Press release of 06/03/2013
A time to gybe?
Into their first full day at sea on Leg 1 from Bordeaux to Porto the Figaro Solitaire du Figaro Eric Bompard Cachemire fleet has made its way across the Bay of Biscay in pleasant, amenable conditions. The 41 boats have been making solid average speeds under spinnaker waiting for the breeze to get stronger and veer East as the fleet closes in to the Spanish coast.
Later today and tonight the skippers will start feeling the adrenaline build as they approach Cap Finisterre, where the breeze is expected to reach 30 knots and conditions could prove pretty testing. Defending 2012 champion Yann Eliés (Groupe Quéguiner-Leucémie espoir) has taken the provisional lead, but very tricky tactical choices lie ahead.
Eastbound
After a relatively quiet night the fleet spread across an area of around ten miles, Jean-Pierre Nicol (Bernard Controls) being the furthest north and Yann Eliès (Groupe Quéguiner-Leucémie espoir) the furthest South. With all the skippers trying to push as hard as they can, aiming for maximum speed on their eastbound course attempting as much as possible to keep on the lower edge of the high pressure ridge. As the breeze will progressively veer to the East they are faced with the first big tactical move of this leg: when to gybe. As it happens the first skippers to do so then set in train a reaction from their competitors to do the same and so producing a cascade of manoeuvres. The decision is delicate because it will strongly impact on how the skippers are going to approach and round Cap Finisterre where high winds, unruly seas and the first signs of fatigue could take their toll. Timing is essential.
Yann Eliès takes command
With the breeze getting stronger and Cap Ortega getting nearer, it looks like that it was the more southern route that paid best, with Yann Eliès (Groupe Quéguiner-Leucémie espoir) leading at the mid-morning position report. After getting out of the Gironde the fleet split and the some skippers chose a broad reach with the big spinnaker, as in Eliès' case, others opted for a more direct route.
At first the lateral separation was down to only 3 or 4 miles, but during the night the fleet spread over almost 17 miles. As a consequence, those who stayed south Yann Eliès , Julien Villion (Seixo Habitat), Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire), Yoann Richomme (DLBC) and British Henry Bomby (Rockfish) took advantage of a slightly stronger air but most of all could benefit from a better wind angle. With his big spinnaker damaged, Jean-Pierre Nicol had no choice but stay North and progressively lost terrain, whilst a good group decided to sail on a more straight and central route, to the likes of Michel Desjoyeaux (TBS) and Paul Meilhat (Skipper Macif 2011) or Frédéric Duthil (Sepalumic), Fabien Delahaye (Skipper Macif 2012) and Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert).
Just shortly before the 11am position report, Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire) took the initiative, gybing to the south-west, a move that puts him on a more direct route which may shuffle things at the front. Deltas are down to just a few hundred metres and the situation could change quickly over the coming hours.
The weather forecast for tonight off Cap Ortega is for 30 plus knots and the skippers will have to be particularly wary and careful.
Briton Edmund Hill leads rookies
It's been a positive first night at sea for the seven sailors strong Anglo-Saxon contingent.
According to the position report issued at 11am CEST, best placed UK skipper is Southampton's Ed Hill (Artemis 37) in 16th overall position and leading the very competitive rookies category.
Ed, who kept a more northern route was less than three miles behind leader Yann Eliès (Groupe Quegnuiner – Leucémie Espoir) while Henry Bomby (Rockfish) is in the southern group in 19th. After a brilliant start and a good descent of the Gironde always in the top ten positions, Nick Cherry (Magma Structures) fell back in 24th. The other “bizuth” Jackson Bouttell is in 28th in a more central position whilst Sam Goodchild (Shelterbox – Disaster Relief) has gybed to move south and is currently in 29th, both have less than five miles from the leader.
The youngest skipper in this year's Solitaire du Figaro Eric Bompard Cachemire David Kenefick (Full Irish) is in 36th, trailing by a bit more than 6 miles but still in the group and doing a good 8 knots.
Skipper's quotes:
Michel Desjoyeaux (TBS): "Sometimes one feels inspired… I took an awful start but then I gambled, chose to stay close to shore and it paid and I could get back to the front. I even got stuck in the sand during a tack, but thankfully the boat had already changed fully turned and I could move. That was dicey! I guess I've lost 50 metres but finally I could make it to the top 4 or 5 when the wind shifted to the NNE shortly before Royan. I was lucky to be in the right spot”.
Paul Meihlat (Skipper Macif 2011): “Everything is great, we are under spinnaker and it is quite nice. Conditions are set, I could sleep a bit so everything is fine. Leaving the estuary was tricky, I worried about breaking the spi because of the chop. But there was people cheering everywhere, brilliant. I took a good start and I found myself leading, that's something that makes you feel good. Had a bit of a fight with Jérémie (Beyou-Maître Coq) and then there was a big shift just in the middle of the estuary that let Mich (Michel Desjoyeaux - TBS) et à Adrien (Hardy - Agir Recouvrement) overtake me. Since we're out the conditions have been steady, we are speeding to cap Finisterre. I'm side by side with TBS and Maître Coq, and we are in the centre of the fleet at the moment. The wind should keep on shifting and possibly tonight we will be downwind and will start jibing. It'll be key to stay focused and sail well. I guess we'll also have to rest on this first bit, because the finish is not going to be easy at all”.
Yann Eliès (Groupe Quéguiner-Leucémie espoir): "I was just getting into my pyjamas to go to bed… conditions are fine. Jean-Yves Bernot (the meteorologist) said: “at the end of the estuary you have to be fast, being 15/20° max off the direct route”. When the wind shifted I tried to keep the spinnaker up, so I got a bit lower than the leaders. The aim is not to get to one particular point but to be quick until the wind veers and we can bear away, which is going to be quite soon…”
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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