Today at 1400 BST SKANDIA left her dock at La Rochelle and headed out to the start line of the third leg of the Solitaire Affelou Le Figaro, 456 miles from La Rochelle to Cork on the south coast of Ireland. This is the second longest leg of the 1710-mile four-leg event – nearly 100 miles further than the previous two legs and a challenging course for the 45 skippers. The race is due to start at 1600 BST and will begin with a short windward/leeward inshore course before the fleet head out of the bay then turn right towards Ushant.

From Sam before the start: “I’m feeling good, positive and really looking forward to it! It’s going to be tough but I think I might to able to do well in this leg. This is a much longer leg than the ones before, and really more ‘offshore’ as we will cross the English Channel and the Irish sea. There are several shipping lanes to cross, and the Scilly Isles will be almost on our route. It’s really complicated at the beginning, and some people may get away and create a big gap in the fleet, and I think the same will happen at the finish – some boats will pull away from the rest. It’s really important to always be alert in this leg. We’ve got a long upwind run in strong winds towards Ushant so it’s important not to get too knackered. At the point of Brittany, the wind will pick up to 30-35knots so it’s going to be full-on sailing - this leg is going to work the muscles! At the end of the last leg, other skippers were feeling really tired but I felt rested, so I think I’m better prepared for this leg than others who haven’t had as much sleep, and are starting to feel the fatigue. This leg and the next leg will be the longest I have ever sailed in this type of event. I’m happy this leg is longer than the first two because I think endurance is one of my strong points and I prefer the endurance of a long leg rather than the sprint of a short leg. The longer the better!”

Richard Silvani from Météo France predicts that the fleet will be navigating through a number of weather systems with some testing conditions: “There is forecasted to be rather unstable and light air for the start, due to the storms forming further south. In a light WSW breeze, only 3-8 knots will assist the 45-boat fleet towards Ushant on the north-western most point of France but this should move round to a light west-north-westerly breeze (6-12 knots) by this evening. Tonight we should see some strong north-westerly winds of about 25 knots, gusting up to 35. This is forecasted to weaken to 5-10 knots but still with a risk of storm, and gusty winds. The wind should then drop and lift again in the Celtic Sea, where, once again, there will be a new high pressure system and the decision of when to tack to contend with. The wind appears to gradually swing left towards the end of the race and weaken again, although the breeze will continue from the west and even south-west by Sunday, by which time the skippers are all expected to have finished.”

The ETA for the fleet in Cork, Ireland, is Saturday 20th August.

DAVIES WINS PROTEST

Following the incident after the start of Leg 1 when Sam found herself without sufficient water to keep clear of the rocks in the bay of Perros Guirec, the protests of both skippers involved, Sam Davies and German skipper Jorg Riechers (GermanyToo), were heard by the international jury in La Rochelle yesterday. The jury has decided that Riechers was in the wrong and gave him the maximum penalty - disqualification from Leg 1 (as the event is based on cumulative time, Riechers will be given the finish time of the last Leg 1 competitor plus 2 hours). Davies has been awarded 5 minutes of time, moving her Leg 1 finishing positioning up three places, from 26th to 23rd.

Although Riechers will tumble down the overall rankings this outcome will not affect the overall standing for Davies, who after two legs is lying in 23rd overall 1 hours, 58 minutes and 37 seconds behind the leader, Pietro D’Ali (Nanni Diesel). The Solitaire du Figaro is all about cumulative time and Sam will have to sail two blinding legs to achieve her objective of finishing inside the top 10 overall when this event finishes on 26th August.

OVERALL POSITIONS AFTER TWO LEGS:

1. D’ALI Pietro / NANNI DIESEL 108h22′21”
2. MORVAN Gildas / CERCLE VERT +2′36″
3. DUTHIL Frédéric / BROSSARD +13′53″
4. BEYOU Jérémie / DELTA DORE +17′25″
5. CHABAGNY Thierry / LEBRE BERMUDES +22′29″
6. LE CLEAC’H Armel / FONCIA-TBS +23′13″
7. CAUDRELIER Charles / BOSTIK +25′13″
8. DESJOYEAUX Michel / GEANT +27′53″
9. PELLECUER Laurent / CLIPTOL SPORT +28′13″
10. TABARLY Erwan / THALES +29′47″
–
23. DAVIES Sam / SKANDIA +1h58′37″

Share or bookmark this story: