Solitaire du Figaro - Drama and dismasting at Wolf Rock

by Marie Le Berrigaud-Perochon on 11 Jun 2014 The third day of La Solitaire du Figaro - Eric Bompard Cashemire has seen drama at Wolf Rock. This lunchtime Yann Elies (Groupe Queguiner Leucemie Espoir) rounded the mark, 8nm off the coast of Land's End in first place, one minute later he was forced to abandon the Leg after his boat was dismasted.

Yann Eliès (Groupe Queguiner – Leucémie Espoir): 'I had just tacked, was back inside to stack all the bags to windward and I heard a bang. I went out and everything was down. I was especially afraid to drift on the lighthouse. I could imagine the boat ended up on the stone. At the end, everything went well. Now, I want to get back on land and have a beer! I think it's the starboard D1 that dropped. To tell you the truth, this Solitaire was not starting that well and I started to have many tiny troubles. I did not have a good feeling. I was worried and as waiting for something to break. My feeling was good. For sure it's a shame but I will have time to think about it a little later. I want to go home now.'

Elies is now making his way towards Falmouth, he should arrive in the Cornish port around 2100BST. If he can get his boat repaired in time, he will be able to rejoin the race in Plymouth at the start of Leg 2 on Saturday. Elies will face a time penalty of two hours on top of the time taken by the last sailor to finish Leg 1.

With Elies out of the Leg, Charlie Dalin (Normandy Elite Team) now leads the fleet across the channel to Roscoff, followed by Jeremie Beyou (Maitre Coq) and Paul Meilhat (SMA).

Artemis Offshore Academy's Sam Matson (Artemis 21) has made great progress along the English coast. From 23rd at Portland Bill, the 23 year old is now up to ninth - top British sailor and top rookie.

The final 160nm of Leg 1 will be challenging weather-wise. Around Wolf Rock the fleet had 20-35kn of SW'ly wind and rough seas with two metre swell. The solo sailors can expect the wind to drop overnight and the crossing from Roscoff to the Plymouth finish-line could be sluggish with just 5-10kn of wind from the SW.

Charlie Dalin (Normandy Elite Team): 'It took me some time to recover from my departure. The sea is now messy, choppy: it is not easy to let the autopilot. We should be at Wolf Rock in ten hours, but if the wind strengthen, we will have to change the sails configuration. The return Channel crossing will be very complicated, because according to me it will be tough ad nothing will be done until Plymouth. I'm happy to be where I am, happy with my speed and since the start, I try to measure my choices. '

Paul Meilhat (SMA): 'The breeze rises gradually and I am wondering about hoisting solent jib. I went for the south-west at Star Point to get the wind shift, as I wanted to be windward of the fleet as the breeze will strengthen getting towards Wolf Rock. I manage to have a few naps every six hours and it's fine. This afternoon, we will still be at the same pace as now, but on the other tack! The wind will reduce gradually as we get closer to Brittany. The next difficult part will be the approach of the Roscoff buoy as the wind will be very light ...'

Official Positions 1630 BST
1. Charlie Dalin (Normandy Elite Team) 160 nm to finish
2. Jeremie Beyou (Maitre Coq) +0.5nm
3. Erwan Tabarly (Aror Lux) +0.9nm
4. Paul Meilhat (SMA) +1.1nm
5. Alexis Loison (Groupe Fiva) +1.1nm
6. Fabien Delahay (Skipper Macif 2012) +1.2nm
7. Adrien Hardy (Agir) +1.3nm
8. Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) +1.8nm
9. Sam Matson (Artemis 21) +2.2nm
10. Gildas Mahe (Interface Concept) +2.5nm

International Sailors as of 1630BST
9. Sam Matson (Artemis 21) +2.2nm
12. Henry Bomby (Red) +2.9nm
23. Alan Roberts (Artemis 23) +6.0nm
24. David Kenefick (Full Irish) +6.3nm
27. Jack Bouttell (GAC Pindar) +7.0nm
30. Nick Cherry (Redshift) +7.6nm
33. Rich Mason (Artemis 77) +8.8nm
34. Sam Goodchild (Team Plymouth) +9.6nm
37. Ed Hill (Macmillan Cancer Support) Event website