15th Défi Azimut Lorient Agglomération - Acceleration and extension
by Azimut 20 Sep 21:53 BST
20 September 2025
15th Défi Azimut Lorient Agglomération © Tanguy Conq
"2 knots of breeze right on our tail...!" says a crestfallen Nicolas d'Estais on Café Joyeux. The numerous videos posted by the OBRs (On-Board Reporters) on the Défi Azimut Lorient Agglomération server this morning testify to the infinite patience and the depth of talent required by the crews to make the Occidentale de Sein. "Sleep? Dream on!" exclaims Morgan Lagravière, focused on the liquid crystals of Charal's displays in a bid to maintain a modicum of speed.
- A slight acceleration in pace after the negotiation of waypoint Azimut 1. The IMOCAs are on a beam reach in a light S'ly breeze.
- Macif Santé Prévoyance back in the game and heading the fleet with Charal and Teamwork Team Snef. Café Joyeux, the leading daggerboard IMOCA, is managing to hang onto them!
- The course has been extended by 57 miles: after Azimut 2, the competitors will now round the SN1 mark at the entrance to the mouth of the Loire River, before heading back to Lorient. ETA of the leaders tomorrow at noon.
A long hard slog to Sein
A millpond ambiance, sails flogging, eyelids heavy... The start of this 48H Défi Azimut will go down in history! Indeed, after exactly 20 hours of racing with the wind right on their tails, before zigzagging along in a dying breeze, the leaders had covered 116 miles averaging less than 6 knots.
These were the numbers recorded at 11:30 am this morning as the head of the fleet rounded Waypoint Azimut 1, Charal only fractionally ahead of Macif Santé Prévoyance. Indeed, Sam Goodchild and Lois Berrehar have hooked up with the front of the pack again using every ounce of patience and determination they could muster.
Still back in fifth place at the Occidentale de Sein, some 30 minutes behind the leader, the Verdier design was by far the fastest on the beat over the second section of the racetrack and is now topping the provisional scoreboard this evening.
Meantime, yesterday's leader Teamwork Team Snef, which currently completes the podium, suffered slight damage: "I was in my bunk, explains Xavier Macaire, when there was a big bang, a significant impact. I was scared that it was the mast. Fortunately, it was the tack on the J0 - still a large headsail -, that had broken. It pulled out the pulpit and the stanchions in the process." By the time the crew had managed to salvage the sail and hoist the J2, Charal, which had been neck and neck with them since the start, had left the midnight blue IMOCA for dust. A fine illustration then of the level of the competition at the front of the fleet!
Course modification
There is also a fierce battle among the chasing pack, particularly between Initiatives Cœur and 4Cad- La Mie Caline, which are at a level pegging, closely followed by Café Joyeux. Making her race debut,
Les P'tits Doudous has also caught right back up and is making good headway in this peloton.
Suffice to say that the increase in breeze to around fifteen knots this afternoon, which is taking the fleet straight towards waypoint 2, has been widely heralded as a deliverance. The ideal opportunity to accelerate away then, the foils whistling, providing the perfect soundtrack for the first naps.
However, this moment of relaxation is set to be short-lived as Francis Le Goff, Race Director for the Défi Azimut Lorient Agglomération, explains: "The IMOCAs have been benefiting from a bit of pressure as they negotiate a small crumbling front. However, just off the back of that, they're tumbling into a light patch again."
Still confused, the weather scenario should become clearer over the course of the evening. The S'ly breeze will increase to 15 knots and the pace will pick up considerably tonight. To avoid some nocturnal finishes then, it has finally been decided to extend the course to 314 miles. In this way, after waypoint Azimut 2, the competitors will round the 'SN1' safe water mark at the entrance to the mouth of the Loire River before returning to Lorient, leaving Groix Island to starboard. It's all to play for then at the head of the fleet with a number of coastal effects to negotiate and the return of the tailwind with a plethora of tactical options up for grabs around the islands off Lorient.
Heating up on the water and bubbling on land!
Whilst the 24 co-skippers competing in the 48 H Azimut are embroiled in a heated battle on the sprint back to Lorient, the whole of the competitive sailing ecosystem has come together this Friday at the Cité de la Voile Eric Tabarly for an intense series of conferences and round tables. Life-Cycle Assessments, bio-sourced materials, the circular economy, data and of course AI: the topics discussed provide a real insight into the complexity of the underlying themes related to developing performance whilst overcoming the challenges of sustainability.