It was in a moderate west-south-westerly breeze of a good dozen knots that the fleet of 45 solo sailors set off in front of the Kinsale ria. Two skippers were absent: Cassandre Blandin (Klaxoon-C) after his collision with a cargo ship off Ushant, and Gildas Morvan (Niji) following the violent impact of a rock on the island of Yeu.
They are now waiting for 535 miles, following the modification of the route, which no longer passes through the Isle of Man but through the Needles, in front of the Isle of Wight. Yoann Richomme (HelloWork-Telegram Group) made the best start, but it was Yann Éliès who rolled the clearance buoy off Head of Kinsale in the lead... towards Roscoff.
Unfortunately, Benjamin Schwartz (Action contre la faim) was returning to port following a collision with Alain Gautier (Thank you for 30 years) before the start. The latter was giving up because of a hole in his hull...
On the morning of June 10, the gaps were currently quite small with the five leaders standing in 1 mile. At about 11 a.m., the leaders were able to see the Scilly on the horizon. A small group of six boats, led by Armel Le Cléac'h, took a break at Bishop Rock Lighthouse, the first course mark.
Conditions deteriorated during the night of 10 to 11 June and three solo sailors dropped out: Cécile Laguette (Eclisse), Martin Le Pape (Skipper MACIF 2017) and Thomas Ruyant (ADVENS - La Fondation de la mer). In the lead, the ranking hasn't really changed: Yoann Richomme took the lead, still in a handkerchief with Armel Le Cléac'h. Behind them, Gildas Mahé (Breizh Cola Équi'Thé), Morgan Lagravière (Voile d'Engagement), Adrien Hardy (No nature, no future) and Fabien Delahaye (Loubsol) have even returned, the latter being credited with the best average at 10.30 knots over the last four hours.
We play it safe
As a precaution, the solo sailors will not go as far as the Isle of Man. The Irish Sea and especially the St. George's Canal heralded sailing conditions at the edge of safety: a very powerful northerly flow that swept the area from Scotland to Ushant with gusts of over 40 knots and heavy seas.
However, between the tightening of a 30-mile stretch between Wales and Ireland, the sandbanks, oil wells and wind farms, all on a recently taken over boat, there was a lot to manage.
A new course was therefore necessary to preserve the sense of the race while proposing a technical course that would allow endurance and strategy to be favoured.
The route
After clearing the Bishop Rock lighthouse (in the Scilly Islands), 125 miles from Kinsale, the 45 solo sailors will dive onto the Isle of Wight 190 miles from the tip of British Cornwall. The Needles buoy is not the easiest to circumvent with the tidal currents in Solent?! Then it is 180 miles to run to cross the English Channel obliquely towards the rocks of Portsall, at the tip of Brittany and finally, a final sprint towards Roscoff of 40 miles..
