Nigel King:"You need to understand how tough this race is..."

On his race this year: “It’s not the race I’ve hoped for, the race I would have liked to have but the reality is that you need to understand how hard this race is. Once you’ve finished you sit back you get that it wasn’t very straightforward, it was not easy and clearly there were some things that were not the way I wanted them to be. But that’s the lesson the Solitaire is always giving. The important thing is to get to the finish and learn the lesson and make plans to come back again. The best lesson I’ve learnt is that I arrived too tired, too much work beforehand and a lot of my preparation was disrupted with problems and mentally I arrived too tired. If you are not 100% then the race is way too hard to do well. Also I was physically tired so that’s not good as well. Preparation is everything, you have to spend time on the water and time relaxing making sure you turn up at the best, fresh.
“I think the French they have much more understanding of what is required and I thought I understood, but the reality is that every time you turn up you realise more is required. Also, this time around more and more good skippers turned up, better and better prepared and in one of the preparation races you can be 20 or 30 minutes behind Jérémie Beyou and you come second. At the Solitaire you do the same and you come 33rd! All the British sailors are good but we still have a lot of time to work on the preparation and understanding the details of solo offshore over this kind of courses like the Figaro…"

On why he’s so fascinated by the race: “I keep coming back to the Solitaire, because I’m not very bright (he laughs). There is something… it’s the complete race, it is so hard to describe to someone what is the Solitaire du Figaro until they’ve seen it. You come here as a reasonably good sailor and you have to addd so much more to your skills to be able to be successful. And on top of that, it’s got to be your year. There are a lot of guys here that are potential winners and finished in the thirties either in a leg or overall. Its one of those races where you can do everything you can do to put yourself in that top bunch and still come 30th, sit back and say “what did I do wrong?” we didn’t do that much wrong but the others did it better. This is the general fascination with the Solitaire, the quality of the sailing, and add the solo, short course racing. We were discussing last night about the part of the Chenal du Four, how crazy it was… so many crosses, you couldn’t see the boats and I though this is the craziest thing I’ve ever done. What madness. You look at it and you think this sis crazy but then it’s quite cool to be involved. When I finished the leg I thought it was not the result I wanted but from an experience point of view this is very cool. The overall fascination with this race is that once you’re in it it’s very hard to hear someone saying I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to miss out something that’s pretty special.”

On whether he’s proud of having raced the Solitaire: “I’m happy to be finished, I don’t know if proud is the right word. But you’re in a very privileged company. I think we get carried away on how important the result is, while the reality is that being among this lot is just this special. One of the things that is stuck in my head is that when we finished yesterday, finished in the thirties Jean-Paul Moren (the French skipper at his 25th participation) walked past and he said “you made a very nice race”. I figure he knows what he’s talking about… he’s been in front, he’s a very good sailor. When you’re not actually in the moment you can’t apply in the right perspective what you’re looking at, if someone else is making a comment like that you get a bit more realistic about it all. Probably I was a bit unrealistic in my expectations for the race because I like to challenge myself. I learned a huge amount, I understand much more about the Figaro than I did in 2009 and in 2007. So next year we come back and we tried with a little bit more understanding. Maybe it will take five places higher, maybe ten places higher. Keep trying… Apart from the sailing the Solitaire is an experience, a feeling, an emotion and it would be nice for me to be more involved in that. I asked Jean-Paul Mouren the question if he enjoys race 25 as he enjoyed race one and he answered “yes I have no chance of winning but it makes a very nice family” and I guess it’s a good way of putting it, he feels a part of something and he wants to go on being a part of it. That’s what the Solitaire does to you, it’s more than just a boat race I want to go to, something you feel emotionally attached to.”

Did you learn a new word in French during the race? “Not one I can tell you now!”

Sam Goodchild (Artemis): "Never give up!"

“As the results go, it’s disappointing, I didn’t go as well as I wanted to but as far as learning goes it’s way beyond my expectations. Very productive for me as a sailor to learn a lot about sailing, the boat, tactics, managing the boat, managing the sleep. I’ve learned a lot about myself, I realised that it’s true what everyone says, that the Figaro is in your head. If I look back at the race now I realise how many things I did differently on the Figaro as opposed to the traing in winter or the Basse Normandie race. This is very different. I need to work more.”

