Figaro armada regroups in Spain after arduous first stage

Solitaire du Figaro leg 1 finish © Pen Duick

Refreshed after their first full night's sleep since Saturday, the 34 skippers who yesterday completed the first stage of La Solitaire du Figaro... Eric Bompard Cachemire have had a little time to recover from the typical Figaro challenges of extreme tiredness, complicated tactics and fierce tides.

Any respite will be short-lived, however, with the second leg due to start on Sunday, July 1st and another 440 miles to sail around the Bay of Biscay to the finish in Saint Gilles Croix de Vie. Skippers have just a couple of days to effect repairs, restock their boats, and replenish their own reserves after a grueling opening stage.

The 34 finishers arrived in Gijon, northern Spain over the course of eight hours yesterday evening, with stage winner Yann Eliès (Groupe Queguiner - Le Journal des Entreprises) crossing the line first at 15.59 pm, and the rest of the top five arriving within half an hour. Beneteau Figaros continued to steam into the Spanish port, sometimes separated by mere seconds – Nicolas Jossier (In Extenso Experts Comptables) beating the first ‘Bizuth' Thomas Normand (Financière de l'Echiquier) to 13th place by less than a minute – until just before midnight when One Network Energies skippered by Yannig Livory completed the course.

The fleet set out from Paimpol on the morning of Sunday, June 24th in drizzly conditions, with anchoring gear at the ready thanks to a forecast of light breezes and Brittany's strong tidal streams. After rounding six turning marks immediately after the start the fleet streamed north to Men-Marc'h, led by Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) and Adrien Hardy (Agir Recouvrement), before beginning their passage west. The first divisions in the fleet occurred as they tacked north of Paimpol, with around 10 boats remaining several miles north of the main pack. As the fleet regrouped close inshore it was Nicolas Lunven (Generali) who led early the first evening, with Briton Nick Cherry (Artemis 77) in a strong position in third. However, as the fleet passed Roscoff and the Portsall Grande Basse buoy the tidal gate again forced some skippers to head offshore in search of breeze. Those boats which had taken the most inshore, rock-strewn route emerged best and by the small hours of the first morning Eliès had pulled towards the front of the fleet.

With less than a mile separating Eliès from his near rivals Fabien Delahaye (Skipper Macif 2012) and Morgan Lagraviere (Vendée) the trio led the fleet around the Chenal du Four and the Raz de Sein on a reach south. The lead fluctuated frequently in the light airs of Tuesday, a pattern repeated throughout the fleet as they headed south from Lorient and the Les Birvideaux marker in sub-5 knot conditions. Having escaped the high pressure zone, the skippers were then challenged by reduced visibility thanks to thick fog, coinciding with heavy shipping traffic making for a tense third night at sea. However, as the breeze built in the early hours of Wednesday morning Eliès pulled out what - in Figaro terms - counts as a solid advantage, which he held until the finish in Gijon. Eliès finally arrived 9 minutes ahead of Morgan Lagraviere (Vendée) and 20 minutes before third-placed Fabien Delahaye (Skipper Macif 2012).

Lessons learned

Of the six ‘Bizuths' or race rookies also competing to make their own mark on the Figaro, Thomas Normand (Financière de l'Echiquier) finished highest, coming home in 14th place.

The first international competitor was the British ‘Bizuth' Nick Cherry (Artemis 77), who finished in 24th place. He commented after the race: "It was good. I started off really well on the inshore course and then I was alright tacking round the top coast of France then through the Channel du Four I lost a little bit. I was still in good shape in the Bay of Biscay when we had the big shut down, somewhere between 10th and 20th. Then I had a bad night. I was just really tired cause I hadn't done any sleeping at all in the light winds, just had to keep moving and then when the wind filled in on the reach, I was pretty much unable to stay awake and keep the boat going fast. I think I didn't really get the boat set up right or get it going forward for a few hours while a lot of people where going a lot faster than me – so I dropped back a fair bit. Still I'm finished, so I'm happy!"

One place behind, Cherry's team mate Sam Goodchild (Artemis 23) finished in 25th on his second start in the race. In Gijon Sam said that he was disappointed with his result, explaining: "I've spent a lot of the race playing catch up basically. The first big mistake was going round an island with some other guys and we lost loads. Then I spent loads of time playing catch up and we all restarted again just before the Chenal du Four. Then at the Chenal du Four, I remember thinking two things at once and instead of doing one of them, I did half of both of them and lost out to the other around who had done one of the other.

"The first half of Biscay was good, I made up a few miles and then we all compressed again and in the second half of Biscay I was waiting for this big storm to come in and made a tactical decision based on the storm, which turned up a bit late. I think I put all my eggs in one basket, which was a mistake. But now I've learnt a lesson in not putting my eggs all in one basket, if it's the wrong one."

