

“This Solitaire’s definitely been interesting!" said Cherry. "That last leg was like getting an extra leg for free! There’s more work to do but I feel like we’re kind of getting more value for money!”

Rob Bunce on Artemis 37 finished 38th: “Today we were sailing in perfect conditions with a spinnaker up – it was a nice treat for my birthday!”

There are still two legs to sail of the 2015 Solitaire du Figaro – Eric Bompard Cachemire, the next stage ahead for the UK and Torbay.

Leg 2 finish times

Cumulative results after legs 1 and 2

Charles Darbyshire's full anorak results table here