The solos enter their race

The 36 solo sailors are heading out of the English Channel. Comfortably positioned close-hauled on a relatively calm sea, they are sailing at their own pace but are already very focused on the next waypoint at Wolf Rock. They should reach this mark by the end of the night. A promising start to the race before tackling the Bay of Biscay.

©Thomas Campion

As the hours passed, two groups began to emerge. The first, led by Loïs Berrehar (Banque Populaire), the current leader, consisted of a fleet of approximately 17 solo sailors. Arno Biston (Article.1), Paul Morvan (Foricher les Moulins), Edouard Golbery (SOS Villages d'Enfants), and Hugo Dhallenne (Skipper Macif 2025) formed the new top 5. The second group, positioned slightly further southwest, included Alexis Thomas (Wings of the Océan), Eliaz Morineau (Demain sans HPV), Adrien Hardy (Sans nature, pas de futur!), and Tom Dolan (Kingspan), the westernmost of the solo sailors.

Around 6 p.m., the first Figaro sailors crossed the shipping lane and were able to sail a little more calmly towards the tip of Cornwall.

©Thomas Campion

Forced to make a technical stop, Tom Goron (XPlorassur) continues to give his all to make up his deficit which is 6.7 miles at 6pm.

The first words from the sea

Loïs Berrehar (Banque Populaire)

“I’m super happy to have won the Paprec Trophy, it’s a real pleasure and I had a blast. It was great fun, although we had to be careful because the current was really pushing us towards the finish line, but we all behaved pretty well and that gave us a good start. Looking ahead, the sea is still relatively calm and it should get a bit rougher when the wind picks up. We’ll have to make the most of the squalls, there’ll be plenty to do. For the moment, things are going pretty well. The race is off to a good start.”

Paul Cousin (Région Normandie)

"It was a great start with a bit of sunshine that came through just in time, it's lovely. It's a long leg to Wolf Rock now. We're going to be sailing upwind for a while but there should be a few things to do. I'm staying focused on what I have to do."

Édouard Gobery (SOS Village d'Enfants)

"It's a good start to the race so far. I finished third in the coastal course, I'm quite happy with what I did. It's pretty much what I had in mind, it's not bad. I've eaten my first hard-boiled eggs, I'm going to start getting my bearings. We're all watching each other a bit, but I'll have to analyze what's coming next to stick to my plan."

Arno Biston (Article 1)

"The coastal course was well chosen by the race management. We were able to put on a bit of a show, it was really nice and in good safety conditions for us. Now we're getting into the real competition. We'll have to give it our all."