What is the best thing you’ve learned? “The best thing I’ve learned is never to give up, it’s easy to say but you don’t realise until you actually do it, you race in the Figaro. Like coming into Dieppe, we had twenty miles to go, and everything changed, it’s not over until you cross the finish line. Everyone was so close, if you stop five miles from the finish you loose ten places.”

About sleep management: “I didn’t find it a big problem, it was one of my worries before the race, I spent a lot of time speaking to people to find out what they did and what they thought was a good idea. I made sure that I had a minimum hours of sleep every day.”

What is special about this race?: “In theory the Solitaire is the same as other races but it’s not, there are more boats. Everything is special about this race, the number of skippers, how much they care about it, how much they want to win it. It means a lot if you gain places or lose places, win a leg. If you go doing a training event and you have a bad finish it’s not that important, but if you that in a leg of the Figaro it means too much.”

Are you proud of having finished?: “I wouldn’t say proud, I didn’t sail as well as I wanted to, but at the same time I think it’s about me I still have to learn, to progress. If I’m going to do the Figaro again, which I want to, I would do it next week actually, then there is a lot I would change in my attitude, how I do things and how I think about it. I have to do some more and see… There are people who’ve done the race very young and have gone nowhere and others, like Jérémie Beyou, who have now won it twice. So it’s not a bad start.”

About the relationship with the other skippers: “It’s pretty good, most of the skippers have a lot of patience with me, my French is very bad. This is professional racing at top level but still everyone is very friendly, speak about everything and anything.”
On the winner: “It’s incredible for Jérémie to win three legs, to win one leg it’s pretty hard but three is… I will try to do that one day but it’s a long way to go. Don’t think it will happen soon.”

Did you learn a new word in French during the race? “My French is very basic so every day I learn new words.”

Phil Sharp on his Solitaire du Figaro

Wrap up of his Solitaire du Figaro: “I think it was a race where I decided to learn quite a lot from the racing and from the fleet. To go as fast as possible but be rather conservative on tactics and prepare myself well for each leg. I found that I never made any big mistake that would compromise my time overall. I’m quite pleased with my performance all around, it’s incredible to finish in the top twenty. I’m very happy with that because my big goal was to be in the top part and I think that I superseded that in a way. I thoroughly enjoyed the race it’s just been incredible experience, it’s so close all the time and for sure I’m already thinking I can do better. So I’ll probably come back next year and do the Solitaire again. I learnt to make sure you avoid any penalties, that’s important, but also to be well prepared for each leg in terms of equipment. The most important thing is to work on your personal management and sleep management. As soon as you ended up losing some sleep literally lead to a list of other problems that will affect your result in that leg. And I was more happy with the last leg because I was keeping myself in shape all time so my priority was to stay with the fleet and then push very hard the last night. I was able to gain places towards the end and not just be hanging on in a very tired state. I’m happy I ve developed over the race and learned from it, not to push too hard for too long or too soon.”

Asked if he would like to do the Solitaire again: “I hope to come back next year. There’s certainly unfinished business in this class and I’d love to come back and be in the top five.”

On what he will do in the next few weeks: “Now I’ve got to a bit of work to do, engineering work, and look for opportunities to do some Open 60 racing next year, as that’s something I really want to do, get some experience and perhaps put together a training plan for the Figaro over the winter.”

About his third place in the rookie class: “I’m very pleased to go on the podium in the rookie class. Congratulations to Morgan (Lagravière) for his race, it’s been a pretty incredible race actually, he consistently was in the upper part, didn’t make any big mistakes and Xavier (Macaire) as well. It was a close finish with Xavier, I spent the whole leg along his lay down. I think that was tough competition, there are a lot of new skippers, so I’m pleased to go on the podium, for sure.”

“I think that the Figaro is a much competitive class than the others, like the Class40, it’s a completely different game. There are skills developing in the Figaro class that give you opportunities to learn, no matter what are the other classes you’re sailing in. That’s why we see Open 60 sailors come back. It’s the ideal offshore sailing experience.”

Have you learned new words in French? “Super cool! My girlfriend bought a pair of sunglasses, I looked at them thinking they were not that good but a man that was passing said: “c’est super cool!”

Prize giving ceremony postponed

Due to the adverse weather conditions in Dieppe, where it is pouring rain, the prize giving ceremony for the fourth leg that was scheduled for today in the race village, has been postponed to tomottow, Saturday, at 12:30.

