Press release of 06/02/2013
Off they go!
From on board the French Navy's ship Le Flamant at precisely 1300hrs local time Bordeaux mayor Alain Juppé fired the starting signal of the 44th Solitaire du Figaro-Eric Bompard cachemire, setting off the inaugural leg, from Pauillac to Porto.
Under blue skies thousands of people packed the river banks and dozens of spectators boats saluted the 41 skippers leaving for the first stage of one month and 1,938 miles of racing. Paul Meilhat (Skipper Macif 2011) was in the early lead, but the course to Portugal is still long and will be full of hurdles
The competitors in the 44th Solitaire du Figaro-Eric Bompard cachemire left the pretty village of Paulliac today, heading for Porto, on the northern Portuguese coast. Before making to the river estuary and getting into the open ocean they delighted the local crowds and supporters, gathered to wave them goodbye, racing on a coastal course of around 10 miles.
In ideal wind conditions, a 10 to 12 knots breeze from the north, double past winner Jérémie Beyou (Maitre Coq) made the best start at the Committee end of the line, but shortly after the signal the fleet split in two groups, one sailing off the northern bank and the other, led by Frédéric Duthil (Sepalumic), picking up to the south side.
Both groups had to fight against the river's idiosyncrasies and a strong current forcing all skippers to tack several times. First to go around the upwind mark was Frédéric Duthil (Sepalumic), chased down by Jean-Pierre Nicol (Bernard Controls) and a very determined Nick Cherry (Magma Structures) while the rest of the fleet followed in quick succession.
Once the spinnakers were hoisted, the Figaros pressed on to the next downwind mark where Jean-Pierre Nicol (Bernard Controls) rounded in first, followed by Paul Meilhat (Skipper Macif 2011) whilst Jérémie Beyou (Maître Coq) and Frédéric Duthil (Sepalumic) went for the other mark.
The last passage of the fleet in front of Paulliac produced enthusiastic rounds of applause by the public assembled on the harbour breakwater, with Jérémie Beyou (Maître Coq), Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) and Frédéric Duthil (Sepalumic) putting on a show passing just metres off it. Best of the non-French was Nick Cherry, who managed also to keep his position in the top 10 and first rookie was Simon Troël (Les recycleurs Bretons).
According to the first official position report, the leading trio was made of Paul Meilhat (Skipper Macif 2011) Jérémie Beyou (Maître Coq) and race veteran -17 participations- Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) although only 1,1 miles were separating the first from the last boat.
The most spectacular comeback was Michel Desjoyeaux's (TBS) who bounced back from mid-fleet to the 5th place. The three times Solitaire du Figaro winner was followed by Frédéric Duthil, Adrien Hardy, Thierry Chabagny (Gedimat), Vincent Biarnes (Prati'Bûches) and the first non-French skipper, the Briton Nick Cherry in 10th place.
First among the rookies was Simon Troël (Les Recycleurs Bretons) in 13th while the other Anglo-Saxon skippers were Henry Bomby (Rockfish) in 16th, Edmund Hill (Artemis 37) in 20th, Jackson Bouttell (Artemis 77) in 22nd, Sam Goodchid (Sjelterbox – Disaster Relief) in 34th position respectively. David Kenefick (Full Irish), the youngest sailor in this year's Solitaire, was in 36th place.
The 41 skippers still had some twenty miles to cover before getting to the pointe de Grave and turning SW to head to the Radio France mark, set close to the Cordouan lighthouse that the leaders were expected to reach around 18:30, that is to say more than one hour before the reverse of the current with a nice northerly breeze of a dozen knots.
Next on the menu 350 miles and to Cape Finisterre, in a progressively building breeze forecasted to reach up to 35 knots off Cape Ortega.
