In a one-design race ( Solitaire du Figaro (e.g. Transat AG2R, Tour de France à la Voile), competitors must all be on an equal footing. This means that the boats are strictly identical and that skippers cannot make any modifications to their boats. This is particularly the case in the Figaro Bénéteau class.
The filling
To ensure that only the skipper's talent can make the difference, there are class rules. One of them is the "sealing" rule, which consists in affixing a seal on the equipment to ensure that it cannot be opened or moved.
Brigitte Fabre, national referee and measurer explains on the Transat AG2R website "We put seals on the equipment. For example, skippers have to take on board 100 liters of water, but that cannot be matossed (extra weight that can be moved in the boat and help gain speed). We seal them to be able to check on arrival that they have not been moved. It is the same principle for the 40 liters of diesel, the life raft, the bunks, the batteries of the engines, the moorings and even the antenna of the Openport following a request of the racers. There are a total of about 20 seals and the checks last 1.5 to 2 hours per boat."
These controls ensure the safety of the sailor, but also prevent cheating, because by moving equipment on board, performance is modified. But the race must be played on equal terms.
All boats are therefore checked before the start by a referee and at the finish, once the competitor has crossed the wet finish line. The referee boards the boat and checks that all the equipment is in place. The skipper can then blow the lead of his engine to reach the pontoons.
Penalties
In the case where some seals are no longer in place (missing or broken), penalties are then applied, as was the case for Xavier Macaire, demoted from the 1 re at 3 e place . Thus, the penalty is as follows: 2 minutes per 100 nautical miles of course for the race concerned if the classification is based on time or 5 % of the number of participants for the race concerned if the classification is based on points.
List of sealed equipment (seals) on board the Figaro Bénéteau 2 and checked before the start and at the finish of each leg by a measurer.
- Corrective weights (gueuzes to be at the weight established by the gauge)
- Keel
- Liferaft at the back of the cockpit
- The anchor and the heavy anchor chain (two separate seals)
- The batteries
- The gas cylinder
- The jerry can marked "survival
- The food jerry can
- The valve bails in the closed position
- Fire extinguishers (2)
- The banners
- The survival container
- The light anchorage