The youngest competitor in the race, 21-year-old Henry Bomby (Artemis 37) came home in 30th place. He also felt that the race had been a huge learning experience, saying: "The key lessons I'll take away are to be more conservative in my decision-making even when things have gone badly wrong. There are still opportunities out there, the top guys - even when they're in a bad position for the first 24 hours - will still work their way to the front through keeping up their boat speed and working things out, rather that getting frustrated which I think I did this time."

However, both he and Nick Cherry spoke of their enjoyment in the race, Henry Bomby saying: "Leaving Paimpol was really good. There were so many people there cheering us out which was amazing to see. There were some really nice parts of the race as well, where I just enjoyed the sailing for what it was, forgetting that the race was there and there were boats all around me."

Nick also revealed a little of the famous Figarist camaraderie: "I don't know who was doing it but someone was singing and playing guitar [on the radio]. I was having a bit of a low patch going towards the Raz de Sein and then that came on and cheered me up, from a low over to a massive high." Three skippers retired from racing during the first stage, Anthony Marchand on Bretagne Credit Mutuel-Performance, Jean-Paul Mouren (Groupe SNEF) and Jean-Pierre Nicol (Bernard Controls). However, all three are hoping to make the second start, including Marchand who ceased racing after receiving medical assistance for muscular pain. There was just one Jury hearing after the opening leg, with Sébastien Picault (Kickers) awarded a 30 minutes penalty for rounding the Spineg waypoint to starboard instead of to port.

The fleet will restart at 12.30pm (CEST) on Sunday, July 1st from Gijon. After coastal racing in the waters off the Spanish city, the 442-mile second stage sends the fleet north towards the Raz de Sein, before returning along the western French coast towards the Vendée. The finishers are expected to arrive in Saint Gilles Croix de Vie on Wednesday, July 4th. Early forecasts suggest humid, foggy conditions for the start followed by light winds in the centre of the Bay of Biscay thanks to a high pressure system.

Quotes from the skippers:

Paul Meilhat (Skipper Macif 2011), 6th (51 minutes, 31 seconds behind the leader):
"It was hard but fun because it was a real changes from previous editions of La Solitaire because it was a ‘low wage earner' with big gaps possible. Here the game was open with immediate gaps, right until the end when there were moves to make. I still have wonderful images in my head when we passed the Raz de Sein against the current with big waves. We had to sail really near La Plate lighthouse and it was incredible. Physically it was really hard and I am really happy with the way I managed my race since the start, I was sleeping as much as I could, and feeding myself well."

Erwan Tabarly (Nacarat), 7th (59 minutes, 10 seconds):
"It has truly been a race of rain and fog. We had upwind sailing conditions at the close, squalls towards the end, there was plenty to do and it is too bad we could not see anything. Fortunately, the AIS was there otherwise I would not have seen many boats. I really enjoyed the coastal portion with the currents of the Raz de Sein, it always leaves me good memories. It is really tactical and I enjoyed this first part. Then crossing the anticyclone in light winds, it was not very nice. I am a bit disappointed because I had managed to come back but I found myself with a no wind area that I did not manage to cross and stayed stuck fast for half an hour. I saw the boats managing to get through around me, it was quite frustrating. To already have an hour of deficit on the leader is handicapping, I would have preferred to have an hour of advance!"

Frédéric Duthil (Sepalumic), 8th (1 hour, 27 seconds):
"It was a good race, diverse and varied. We had everything from light winds upwind, to the spinnaker and finishing with a strong breeze, to cross a ridge, currents, counter-currents, rocks, and so on. There's only the sun that we did not see at all during the leg. Congratulations to Yann, Morgan and Fabien who managed to get off from the start. I have not really had fun because I had a lot of problems. I spent the first two days without any battery, so I was completely exhausted. I was not able to sail the way I wanted."

Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert), 12th (1 hour, 11 minutes and 12 seconds):
"It was not easy to sleep during this leg. The first night was spent sailing around rocks and in light winds, similar to the second one. There were some tricks to make under spinnaker at the Birvideaux waypoint. I've never had pleasant conditions for sleeping. Moreover, light wind is very tiring. Yes I'm disappointed for sure, I feel I have missed a few options. At Perros when I was leading, I was going too close to the shore and I lose the major part of the fleet that passes me. After the anticyclone I thought that I would get more wing by going east and reach the new wind first but it did not happen at all. Both were losing shots; I did not get lucky on those. If the next stage is started in conventional wind it will be hard to come back, but if it's as tricky as this leg anything is possible."

Jean-Paul Mouren (Groupe SNEF), DNF:
"I was not lucky on the technical front, with my two alternators. I started to cross the Bay of Biscay by switching off as many things as I could, and being conservative, telling myself it would work, but it did not. As I had an experience in Le Figaro on the same route of being at the helm for more than 24 hours, I know that it was impossible. To save time, I decided to give up. I was accompanied by one of the crew coming from the safety boat, who gave me a battery. It's annoying on a Figaro where there are only three legs to run because a third of the race has already vanished for me. It's not pleasant. It leaves a bitter taste."

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