Magical Charlotte

The miles tick by and Charlotte Yven (Skipper Macif 2023) is holding firm. Thanks to a strategic repositioning made during the night, followed by Hugo Cardon (Sarth'Atlantique), the sailor is leading the fleet of 34 sailors competing in the Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, towards Cape Finisterre, some thirty miles away. A small group of four solo sailors is on the lookout and the rest of the fleet is trying, as best it can, to move towards this convergence point.

With a ten-mile lead over the chasing group, Charlotte Yven and Hugo Cardon will be able to approach the left turn and begin the descent along the steep Spanish coast towards Vigo, the finishing town of this second chapter of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec. However, the morphology of this end of the leg will not be as simple as that. The ridge of high pressure is back and seems firmly anchored in this northwestern part of Spain. It is in a weakening wind that the end of the race will take place and force the sailors to be as vigilant and lucid as possible. While everyone gave a lot last night in the battle to pass the ridge, the most rested will be able to remain on the alert to find the fault and exploit the slightest gust. Lying in ambush behind the leading duo, Quentin Vlamynck (Les Étoiles Filantes), Alexis Loison (Groupe REEL), Paul Morvan (French Touch – Foricher) and Jules Ducelier (Région Normandie) will not let the leaders escape and will do everything they can to make up the gap.

Towards Vigo at a senator's pace

The new weather forecasts along the Spanish coast currently allow the race to continue to Vigo. If the weather conditions become more complicated and do not allow a good finish, the race management will then use the intermediate classification of a mandatory crossing gate, located at Cape Finisterre, as the definitive classification for the stage.

“The wind was stronger than predicted by the models. The sailors benefited from what is called a high-pressure area in weather forecasting. However, they will not escape a small bubble of windless conditions in the coming hours off Cape Finisterre and La Coruña. Things will still be very slow tonight and tomorrow. There will still be a bit of wind along the coast, with an arrival in the afternoon on Friday ,” confides Cyrille Duchesne of Météo Consult.

They said:

Alexis Loison (REEL Group)

"I'm in a small group of four boats with Quentin Vlamynck, Paul Morvan, and Jules Ducelier. They're the only ones I can see visually and on the AIS. I don't know where the others are. I think the night was a bit complicated for the whole fleet. Crossing the bubble was more laborious than expected, as is often the case. I think I'm in the group for which it went well. I wanted to go further west, but oh well. I think two of them went there, but I don't know where they are now."

I stood by my ideas. We have the right to be wrong, but we do not have the right to be influenced.

This Bay of Biscay is fascinating. Things are always happening, especially things that aren't in the strategy manual. It's extremely interesting. I'm going to rest a little and, above all, study the strategy for next night, which doesn't look so rosy.

Jules Ducelier (Normandy Region)

"We had a complicated night with the ridge to cross. It wasn't easy and I was pulling my hair out trying to get through it. In the end, I'm doing well. I'm in the right group and two boats got away."

On the other hand, I'm in the red in terms of fatigue. The wind is extremely unstable, it's not easy to hold. The residual swell doesn't help to hold the spinnaker and the sails. We have to find the right moment to go and rest because the rest of the race isn't going to be easy. The ridge of high pressure we just crossed is going to hit us again. I'm going to try to anticipate a little based on the weather information I have. The regatta isn't over. You can't get bored on a leg like this."

Tom Goron (Dubreuil Group):

"I managed to get through to the front of the group with Alexis, Jules, and Charlotte. They got stuck in a slack area, and we wanted to stretch out to cross the ridge. They reached the easterly flow before us. They set off calmly ahead."

The wind was constantly 360 degrees. It was complicated and tiring, especially constantly gybing under gennaker. I had a sleepless night. The wind has since picked up, it's much more pleasant. I think for the moment I'm going to take a fairly direct route. There might be an acceleration along the coast. I'm going to try to go for this last sprint. I've always been flat out, I don't let up at any point. We'll see at the end, but above all I want to have no regrets about my way of sailing and to have given the best of myself."