Stormy nighttime progression

The word is not as innocuous as it seems. During this morning's radio check-in, at the start of the third day of the Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, Nicolas Lunven described the previous night as nightmarish. Indeed, relentlessly, the sky unleashed its lightning, forcing the sailors to maneuver again and again, to adjust their sails, leaving no moment to try and rest. The skipper of PRB is still leading this second leg, but the second group, positioned to the southeast, seems better able to extend its lead and is currently sailing in good order to attempt a decisive move. Unsure of their position, both groups are beginning to imagine, speculate, and perhaps even anticipate. This new day promises to be strategic, but with the understanding that physical recovery is now necessary to prepare for what lies ahead.

Oh rage, oh despair

Early last night, a very large storm cloud disturbed the tranquility of a body of water that had been too calm until then.

"You could call it a nightmarish night, with a storm that rolled in at nightfall and kept us busy all night. Day is breaking and the joke has just ended. The advantage is that it did allow us to make some progress on the road thanks to the gusts of wind," admitted Nicolas Lunven during this morning's radio check-in.

Well positioned at the head of the second group, Eliaz Morineau, whose seamanship is beyond question, found himself capsized last night by a 45-knot gust. The sailor immediately warned the other solo sailors so they could prepare for such a gale.

“Suddenly, I saw a large white mass appear. It was a huge gust of wind, everything was white. It was frightening. It happened all of a sudden and the boat heeled over. I was sailing downwind. There was maybe 35 knots of wind and, suddenly, the boat lost traction and stayed heeled over. I think it was easily 45 knots. It lasted I don't know how long, but it was incredibly intense.”

Will sleep be the key to success?

"I'm a bit tired, I admit. It was a sleepless night. The wind shifted in every direction. All night long, thunderstorms, hail and maybe 35 knots in the gusts," said Tom Dolan, skipper of Kingspan.

“I don’t think I slept a wink last night. Well, actually, I did manage to take two short naps at the end of the night when the storm had passed,” admitted Nicolas Lunven, skipper of PRB.

When it comes to sleep, everyone is in the same boat. Rest has become a luxury that sailors would love to afford. Between the storms, the shifting winds in both strength and direction, and the gusts to contend with, the night was particularly turbulent. The situation isn't expected to improve in the coming hours, as everyone will try to take advantage of the light breezes this morning to get their boats moving again. It's actually easier for sailors to rest upwind in a steady breeze than during these long periods of calm.

On board Région Bretagne – CMB Espoir, Paul Loiseau made the same observation:

"Didn't get much sleep last night. Even the night before, it started to get really rough. I'm nodding off a bit. You have to stay on board because there are sometimes very small gusts of wind coming in. So it's better to stay on deck to get the boat moving again."

Maneuvers galore

“You know my hands hurt terribly. My gloves are completely worn out. So I turned them inside out to use the other side. And now I’m already wearing out that part too. My hands really hurt a lot and I can’t sleep,” Eliaz Morineau confided.

At Paul Loiseau, the maneuvers follow one another at a frenetic pace.

"I've lost count of the maneuvers, but I've done a lot. I'd say at least twenty. I must have hoisted the gennaker around twenty times and the spinnaker at least fifteen. Just last night, I must have hoisted the gennaker ten times. Now my hands are starting to hurt, blisters are appearing."

It's time for this to end and for the wind to pick up so we can finally choose a sail and keep it until the end.

“I really wonder where the others are. This ranking may not mean much, I don’t really know, but I can’t place Nico Lunven and his whole group. It’s surprising. Since I don’t know where they are, it’s difficult to know if we are really well placed or not,” Eliaz Morineau confided on Tomorrow Without HPV.

This new day should ultimately resemble yesterday's. We'll have to make the most of every little breeze, but one thing is certain: the road to Pornichet remains fraught with obstacles.