La Solitaire du Figaro 2014 - Gwénolé Gahinet, 12th and 1st rookie

by Safran Sailing Team on 26 Jun 2014 La Solitaire du Figaro 2014 - He never gave up. After three days and 19 hours of a 505-mile leg, which will go down in the annals of La Solitaire du Figaro, Gwénolé Gahinet crossed the finish line of the third leg between Roscoff and Les Sables d'Olonne at 10:15:17 (French time) on Thursday in 12th place, one hour and 17 minutes behind the winner, Gildas Mahé (Interface Concept).

Clear-headed and taking every opportunity, the skipper of Safran-Guy Cotten showed admirable skill in escaping the dead calm in the Bay of Biscay and has been part of the leading group since Tuesday morning. In the overall rankings, Gahinet is in 13th place and has taken the top spot in the Bénéteau rookie ranking - proof that the young sailor is one of the best on the Figaro Bénéteau circuit.

Thrilled by his great 12th place into Les Sables d'Olonne and despite the fatigue accumulated over the last three days and four nights of racing, the skipper of Safran-Guy Cotten gathered together his team to open the traditional bottle of champagne which comes with being the leading rookie on the leg. 'I had a little bit of bitter taste about the finish but it was a great leg,' Gahinet said after his arrival. 'Last night, the wind eased off before the Ile de Ré. We had to go west and I saw it a little too late... On La Solitaire, you pay straight away. But I’m very happy. As on the previous two legs, I had good speed and I felt able to 'run through' the fleet when I climbed to fifth place at Belle-Ile. It’s a really positive result.'

For his first participation in La Solitaire du Figaro, the young skipper of Figaro Safran-Guy Cotten has done a great job surpassing expectations. He finished a fine 12th this morning in Les Sables d'Olonne, but the first part of the race was not easy for a rookie, even for one who learns so fast. Sailing between the rocks and managing shifting winds and currents, the leg began with an epic sleepless night under spinnaker. 'I wasn’t looking forward to it before but I loved the beginning of this leg,' Gahinet said. 'It reminded me of the races I did on Guépards (boats) in the Gulf of Morbihan. Sometimes I passed by rocks two metres away and I was always keeping up with my closest competitors. I gradually climbed through the fleet.'

From the start, the competitors of the 45th edition of La Solitaire du Figaro knew they faced a windless passage at Belle-Ile, but even they had not anticipated what was waiting for them. When the Atlantic Ocean becomes a lake with not a single knot of wind to move in, it turns into a nightmare. After being becalmed for 12 hours, the wind caused confusion on the road to the ODAS buoy. 'These are difficult conditions to manage at sea, it requires even more vigilance,' Gahinet said. 'Luckily I didn’t drop anchor in Belle-Ile...' Ranked 20th on Tuesday at 0800hrs, Gahinet had a small gust that allowed him to get back to racing with the first eleven sailors, while their comrades remained glued behind. He climbed to 12th place. 'With Gildas Morvan, Xavier Macaire and Yoann Richomme we were in the wrong place when the wind returned,' Gahinet said. 'I had a good night’s sleep and as soon as I saw the gust, I made a tack which allowed me to hang on straight away to a vein of wind.' So, the fleet was divided into three, with the leader of the third group more than 25 miles behind the leg leader, an astonishing scenario on a leg of La Solitaire.

'In these conditions, we say that it’s random because everything happens so quickly,' Gahinet said. 'We sail by instinct and no longer depend on the weather forecast, but ultimately when you look at the rankings of the finish this morning, we see that everyone is in their place. There are no big surprises.' It was downwind between the ODAS and BXA buoy, that Gahinet passed on Wednesday at 2200hrs, then it was a sprint, before ending upwind and again in a wind hole this morning in Les Sables d'Olonne. Sometimes the great legs turn on little things that make great La Solitaire du Figaro website