La Solitaire Bompard Le Figaro - Leg 1 Update: Wolf Rock at midday?
by La Solitaire Bompard Le Figaro 21 Jun 2016 10:09 UTC
21 June 2016
La Solitaire Bompard Le Figaro leg 1 © Alexis Courcoux
At 0500hrs BST this Tuesday morning race leader Charlie Dalin (Skipper Macif 2015) was less than 40 nautical miles from the turn at Wolf Rock. The leaders should reach the lighthouse between 1100hrs and midday if conditions hold as they are.
The Solitaire Bompard Le Figaro fleet has been making slow progress upwind in a light southerly breeze since around midnight and have been fighting the contrary tide, seeking out the best strands of wind pressure. The one constant through the second night of the 510-mile Stage 1 to Cowes has been Dalin's lead.
Last night the 2009 race winner Nico Lunven (Generali) got to within 0.2 miles of Dalin but this morning the Skipper Macif 2015 racer has extended very slightly after tacking on to starboard, working the upwind angles to position himself to pass Lizard Point. Alexis Loison (Groupe Fiva) is up to third but the three leading skippers are within one mile of each other.
Contacted by radio when he was lying in second place earlier this morning Yoann Richomme (Skipper Macif 2014) said: "I have had to battle to come back and so I am happy to be with the leading group. At 20 miles from the Lizard we have a zone of light southerly wind. It is very light, with 5-6kts and a flat sea. We are doing our best to escape this light wind area and make a direct course for Wolf Rock and I hope we should be there around midday (French time). This is a long leg and at the moment we are progressing slowly against the current. I ate my first meal last night. I hope the conditions get better."
And the French-Turkish skipper Tolga Pamir (Renova / 1 jour, 1 homme, 1 arbre) explained that he has decided to retire and prepare properly for the next leg: "I had some problems with my electronics and an oil leak and something with my rudders. All that together for me means I need to stop and prepare properly for the next leg."
From Wolf Rock the fleet turn northeast towards the next mark, the Runnel cardinal mark by the notorious Runnel Stone peak just off Gwenap Head to the west of Mount's Bay and Penzance. The they turn east for what promises to be a very long and slow passage back to the Cowes finishing line with the wind looking lightest on Thursday.
Commenting on the race so far, Gilles Chiorri, Race Director of the Solitaire Bompard Le Figaro, said: "The good thing is that the majority of skippers took their chances to rest and recover last night. Charlie Dalin is in control, keeping himself between his rivals and Wolf Rock. Tacking upwind is very difficult because the wind is light, they are against the current and there are seas running. What is certain is that this leg will be long. It is still 35 miles to Wolf Rock and the boats are making just two-to-three knots of speed over the ground."
Charlie Dalin race leader: "This leg is going pretty well for me as I have been leading from Owers. Now it is complicated because we were expecting a southerly wind and have a west-northwesterly. I am trying to keep going as best I can. At the moment we just focus on Wolf Rock and don't think about Cowes. Across the Channel I had good speed and a good course. But it was not easy with big seas and strong winds; it was all about regulating your speed, managing the fleet and looking after your equipment. The tidal current at Portland was not easy. And now the wind is very shifty and we are going into some swell and that tends to stop the boat and when you slam into a wave and stop then you have to bear off, ease the sails and get going again. I have managed to sleep in a lot of small naps since the start. I have led at different times on the last three Solitaires - now the intention is to still lead at the finish."
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