La Solitaire du Figaro – Eric Bompard Cachemire - Leg two got underway

by Riva Com on 15 Jun 2014 Leg two of La Solitaire du Figaro - Eric Bompard Cachemire finally got underway at 2126BST after a three hour delay. The 38 solo sailors eventually left as the sun set over the Sound. The fleet had been drifting at the East end of the breakwater in very little wind, leaving the Race Committee unable to start the race. First to the Geolink buoy was Corentin Horeau (Bretagne - Credit Mutuel Performance) and Gildas Mahe (Interface Concept). Fabien Delahaye (Skipper Macif 2012) was in third and Jeremie Beyou (Maitre Coq), chasing his third Solitaire win was in fourth. Beyou predicted that it would be hard leaving the UK port when we spoke to him on the dock.

Jeremie Beyou (Maitre Coq) 'With the weather predicted, it is going to be straight forward, but we will have to be careful with the Traffic Separation Scheme that can create tiny gaps. Moreover, we are not departing at the right time and it will be difficult to get out of Plymouth. There, already, things may happen and I am a bit worried with that. After the Fastnet, we should have 12 to 24 hours with virtually no wind. Who will stay stuck, who will manage to get a wind shift? The weather situation is stable but it will be tricky.'

Leg one is 535nm from Plymouth to Roscoff via the Fastnet Rock. At yesterday's pre-race briefing they discussed a small change to the course - there is now an additional mark NE of Fastnet so the sailors will get to the Irish coast a little earlier.

Sam Goodchild (Team Plymouth) 'There's an exclusion zone South of Fastnet, if you enter it you get automatically disqualified as it's a shipping lane. The risk of that was the tides and not much wind as we go past it so there's the risk of a pretty awful situation of boats running out of wind and getting dragged into somewhere they can't get out of in the exclusion zone and getting disqualified.'

The new course will take the solo sailors around 15 miles down the Irish coast around Fastnet and then South again to Roscoff.

Ed Hill (Macmillan Cancer Support): 'I know the Fastnet Rock fairly well for a 31year old, I've done the Fastnet five times in that time but always with other people, it will be the first time going around on my own. It's quite an eerie rock, it's not something you take lightly going around and almost every time I've been around it there's been fog, bad visibility or bad weather so it might be nice to go round in sun and have a better look at it.'

Tonight the Fastnet Rock is still some 200nm away and the fleet will be more concerned with making it along the Cornish coast towards Lizard Point.

The first UK stopover in 11 years has come to an end, when will the Solitaire fleet return?

Quotes:

Fabien Delahaye (Skipper Macif 2012): 'We should have a light departure, stronger winds to go to the Isles of Scilly, and a slowing flow arriving on the Fastnet. We are expecting some very light wind around Ireland with an heavy sea, which is the contrary of the Isle of Wight during the first leg: five knots on flat water, we still manage to move forward; but it begins to be difficult having five knots with waves ! We should recover some wind after the Irish lighthouse: being ahead will definitely give some advantage. ...We will be busy switching sails from genoa, masthead spinnaker, and tight spinnaker rigging. There will be sail choices to make and also riggings settings!'

Jack Bouttell (GAC Pindar): 'It's looking tough and quite long again, I think fatigue is going to be a big thing by the end of it and trying to keep rested all the way across. The weather situation doesn't look easy, it's very light and very flukey and I think especially around Fastnet Rock it looks like almost nothing so it's going to be difficult to try and get that right.'

Alan Roberts (Artemis 23): 'I think the key on this leg is going to be sleep when you can and long periods when it comes down to boat speed, so confidence in the pilot. There are going to be some pinch points, Fastnet is going to be huge, in terms of getting back and heading to Roscoff, I think the leading boats will probably extend there. I'd like to be top ‘rookie' or up there in the ‘rookies'. It's a time game so really I'd just like to get some good time on this leg.'

Positions at the Radio France Buoy:

1 Yoann Richomme (Skipper Macif 2014)
2 Adrien Hardy (Agir Recouvrement)
3 Gildas Mahé (Interface Concept)
4 Sam Goodchild (Team Plymouth)
5 Jérémie Beyou (Maître Coq)
6 Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert)
7 Corentin Horeau (Bretagne-Crédit Mutuel Performance)
8 David Kenefick (Full Irish- Le Comptoir Irlandais)
9 Anthony Marchand (Ovimpex-Secours Populaire)
10 Alain Gautier (Generali)
11 Sébastien Simon (Bretagne-Crédit Mutuel Espoir)
12 Yann Elies (Groupe Queguiner-Leucémie Espoir)
13 Vincent Biarnes (Guyot Environnement)
14 Charlie Dalin (Normandy Elite Team)
15 Thierry Chabagny (Gedimat)
16 Fabien Delahaye (Skipper Macif 2012)
17 Xavier Macaire (Skipper Hérault)
18 Erwan Tabarly (Armor Lux-Comptoir de la Mer)
19 Paul Meilhat (SMA)
20 Corentin Douguet (Un maillot pour la vie)
21 Nicolas Jossier (In Extenso-Experts Comptables)
22 Richard Mason (Artemis 77)
23 Claire Pruvot (Port de Caen Ouistreham)
24 Clément Salzes (Darwin Les marins de la Lune)
25 Nick Cherry (Redshift)
26 Alan Roberts (Artemis 23)
27 Sam Matson (Artemis 21)
28 Frederic Rivet (DFDS Seaways)
29 Jackson Bouttell (GAC Pindar)
30 Jean-Paul Mouren (Groupe SNEF)
31 Henry Bomby (Red)
32 Ed Hill (Macmillan Cancer Support)
33 Gwen Gbick (Made in Midi)
34 Alexis Loison (Groupe Fiva)
35 Damien Guillou (La Solidarité Mutualiste)
36 Isabelle Joschke (Generali – Horizon Mixité)
37 Gwenolé Gahinet (Safran-Guy Cotten)
38 Joan Arwheiller (Région Basse Normandie)