Plenty of activity in Dieppe

Busy time for the Solitaire skippers in Dieppe. After a much fought for football match yesterday, the sailors will meet again today at the local hippodrome in the early afternoon for a race on sulky, and tomorrow it will be golf tournament and for those who will still have some energy left a "tennis ballon" match in the late afternoon...

Decisions by the Jury

The Jury examined five cases today. For a collision during the inshore course in Les Sables d’Olonne, Thierry Chabagny (Gedimat) who hit Conrad Humphreys (DMS) has been penalised by 30 minutes’. Eric Drouglazet (Luisina) and Vincent Biarnes (Prati’Bûches) get 5 minutes each because the seals on their fire extinguisher and battery respectively were broken. Phil Sharp (The Spirit of Independence) who failed to sign the compulsory declaration upon his arrival in Dieppe is penalised by 5 minutes. Xavier Macaire (Starter Active Bridge) who had diverted to check on a non identified safety flash-light hs been given a 5 minutes redress.

Conrad Humphreys (DMS): "really amazing"

"That was an amazing leg, really, really amazing. It was a really good leg for me , very close, I stayed with the lead bunch and the whole time we were never 4 or 5 miles off the front. It had bits of everything that leg. Ask me if it was harder than the Vendee, yeah, I'd say it was harder than the Vendee. Ask me if I'll be back, I'll definitely be back, that was amazing."

Erwan Tabarly (Nacarat) – 3rd overall and 4th in leg three

“A fourth place in this last leg, I could have done better! I would have loved to finish with a win because I knew I could make it, but I’m on the third step of the podium and that’s brilliant. It’s been a long time that I have been up in the top ten, but I could not get on the podium, so that’s great. I still have to go up two places but it’s true that Jérémie (Beyou) was untouchable and Fabien (Delahaye) sailed very well. I set my watch to see if I was going to be third overall, Thomas Rouxel was too far behind but Nicolas Lunven was only 27 minutes back. Not that much. On this last leg it was impossible to relax, it all came down to detail, the good boat handling… This year’s format is very interesting, because you had plenty of little options to take all the time. We’ve been sailing round the rocks, with and against the current, wind shifting, coastal effects: enough to keep you busy. I hope one day I will win this race and I hope not to be 60 when I will!”

Fabien Delahaye (Port de Caen-Ouistreham) – 3rd in Dieppe and second overall

“First, seventh, second, third: I’m over the moon with my performance over the four legs and to jump on the second step of the podium is great. These are good results, but the Solitaire victory is calculated on total time and Jérémie (Beyou) never let me go. At times it was me at times him to be in front, but we’ve never been more than half a mile apart. We made the same choices, he was keeping a constant watch on me, and now and then we could even talk to each other. It was an amazing leg and I’m happy to have lived it with him! Two years ago I was fighting with Paul (Meilhat) for the rookie win and we were finishing in Dieppe, you can say that this is like a nice remake of the same movie. You have to be consistent and being there with the best ones on all the legs. There is a bunch of new kids to keep an eye on: Morgan Lagravière, Phil Sharp among the rookies, but also Anthony Marchand, Thomas Rouxel, Paul Meilhat… they come from everywhere! “

Jérémie Beyou (BPI), overall winner of the Solitaire 2011

“I feel a bit guilty, Paul (Meilhat) sailed really well on this last leg and he deserved to win. How do you win a Solitaire? It’s not only a matter of performances, it’s also about willpower, you have to train, get organised, question yourself, never give up and you need luck too. It may sound obvious but it’s a combination of all these factors. And this year I had everything that I needed. I’ve been thinking about coming back to win since 2009, and I’ve done everything I could.”
On how he managed to keep his nerves, and his margin: “After the third leg, I told myself that I could make it again: I knew that Fabien (Delahaye) was a bit faster than me downwind, but I didn’t panic. I tried to remain self-confident. Because I know my strong and weak points and thats how I manage not to be anxious of my adversaries.”
About joining the double winners’ club: “Right, with Nicolas Troussel and Armel Le Cléach’, now we’re three from the bay of Morlaix. We’ve always done everything together, but it’s amazing anyway.”
When asked if he will come back on the Solitaire Beyou commented: “I don’t know the answer. Maybe yes, but not just to be there. And physically it’s very tough, true I won three legs but I’m exhausted.”
What the winner likes most about the race: “The constant fight, the level of the competition. But there’s more, when you finish there’s such a special atmosphere, you feel at home, people are smiling at you and it’s nice to meet the others ashore. The organisers have made a fantastic job and it’s not only the sailors that make this race so special…”

Phil Sharp (The Spirit of Independence) third in the rookie class by only 4 seconds after more than 260 hours at sea!

