Solitaire du Figaro - Nail biting suspense and fast downwind sailing

by Carla Anselmi on 18 Aug 2010 Solitaire du Figaro 2010 saw a fast and demanding night got the 44 skippers racing in the fourth and decisive leg. They averaged speeds of more than 11 knots in high winds of 20-25 knots, gusting at more than 30.

Gildas Morvan first at the Fastnet but the overall leader Armel 'the Jackal' Le Cleac’s is back in control. Fatigue has set in yet nobody can let their guard down for the final miles on the approach to Cherbourg. Excellent performance form Portuguese skipper Francisco Lobato and Italian Pietro D’Alì still in the leading group. The game remains wide open for the top ten spots.

It was 01h01’33’’ exactly when Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) rounded the Fastnet lighthouse in the lead to hoist the spinnaker and start the route down to Lizen Ven and Cherbourg, followed by Corentin Douguet (E.Leclerc Mobile) and Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel).

All the skippers told, in the traditional midday radio chats, of the fun and excitement of sailing downwind full power, spinnaker up, at 15 plus knots in identical boats, watching your competitors just metres away.

Despite not being localised in the latest position report at 16:00, Armel Le Cleac’h is assumed to still in the leading four, showing an exceptional control of the race.

According to the latest position report the fleet is led by Corentin Douguet (E.Leclerc Mobile) at 231 miles from the finish while Eric Péron (Skipper Macif 2009) and François Gabart (Skipper Macif 2010), second in the overall ranking and second at 16 hours respectively) are hot on his heels: just 0.2 miles, that is to say… 370 metres!

And where is the provisional bronze medal Thomas Rouxel (Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne)? Only 2.5 miles behind…

As forecast, the wind eased to a more manageable 15 knots over the course of the afternoon. The fleet is now looking for the right place to gibe, that will probably be between 8pm and midnight, to set the course to Lizen Ven mark, just off the île Vierge, in order to reach the next mark where they are expected between midnight and 08:00. From this point it will be clearer who made the best option for the final 140 miles to Cherbourg -Octeville, where the Race Management staff arrived today and promptly had to get their umbrellas out, preparing to welcome the leaders, expected to finish Wednesday late afternoon.

Both the young Portuguese skipper, Francisco Lobato (ROFF/TEMPO-TEAM) and the Italian, Pietro D’Alì (I.NOVA.3) showed excellent speed and strategy and were reported to be fifth and seventh respectively, whilst Jonny Malbon (Artemis) was 33rd and Isabelle Joschke (Synergie) in 37th.

Meanwhile, unfortunate Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) informed Race Management that, after having made the necessary repairs to sail safely, he left Kinsale shortly after midnight accompanied by his shore team to deliver the boat to Cherbourg. Matthieu Girolet (Entreprendre), on the contrary, opted to have his boat repaired in Ireland.

Quotes form the skippers:
Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit Air): 'The first part of the race was all right. As for now we’re heading right for Brittany on port, still a good breeze. It’s fast, I don’t know if the others have gibed yet and are further East…

We had some nice wave surfing, at 18 knots and the wind shifted a bit and we’ve a terrific angle to go full speed: we’re always above 11 knots, right now 14/15. For the Channel crossing I guess the wind is going to decrease a little and veer to the West, it’s going to be full downwind with some gibing. I’m in a pack of four or five boats, we’re close and I need to focus on boat’s speed, keeping the pace.

I think I dozed off earlier this morning but sailing fast keeps you focussed at the helm. I keep vigilant not to break the spinnaker or anything on board.'

Sébastien Josse (Vendée): 'We’re surfing at 10 to 16 knots, it’s nice, the front is gone there’s quite a big swell but it’s a bit less confused now on port. Life is beautiful but it’s not easy to get some rest. You don’t have to look at your speedometer because you feel like you’re flying and then you realise the top speed is only 15 knots… It’s good though, fun. I gibed well and I’m in control, I reckon I even went up two or three places.

I have no idea where I am in the fleet, I know there is Erwan Tabarly in front and Nicolas Lunven is half a mile away, Yann Eliès is leeward, but the group is spread out. It’s a tough last leg, I fight. I’ve been having some technical issues; I broke a halyard just a minute ago. It’s like on the second leg when I blew my spinnaker. We’ll see with the new positions but if the wind will keep at around 15 knots I don’t think there will be any huge changes.'

François Gabart (Skipper Macif 2010): 'I must confess it’s been fun, up to now. I don’t know how the fleet is positioned but I’m sailing in a small group of four boats with Eric Drouglazet, Armel Le Cleac’h Corentin Douguet, we’re fighting against each other. I’m pretty confident and the boat is fast. I was really quick earlier this morning, since then I lost some ground on Armel and Eric.'

Jérémie Beyou (BPI): 'Not bad, I’m ok. I was sailing fast under spinnaker, behind Armel (Le Cleac’h) and in front of Gabart, I decided to gibe I was at the bow when the autopilot went its own way… result: spinnaker pole into the water, the sail slashed so… If you attack you may break something, that’s it.

I managed to repair the big kite; I dried it near the engine, cleaned it with acetone, put some adhesive cloth and hoisted it again. It looks like it’s going to last but it was a bad blow. The game is not over but I’ve been so busy I couldn’t sit down at the nav station for a long time.

The current is going to be crucial. The leaders may fall into a lower wind area, up there in front. I can still see them so I have to be hopeful. I haven’t slept much since the start and, maybe, if the weather is a bit better I can have a short nap. That would be good; if I don’t rest next night could be tough!

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