It was at 5:41 pm on Sunday, June 14 that the 39 Figaro sailors set off for the 3 e step of this 46 e Solitaire du Figaro. The start, which was supposed to take place at 4 pm, was prolonged because the wind was not well established in the bay of La Forêt. After a coastal course of 7 miles visible from land, the sailors headed south. Due to light winds, the course to Torbay, Devon was changed. This shortened course âeuros 400 miles remains a normal gauge for a stage of the solo race, as explained by Gilles Chiorri, race director. The sailors should take 3 days and 6 or 8 hours to complete this course. On this stage, it will be necessary to remain very concentrated since the course will be full of currents, rocks or windless areas to negotiate.
At this stage, Corentin Horeau is still leading the ranking. He has not let go since the radio France buoy, at the start yesterday.
The course
Rather than getting stuck in the Irish high pressure, the skippers will first head towards the Birvideaux lighthouse between Lorient and Belle-Île in about ten knots of NW'ly, before sailing upwind towards the Iroise Sea. The chaussée de Sein and the island of Ouessant will be left to starboard before reaching a course marker in front of Roscoff âeuros the green lateral n° 1 of the channel. Once crossed this mark named Trophy Bouée of the marina of Roscoff-Baie de Morlaix, the first will cross the fleet by skirting the island of Batz before crossing the English Channel to the lighthouse of Wolf Rock. This trip to Northern Brittany has the advantage of lengthening the course and allows the fleet to regroup with certainly beautiful images in the end. But it also has the advantage of crossing the DST (Traffic Separation Scheme) at right angles, which is a guarantee of safety.
Results of the provisional ranking
After this 2 e a provisional ranking is beginning to be established, but nothing is decided yet, as the sailors are only halfway through the course. Yann Eliès takes the lead, 4 minutes ahead of Xavier Macaire (Skipper Hérault). Charlie Dalin (Skipper Macif 2015) takes 4th place e place, 21 minutes behind the 1 er . Jérémie Beyou (Maître CoQ), 5th, is 41 minutes behind Yann Eliès, and Gwénolé Gahinet (Safran âeuros Guy Cotten), 6th in the provisional ranking, is 46 minutes behind. Thierry Chabagny (Gedimat), 8th at 1 h 16 and can still attempt the podium.
Credit : A.COURCOUX