Rookies' overall podium: Morgan Lagravière (Vendée), Xavier Macaire (Sterter Active Bridge) and Phil Sharp (The Spirit of Independence)

Beyou joins exclusive race double winners' club

At 35, at his 12th participation to La Solitaire du Figaro, Jérémie Beyou secures his second victory after 2005. He joins the very exclusive club of the race double winners with Armel Le Cléac’h (2003-2010), Nicolas Troussel (2006-2008), Jean-Marie Vidal (1972-1987), Gilles Gahinet (1977-1980), Guy Cornou (1975-1976) and Gilles le Baud (1973-1978). Only Philippe Poupon (1982-1985-1995), Jean Le Cam (1994-1996-1999) and Michel Desjoyeaux (1992-1998-2007) managed to do better with three wins each…

Nigel King (E-Line Orthodontics) finishes leg four in 36th and Portuguese Francisco Lobato (Roff) in 37th

Conrad Humpreys (DMS) in 30th at 13:26:28

Sam Goodchild (Artemis) crossed the line in 33rd at 13:28:58

First Briton, Phil Sharp (The Spirit of Independence) in 20th position at 13:13:23

22 skippers home

Paul Meilhat (Macif 2011) in second, Fabien Delahaye (Port de Caen Ouistreham) third, Erwan Tabarly (Nacarat) in fourth

Jérémie Beyou (Macif 2011) wins fourth leg!

Paul Meilhat (Macif 2011) still in the lead

Paul Meilhat is still reported to be in the lead, with a hundred metres advantage on the pair Beyou-Delahaye, very close together, and on Erwan Tabarly. The breeze has slightly veered SW and the leaders keep gybing…

Six at the top

Less than 8 miles to the finish, six skippers are fighting neck-to-neck in half a mile radius. Paul Meilhat looks to be in pole position to win this last leg, ahead of Erwan Tabarly and Fabien Delahaye. But, a few hundreds metres behind race overall leader Jérémie Beyou, Laurent Gouezigoux and Eric Péron are chasing them. The whole fleet is sailing full throttle to the finish in a westerly breeze topping 15 knots. Finish expected at around 12:45.

14 miles to the finish: Meilhat, Beyou, Delahaye in 0,10 mile!

Leaders less than 20 miles from the finish

New ETA between 12:30 and 13:00

The leaders's speed has increased, they are now sailing under spinnaker at more than 8 knots. At 9:30 the first trio, Paul Meilhat, Fabien Delahaye and Jérémie Beyou was 27 miles from the finish

Follow the finish “live”

The online map will switch to “live” mode when the leaders will be 20 miles from the finish (at around 11:15), to follow the fleet’s progression click on “Live” on the top right banner.

A new start at Etretat

Think of a 20 mile long line off the cliffs of Etretat. This is how the fleet was positioned today at 8 a.m., some 40 miles from the finish in Dieppe. It’s like a brand new start line, except the boats are sailing downwind, spinnakers up in a westerly breeze of around ten knots. North of this imaginary line a group composed of Paul Meilhat, Erwan Tabarly, Fabien Delahaye, Jérémie Beyou and Laurent Gouézigoux. South Frédéric Rivet, Adrien Hardy et Vincent Biarnes, whilst Eric Peron, Nicolas Jossier, Anthony Marchand and Gildas Morvan have chosen to stay at the centre, closer to the direct route to the finish. At every position report, that is now updated every 30 minutes, a different skipper alternates at the top.  Nothing is certain then, possibly the fleet will reunite again and the winner of this fourth and final leg will be uncovered only on the very last hundreds metres from Dieppe. The leaders are expected to reach the finish no ealier than 14:00.

Check out the latest position report, update every 30 minutes

Less than 45 miles to the finish

Light wind conditions for the last night at sea, the 44 skippers still have less than 50 miles to cover before finally finishing the fourth and last leg of the  Solitaire du Figaro Eric Bompard Cachemire. Adrien Hardy (Agir Recouvrement) leads, but the pursuers are very close…

New ETA: the leaders expected to be in Dieppe at around 3 p.m.