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French Solo Offshore Racing Championship
Figaro-Season 2006
www.lasolitaire.com - Regatta 2006
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Fotogalerie
Die Figaro Beneteau Class veranstaltet jährlich die French Solo Offshore Racing Championship.
Der Titel French Solo Offshore Racing Champion wird von der French Sailing Federation verliehen.
La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro 2006
A long and taxing race
The race course for the 37th edition of La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro is one of the longest in its history: 1.898 nautical miles between France, Spain and Ireland, spread over 4 legs. Faithful to tradition, the race course offers skippers varied legs, from 590 miles on the longest to 314 miles on the shortest, combining offshore and inshore coastal sailing.
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The skippers set off from Cherbourg Octeville, which welcomes the Solitaire for the fifth time. And it was in this Cotentin port, host of the finish of the 2002 edition, that the Figaro Bénéteau was unveiled. It is a harbour which is well known to the sailors and is well established in the history of the race.
The first leg takes the sailors from Cherbourg Octeville to Santander in Spain
It is the longest of La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro 2006: 590 miles of complex navigation, up along the southern English coast and then down to the temperamental Bay of Biscay. A start which should have the public gripped right up to the finish.
Santander: for La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro it is a great return to this Spanish port, which has welcomed the competition only once in…1971. It was the second edition of the “Course de l’Aurore”, won by a Vendée sailor by adoption: Michel Malinovsky. This stop-over will be a festive affair, as Santander will also be celebrating its 250th anniversary!
The sailors will then leave the Spanish harbour and return to France, to the Vendée region on the second leg: a 314 mile race on a route area the skippers of La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro are well acquainted. But caution will be required nonetheless, for the tricky sailing and navigating conditions that both the Bay of Biscay and the Ponant islands can throw up, before reaching Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, home to the Bénéteau Shipyards and the Figaro Bénéteau. It is the second time this Vendée harbour welcomes us – the first was in 2004 for the 120th anniversary of the Bénéteau Shipyards.
The third leg, 549 miles long, heads towards Ireland and Dingle. The sailing conditions can be very varied and often harsh for the skippers on a long offshore leg like this. Dingle is a greatly awaited for stop-over for the sailors, notable for the welcome of its inhabitants. Dingle is stop-over town of La Solitaire for the 3d time.
After a few days rest, the race sets off for the last leg, decisive for the skippers. There are lighthouses and islands to round on this fourth and final 449 mile long leg to Concarneau; the Fastnet Rock, the Scilly Isles and then the Groix Islands. The final leg is strategically complicated and the finish could be decisive for the “Figaristes” in their heartland.
Solo sailors particularly appreciate Concarneau, and the Figaristes have made the region one of the strongholds of offshore racing. It is in this Brittany harbour that the name of the winner of this 37th edition of La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro will be unveiled!
1.898 miles, 4 legs, 15 days of competition on the water and 3 days rest at each stop-over, the index event of the summer already promises to be sportive and intense!
CHERBOURG OCTEVILLE
Race Village opens: Monday 31st of July
Afflelou Prologue: Friday 4th of August
Start 1st leg: Sunday 6th of August
1991: Start town, Yves Parlier wins the first three legs and the Solitaire overall
1998: Start town, Michel Desjoyeaux wins the 1st and 3rd legs and then overall
2000: Finish town, Kito de Pavant wins the race without winning a leg.
SANTANDER (Spain) - 590 miles
Start 2nd leg: Sunday 13th of August
1971: Stop-over town of the 2nd edition of “La Course de l’Aurore”, which saw the victory of Michel Malinovsky at Pornic.
SAINT-GILLES-CROIX-DE-VIE - 314 miles
Start 3rd leg: Friday 18th of August
2004: Stop-over town, Charles Caudrelier memorably wins at Quiberon.
• DINGLE (Ireland) - 545 miles
Start 4th leg: Friday 25th of August
2003: Stop-over town, Alain Gautier wins at Dingle and Armel Le Cléac’h is winner of the edition
CONCARNEAU - 449 miles
Afflelou Closing Regatta: Wednesday 30th of August
1979: Finish town, Patrick Eliès wins all the legs and the overall ranking of the “Course de l’Aurore”.
1981: Finish town, Pierre Follenfant wins the last leg and Sylvain Rosier the Solitaire.
1984: Finish town, Hubert Hemar wins the 4th leg, Christophe Cudennec the overall.
1991: Stop-over town, Yves Parlier is 1st of the leg and winner of the race.
1998: Finish town, Damian Foxall imposes himself on the leg, Michel Desjoyeaux on the general.
Reminder: In 1998, La Solitaire was starting from Cherbourg Octeville for a final in Concarneau; Michel Desjoyeaux won the edition.
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