Solitaire du Figaro - Gahinet wins overall Bénéteau rookie ranking

by Mathilde Mermod on 3 Jul 2014 After a difficult 440-mile last leg, Gwénolé Gahinet crossed the finish line of La Solitaire du Figaro this Wednesday in Cherbourg-Octeville in 22nd position at 12:08:37. The skipper of Safran-Guy Cotten won the overall Bénéteau rookie ranking, 52 minutes ahead of the British sailor, Sam Matson. Gahinet was thirteenth overall, four hours 29 minutes behind the winner, Jérémie Beyou (Maître Coq), showing great consistency in his leg finishes (13th, 17th, 12th and 22nd). Proud of his great first performance in La Solitaire, the young Gahinet has only one wish: to do it again.

The skipper of Safran-Guy Cotten was quickly competitive in the Bénéteaurookie ranking and led from the end of the third leg into Les Sables d'Olonne. Do not be fooled by his casual demeanour, Gahinet is a real competitor at heart. 'I’m very happy. The idea was to learn as much as possible but to be the top rookie feels great,' Gahinet said. 'There was quite a battle because I only won one leg, it was fairly level between Sébastien Simon, Sam Matson and myself. I managed to be the most consistent of the three of us. However, when we were passing Guernsey, while I covered Sam, I went too wide and I was afraid I’d cross back behind him,' added Gahinet, who had only 32 minutes lead over Matson at the start of the fourth leg. But after just over 13 days of racing in cumulative time, the skipper of Safran-Guy Cotten managed to extend the gap to 52 minutes over Matson, the young Briton, in the overall rookie ranking. It was also success for Safran, who decided in late 2013 to set up a Figaro project, under their Young Talent programme, alongside Guy Cotten. Already the winner of the Transat AG2R La Mondiale in April, Gahinet has really taken to his Figaro boat. 'I am handling the boat better and I feel comfortable among the fleet,' Gahinet said. 'Since the beginning of the year, there has been a lot of work to do and it has all paid off. I can’t wait to do this race again. I still need a bit more practice, but I know I can do great things.'

The start in Les Sables d'Olonne on Sunday immediately set the tone of this fourth leg. With a stable 22 knots of wind and big swell, the last act was played out upwind at first along the Vendée coast and continued downwind at a furious pace in the Iroise Sea and the English Channel. It was a radical change in conditions after three legs raced in light airs. 'About an hour after the start, my Solent blew out and came out of the forestay track after breaking the small piece of metal that holds the forestay and it handicapped me for the rest of the race,' the skipper of Safran-Guy Cotten, said. 'I was up the front for two hours taking on the waves in a big sea. It was difficult to manage. Then it was non-stop action. We had very little time to rest in this leg. Just ahead of the west of Île de Sein, there was a big squall and we ended up making 15 knots under spinnaker and couldn’t leave the helm. The Channel crossing was not an obvious one either because half the tack was on a tight spinnaker reach. Having to be physically at the helm made it impossible to relax and I began to feel the fatigue of the month. Now it’s time for the holidays.'

Once again, Gahinet took great pleasure in his solo apprenticeship in the Figaro. After the awards ceremony on Saturday in Cherbourg-Octeville, he will have a bit of rest before concentrating on his next race: The Lorient-Horta-Lorient, the third and final round of the French championship of Elite offshore sailing, which will start on September 6.