A week of festivities in Bordeaux
The 43 solo sailors made their way to Bordeaux on 26th May as part of the Bordeaux fête le fleuve event. As is the case every two years, Bordeaux celebrates the Garonne and the quays that serve as its showcase on the occasion of Bordeaux Fête le Fleuve, a biennial festival combining sailing, heritage and culture, which took on a new dimension in 2013 with the welcoming of the grand departure of La Solitaire du Figaro.
On 26th May, the solo sailors opened the ball of festivities with the "Parade of Heroes", which saw the Figaro sailors sail up the Garonne between Pauillac and Bordeaux. At nightfall, they reached Le Port de la Lune in the wake of Le Marité, a legendary three-masted ship, before docking at the pontoon of honour where they were moored for a week.
After a week of festivities and runs (training races to measure themselves against each other), the 43 Figaro sailors competed in the Prologue Urgo, on which the solo sailors set off in waves of 8 to 10 towards Pauillac as a dress rehearsal before the big start. It was Xavier Macaire (SNEF Group) who won this first "competition"
A first course of 430 miles (instead of 525 miles)
Due to very stormy conditions and a low pressure system forecast over Western Europe from Monday afternoon, the course of this first leg to Gijon (Spain) has been somewhat modified. The solo sailors will no longer have to climb up to the Chaussée de Sein: once the Cordouan lighthouse is ready and the Atlantic is at the bow, the fleet will have to head down towards Cape Ferret to round a mark of healthy waters, then they will head back up towards the Rochebonne plateau (off the Ile de Ré) before reaching Gijòn, which is 430 miles (instead of the 525 miles originally planned).
The forty-three skippers are nevertheless set to face 25-30 knot SW'ly winds, with a brutal shift as a 25-30 knot NW'ly front passes over... The finish in Gijón is therefore scheduled for the middle of the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.
Figarists with various profiles
With 43 entrants of six different nationalities, including six women, ten newcomers and three former winners, the Solitaire URGO Le Figaro 2017 is as eclectic as it is challenging.
As every year, many of them can claim victory, like Erwan Tabarly (Armor Lux) and Nicolas Lunven (Generali), who have also made a fine start to the season, Thierry Chabagny (Gedimat), Xavier Macaire (Groupe SNEF), Sébastien Simon (Bretagne CMB Performance) and Adrien Hardy (Agir Recouvrement). Not forgetting the announced duel between Jérémie Beyou - who is now racing under the colours of Charal - and Yann Elies (Groupe Quéguiner - Leukaemia Hope). Back on this Solitaire, which suits them so well, after the Vendée Globe, in which they finished third and fifth respectively, the two men have only one goal in mind: to be the first to win the queen event of the Figaro circuit four times.
As for the newcomers, the game remains very open, but we'll probably have to keep an eye on Tanguy le Turquais (Nibelis) and Milan Kolacez (Czeching The Edge) who have done their homework in the Mini Class and on the last Transat AG2R LA MONDIALE, as well as Pierre Leboucher, who was brought up at the Olympism school, and Pierre Rhimbault (Crédit Mutuel Espoir), who has been in the ocean racing world since last autumn. Finally, among the girls, Justine Mettraux (Teamwork) dominates the pre-season debates for the moment, with a 9th place in the Solo Normandie, and a 16th place in the Solo Concarneau.
We'll also have to keep an eye on Chalie Dalin (Skipper Macif 2015), who has dominated the start of the season and who is hoping for another victory, after those of Solo Normandie and Solo Concarneau. We'll also have to count on other favourites, including Jérémie Beyou (Charal) and Thierry Chabagny (Gedimat).
While the majority of the fleet is made up of professional skippers, nine of them, eight men and one woman are classified as amateurs in the 48th edition of the Solitaire URGO Le Figaro. These sailors, who by definition have not made their sport their profession, will benefit for the first time from a ranking in their own right.
