Press release
Friday 3rd December 2010
Eric Bompard Cashmere, index partner for 3 years
A new course for La Solitaire 2011
La Solitaire du Figaro revealed the course of the 2011 edition on Friday 3rd
December at the Paris Boat Show, which for the first time shall comprise of
four French towns and one foreign town. It also announced Eric Bompard
Cashmere’s commitment as index partner for the next three editions.
Eric Bompard Cashmere, index partner
Mr Eric Bompard, CEO of Eric Bompard Cashmere and Mr Francis Morel, General
Director of the Figaro Group are delighted with the agreement.
“Mr Bompard showed particular interest in strengthening this relationship
last year into today’s announced partnership that we are so pleased to
announce. We are very happy that Eric Bompard Cashmere is consolidating its
commitment to the Figaro Group by becoming, as well as a faithful
advertiser, also as the index partner of La Solitaire. The Figaro Group shall
be proud to display the colours of the new partnership as of the summer of
2011” explains Francis Morel.
“Following a wonderful season on La Soliaire last August with the Edic
Bompard boat we studied with great care the proposal for to be the Figaro’s
title partner for the next three years. We accepted this joint adventure
with great enthusiasm thanks to the values that the event and our company
share.” Said Eric Bompard.
A stimulating course for 2011
The single-handed sailors will face a 1,695 nautical mile race in a
traditional format with four legs with a decidedly northern course, set
between the 46th and 53rd parallels.
Back to basics for the foretaste of this edition of La Solitaire du Figaro
as Perros-Guirec and the Brittany Region will inaugurate the festivities.
From 23rd to 31st July the seaside town will prepare a lively welcome for
the competitors.
On 31st July the single-handed sailors will set off for 320 nautical miles
towards Caen. Although 160 miles separate Perros-Guirec from Caen, the
course of the first leg does not follow the direct route. On the contrary,
the competitors will follow the British coastline before sailing down into
the Bay of Seine. The index town of Lower Normandy where the harbour and the
race village, ideally placed in the centre of town, shall welcome for one
week thousands of visitors curious to meet the skippers. Following several
days rest, the fleet shall once again set sail on 7th August for the second
leg, of 470 nautical miles, that will take the Figaro Bénéteau 2 towards Dún
Laoghaire in Ireland.
After leaving the Bay of Seine, a 40-mile or so run, the first obstacle will
be the passage of the Barfleur point. The course reindexs inshore, as the
single-handed sailors will sail along the Cotentin to the cape of the Hague,
before heading towards the Channel Islands. It will be compulsory to leave
the islands of Aurigny, Herm and Guernsey to starboard. The skippers will
then take on a long crossing of the English Channel, 120 nautical miles to
Land’s End. The last third of the course is a sail up almost full North over
190 nautical miles to reach Dún Laoghaire harbour, South-East of Dublin.
Ireland will be the only non-French stop-over of the new race course, a
discovery for the single-handed sailors who shall no doubt appreciate the
charm of a finish in the magnificent harbour of Dublin and the warm welcome
of the National Yacht Club. After a few days rest and recuperation, the
fleet then will set sail on 14th August to The Vendée and the legendary
harbour of Les Sables d’Olonne.
The third leg is long at 475 nautical miles, full South for over 300
nautical miles to the Brittany point. The Grand Basse de Portsall buoy will
mark the entrance to a coastal run as the point of Brittany will have to be
rounded leaving Ushant to starboard. The skippers will be free to choose the
course to reach Southern Brittany and the Vendée. In 2007, the Vendée
harbour celebrated Michel Desjoyeaux’s victory. Since then, the General
Council and the town have been strongly committed to sailing, always ready
to welcome sailors of all walks of life - most notably the Vendée Globe
skippers. The people from the Vendée have become fully involved with the
Vendée Globe event and shall prepare an especially warm welcome for La
Solitaire du Figaro.
Finally, to close the 42nd edition, the fourth leg, of 430 nautical miles,
which will take the Figaro Bénéteau 2 to Les Sables d’Olonne in Dieppe, will
be the ultimate decider. Unlike the first three, this leg is 100% inshore,
the Île d’Yeu and Belle Île and the isle of Ushant to be left to port. For
the second part of the race, from the Brittany point to the Cotentin, that
is 130 nautical miles, the course will be clearer, the only course mark to
be respected being the isle of Aurigny, to be left to port, before taking on
the Blanchard undertow at the entrance to the Cotentin. The last miles along
the coast approaching the cape of Antifer will be the last obstacle of the
race. The course, although coastal, will be very open and full of surprises.
The finish will take place in Northern Normandy and is expected for the 24th
August. The people from Dieppe will welcome the skippers on their last miles
and will have a program of festivities prepared for them, the climax of
which will be traditional closing parade on Sunday 28th August.
«The 2011 edition is a particularly selective competition through four legs
equal in distance, but fraught with pitfalls. All throughout the course, the
skippers will have to negotiate a great number of obstacles close to shore.
The skipper, to achieve a faultless performance, will be in a league of
his/her own” specifies Jacques Caraës, Race Director of La Solitaire du
Figaro.
La Solitaire du Figaro 2011 Programme
PERROS GUIREC
Village opens: Saturday 23rd July
Eric Bompard Prologue: Friday 29th July
Start of the 1st leg: Sunday 31st July
1972, 1973, 1974: Start town
1975: Stop-over, leg victory for Guy Cornou
1976 : Stop-over, leg victory for Guy Cornou
1977, 1978, 1980, 1981,1983, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1996, 2005: Start town
CAEN (320 miles)
Expected arrival of the boats: Tuesday 2nd August
Start of the 2nd leg: Sunday 7th August
2004, 2007: Start town
DUN LOAGHAIRE (470 miles)
Expected arrival of the boats: Wednesday 10th August
Start of the 3rd leg: Sunday 14th August
LES SABLES D’OLONNE (475 miles)
Expected arrival of the boats: Wednesday 17th August
Start of the 4th leg: Sunday 21st August
1979, 2003: Start town
1980: Stop-over, leg victory for Patrick Morvan
2002: Stop-over, leg victory for Sébastien Audigane
2007: Finish town, leg victory for Frédéric Duthil
DIEPPE (430 miles)
Expected arrival of the boats: Wednesday 24th August
Closing Regatta: Sunday 28th August
2009: Finish town, leg victory for Antoine Koch
www.lasolitaire.com
INTERNATIONAL: Sabina Mollart Rogerson
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