50th La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro Leg 1 - Day 2 Morning Update

by La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro 4 Jun 2019 07:21 BST 3 June 2019

Sticking to a strategy which was outlined before the start, 40-year-old amateur Henri Lemencier sailing the appropriately named Eureka made a dream breakaway yesterday morning and this morning approaches the Glenan islands by Lorient leading the first stage of La Solitaire URGO Le Figaro to Kinsale, Ireland by over 15 nautical miles.

Lemencier from a small village in north-west Finistere, is an amateur who races for enjoyment, one of a very rare breed of amateurs among the 47-solo skippers competing on this highly competitive 50th anniversary race. A 'bizuth' - a first timer on the famous solo multi-stage annual offshore race - Lemencier raced four years on the Mini 60 circuit, peaking with a 23rd in the 2015 Mini Transat before taking on a new Figaro Bénéteau 3. In Nantes, before the start, he spoke animatedly about the prospect of racing among the superstars of French sailing.

"I want to enjoy the race as one of those rare amateurs who can now take on this mythical event," he noted. Little could he have expected to have all the stars in his wake.

"It seems to have gone not too bad," Lemencier told the radio call yesterday evening. "We spoke with Christian Dumand (weather expert to the Lorient race team) and he talked of possibly being able to escape the high pressure ridge from an inshore position. He spoke about using the thermal breeze and positioning yourself about 15 miles offshore. I positioned myself at 15 miles offshore to find the thermal breeze and here I am. It is not too bad."

Lemencier extricated himself from a messy high pressure ridge which upset the ranking yesterday with spells of glassy calms accompanied by a bouncy leftover swell and choppy seas.

But the big question is whether Lemencier can now hold on to repeat the feat of the late Laurent Bourgnon who escaped to score a big win into Kinsale in 1998 and eventually went on to win the race overall. There is still more than 350 miles of the 553 mile first stage to sail and the fleet is awaiting a new low pressure due from about noon today which will bring fast downwind conditions in breezes up to 20 knots. And with it there will be different strategic options to get past the tip of Brittany and start the passage across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet.

With more than 12 hours of very light winds, Belle Ile has become a particular road block which requires the fleet to split offshore to pass to the west or inshore, and as a result the fleet are now well behind the expected schedule. Offshore worked for Julien Pulve (Team Vendee Formation), Alexis Loison (Region Normandie), Anthony Marchand (Royer-Secours Populaire Group), Tom Laperche (Brittany CMB Espoir) and Gildas Mahé (Breiz Cola-Equithé). But for those who opted for a passage outside Belle-Île, the night was very tough: only Pierre Quiroga (Skipper Macif 2019) is what might be called 'in touch'.

For previous leaders Adrien Hardy (Sans Nature pas de future) it was a nightmare. Hardy is now 12th 27 miles from the leader and Michel Desjoyeaux (Lumibird) is further back at almost 30 miles. Other notable names who have lost big time are twice La Solitaire winner and one of this year's top seeds Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire) who is now deep in the pack, placed in the not so roaring 40s, along with Alain Gautier (merci pour ces 30 ans) who was stuck for a long time at Belle Ile.

Leading the international competitors is Italy's Alberto Bona (Sebaga) a 'bizuth' competing for the first time who has been flirting with the top 10 for the last 24 hours and is currently in 12thplace. Ireland's Tom Dolan is still very much in touch with the leading pack and is currently neck and neck with Michel Desjoyeaux in 15thplace as he races 'home' to Kinsale, while Kiwi Conrad Colman (Ethical Power) has recovered well after a slow first 24 hours and is currently nicely positioned mid-fleet in 23rd.

This next stage of the leg, the notoriously rocky and tidal Raz de Seine, will be key. With strong tidal currents and winds gusting to 30knots, it may be necessary to pass outside the Ar Men lighthouse as the wind over tide effects would be horrendous. The tide is due to start flooding at 1225hrs local time and runs until around 1815hrs. If the strong winds arrive on time to propel the fleet northwards there is a chance of a re-compression. If not, then the happy amateur and those at the front of the fleet may well extend even further away.

Standings Tuesday 4 June at 0700 BST:

1 - Henri Lemenicier (Bizuth) Eureka, 345.5nm miles from Kinsale
2 Julien Pulve - Team Vendee Formation 17.9nm behind leader
3 - Anthony Marchand - Groupe Royer Secours Populaire 19.8nm
4 Alexis Loison Region Normanie 22.2nm
5 Tom Laperche (Bizuth) Bretagne CMB Espoir 23.2nm
6 Gildas Mahe Breizh Cola/Equithe 23.5nm
7 - Pierre Quiroga Skipper Macif 2019 24.4nm
8 - Morgan Lagravière - Voile d'engagement 24.9 nm
9 - Jérémie Beyou - Charal 25.3 nm
10 Yann Elies St Michel 25.5 nm