A change of course that came at the right time
Instead of going up to the Isle of Man for a 630 mile route, it had been shortened to 535 miles, with a descent into the English Channel to the Isle of Wight and a return to Morlaix Bay
A change of course that came at the right time given the very varied weather conditions encountered by the skippers: crossing the Celtic Sea with a kind of "Doldrums" before reaching the Scilly Islands, a gust of wind along the English coasts, a buoy off the Isle of Wight in the middle of the tidal current, a rapid descent under spinnaker towards the Breton point and finally a moderate unbridled descent until the finish in Morlaix Bay.
Leaders stand out
It was between Bishop's lighthouse and Star Point that the gaps began to widen. Yoann Richomme (HelloWork-Telegram Group) took the lead, followed by a small group consisting of Morgan Lagravière (Voile d'engagement), Gildas Mahé (Breizh Cola-Equi'Thé), Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire) and Adrien Hardy (Sans nature, pas de futur).
A violent low was expected to sweep across the English coast with gusts to over 35 knots of northerly wind. These conditions had encouraged the race management to reduce the course. Although the wind came from the land, it did some damage to the fleet to the point that Cécile Laguette (Eclisse), Martin Le Pape (Skipper Macif 2017) and Thomas Ruyant (Advens-Fondation de la mer) were forced to give up.
Adrien Hardy, skipper of Sans Nature pas de Futur © COURCOUX Alexis
A successful option
As they passed Needles Fairway buoy, the five leaders were nearly ten miles ahead of the pack. Then there was a long 180 mile Channel crossing with two possible options to avoid the DST of the Casquets off the Channel Islands. So you can choose a fairly direct route to Portsall, or reframe yourself with a double gybe to pass through the South of this obstacle.
It was the latter option that Adrien Hardy chose, followed by Gildas Mahé and Jérémie Béyou (Charal). A victorious option.
About ten miles from the Grande Basse de Portsall buoy, Adrien Hardy benefited from the rising tide as soon as the buoy passed. After having managed to control Yoann Richomme, the solo sailor crossed the wet finish line in front of Roscoff at 16 h 05' 13", followed at 6'19" by HelloWork Telegram Group.
Yoann Richomme, skipper of Hellowork-Telegram Group © COURCOUX Alexis
"I feel like I'm coming in... It's hard, hard for everyone! Leaving Kinsale, I talked with Yann Éliès about how this stage didn't seem too hard and that there wouldn't be too many gaps. But in fact, it was complicated: I was always in the top five at all brands and then the last two nights I managed to get some places. Overall, I'm not too bad... Quite quickly and generally in the right place. It allows me to forget a little bit about the disappointment of the first stage, because I had it a little bit in the way! It's a great pleasure: it's very rare to win, even if it's my fifth stage victory.
Now, we no longer see too many boats that are a little far from the AIS and that's pretty good: we sail more for ourselves than for the others. I waited until yesterday's last weather report to opt south and go under the DST of the Casquets. And it worked. What is the most memorable memory of this second step? The passage under the English coasts with a lot of wind under gennaker with 25-30 knots: I had only one objective, to head east. And then a good time also at the passage of the Scilly: if nature begins to win..." adrien Hardy spoke on his arrival.
A strengthened place for the general
With this 2nd place on the Kinsale-Roscoff stage, Yoann Richomme keeps his position as leader in the overall classification. Better still, his most dangerous pursuers were tens of minutes behind.