Provisional results at mark 38, 23 miles from the pointe du Verdon
1 - Paul Meilhat (Skipper Macif 2011)
2 - Jérémie Beyou (Maître Coq)
3 - Jean Pierre Nicol (Bernard Controls)
4 - Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert)
5 - Michel Desjoyeaux (TBS)
6 - Frédéric Duthil (Sepalumic)
7 - Adrien Hardy (Agir recouvrement)
8 - Thierry Chabagny (Gedimat)
9 - Vincent Biarnes (Prati'Bûches)
10 - Nick Cherry (Magma Structures) 1st non French Skipper
11 - Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire)
12 - Fabien Delahaye (Skipper Macif 2012)
13 - Simon Troël (Les Recycleurs Bretons) 1st rookie
Other British skippers:
16 - Henry Bomby (Rockfish)
20 - Edmund Hill (Artemis 37)
22 - Jackson Bouttell (Artemis 77)
34 - Sam Goodchid (Shelterbox – Disaster Relief)
36 - David Kenefick (Full Irish)
Skipper's quotes:
Jean-Pierre Nicol (Bernard Controls): “It's pleasant to have some sun for the start, makes things easier after a rainy week. I'm a bi tense for the start because of the floating debris, we are used to sail in the open sea, the river is less familiar. It will be exciting anyway. It's always a relief to be able to leave after a hard week, both for the organizers and the skippers. We finally do what we love, all the work and the stress behind us”.
Frédéric Duthil (Sepalumic): “It's sunny, that's good, great news! Crossing the Bay of Biscay in reaching conditions is also great. It seems that we will be getting out of the Gironde in pretty testing conditions, with 20 to 25 knots, and a lot of tacking… we'll fast get into the game. Looks like later we'll have some fresh breeze at Cap Finisterre and we'll have to be careful, sail well and trying not to break the big spinnaker. There will be some tricky moments, that is for sure. I think the fleet will compress at Cap Finisterre and then some good choices to make. Stay close to shore or more offshore to try and avoid the small low pressure area and light airs. That's no easy thing, because staying offshore means covering more miles. It is going to be interesting, thre could be be gains and losses because the finish will be in light wind”.
Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire): “The start in Paulliac is going to be exciting but we'll have to be careful because of the huge number of floating wood. The crossing of Biscay should be a speedy one, but the Spanish transition will be tricky: I'm not sure the tack after Cap Finisterre is going to be as simple as expected! The start will be business as usual. Can't be a waiting game, you have to bet at the front to get into the fresher air first”.
Thierry Chabagny (Gedimat): “We'll sweat it out at the beginning, a lot of tacking, all that floating wood, the strong current, 41 boats on a narrow area. It will be an high-tension start. Plus, with the choppers flying over us, it will be hard to hear anything. And then we'll be really into racing: some upwind, some reaching and upwind again. On the first stretch, be focused is key, there are several marks to round, obstacles, strong current, sand banks. We will be happy to be out in the Ocean this evening, hoist the spinnaker and quietly heading to Cap Finisterre”.
Xavier Macaire (Skipper Hérault): “The first bit is going to be stressful, tricky, before we can finally make it to the Bay of Biscay. After that the tension will go away and we will start to feel at ease. We will be sailing under spinnaker, in great conditions but the last part will be risky. It will be crucial to keep a constant eye on the weather. I think I will enjoy most the bit off the Cap, under spinnaker with strong breeze. I love it, when it's fast sailing and one has to manage the boat and the man…”
The fleet's progress and the latest news can be followed at the race tracker page on the official website: www.lasolitaire.com
The 2013 Solitaire du Figaro - Eric Bompard cachemire in short??
The sailors: ?41 entries, 6 past winners, 6 non-French skippers, 7 newcomers and 1 female sailor
The race schedule: ?
Stage 1 - Bordeaux/Porto (Portugal): 536 miles
Start: June 2nd at 13:00 (start line in Pauillac)
ETA: June 5th
Stage 2 - Porto/Gijón (Spain): 452 miles
Start: June 8th at 12:00
ETA: June 11th
Stage 3 -Gijón/Roscoff: 436 miles
Start: June 13th at 12:00
ETA: June 16th
Stage 4 – Roscoff/Dieppe: 514 miles
Start: June 20th at 13:00
ETA: June 23rd
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