Uncomfortble sailing conditions for Figaro fleet
'Eric Drouglazet leading on board Luisina'
Marmara/ Le Figaro ©
Eric Drouglazet (Luisina) just leads the fleet of 44 Figaro sailors ahead of Nicolas B?renger (Kone) on the final leg of La Solitaire from Cherbourg to l'Aber Wrac'h in Brittany.
Conditions on the water are rough, 30 knots of Southwesterly wind, with gusts of up to 40 and rough choppy seas. Overnight the fleet as split into three distinct groups from North to South, currently above Ushant, to find the best angle of approach to the next major point of passage, the Brittany weather mark some 250 miles West off Brittany.
'The wind came in gradually,' explains Jacques Cara?s from on board the race office boat, 'we have 30 knots from the South, southwest and it's damp. The skies are dark and the sea is rough with a short and uncomfortable chop which is only going to worsen,' he continues. So not nice conditions for the Figaro B?n?teau boats to make headway in and there is more to come, 'the wind continues to come in from the south, southwest with 25 to 30 knots and gusts of up to 40. The shift to the west, southwest should come from around 23:00 tonight' predicts Richard Silvani from M?t?o France. 'It is going to get worse and worse and we could well see 4 to 5 metre waves close to Brittany Buoy,' concludes Silvani.
The lateral gap, 45 miles this morning between the fleet, shows three the distinct options the fleet have chosen. Spearheading the central group we find Eric Drouglazet (Luisina), leading some of the strong contenders, Jean-Pierre Nicol (Gavottes), Gildas Mah? (Le Comptoir Immobilier), Erwan Tabarly (Athema), Jeanne Gregoire.
But it is a southerly positioned breakaway group that makes the most gains on the leader. Nicolas B?renger (Kone) in 2nd place at 16:00 and 0.2 miles behind de leader, is followed by Fr?d?ric Duthil (Distinxion Automobiles), Thierry Chabagny (Suzuki Automobiles) in 8th and 1 mile behind, Armel Tripon (Gedimat) and Nicolas Lunven (Foncia). Opting for the route closest to shore, the southerly bunch were able to make gradual gains on the central pack throughout the morning, using the favourable tide and current to gain ground. The wind from the Southwest has also given those to the south a more comfortable angle of approach to the Brittany Buoy.
Furthest north, the third group is led by Romain Attanasio (DCNS 97) in 34th place and 11.8 miles from the leader and followed by the current overall leader Nicolas Troussel (Financo), Thomas Rouxel (D?fi Mousquetaires), Jean Charles Monet (Degr?mont Suez Environnement), Gerald Veniard (Macif) and Andy Greenwood (Imtech. This group opted for a northerly course that saw them pass above Aurigny on a route taking them closer to the cargo traffic lanes before tacking south.
The fleet will converge on the final approach to the next mark, for now however the advantage in terms of both distance to finish and boat speed lies with those placed furthest south. 
Radio Chats over the VHF: Voices from the Sea
Gr?gory Gendron (Sopra Group 2) and Elodie Riou (KPMG) pull out of race.
The two sailors choose to abandon the race and head direct for l'Aber Wrac'h..
Liz Wardley (Sojasun), who announced she would not compete in the last leg, has safely delivered her boat to l'Aber Wrac'h..
We talk to Eric Drouglazet (Luisina) leading the fleet on the 11:00 ranking over the VHF at lunchtime today,'I am sailing under Solent and am well prepared for this front, the boat is fine and I am doing well. I am ready for the battle. Right now I have 23 to 24 knots of wind. We have a short chop and it really is like being in a field of spaghetti with all the seaweed around. For now all is good and Luisina is going fast. Earlier I was close to Erwan and passed him, so my boat speed is good. The wind has freshened, but it is going to get stronger, especially with the gusts. You feel like the depression is almost stationary and is going to stay like that for some time so we all have wind. The main thing we have to be set properly and try and avoid these big floating banks of seaweed. By tonight we should pass the tip of Brittany and further offshore we should not have so much.'
Marc Lepesquex (Les Conqu?rents de la Mer/Caen la Mer):'We have headed out into the English Channel with quite a bit of wind which has rotated round to the left, but all is good. Right now we are on a direct course to the mark. We are gobbling up the miles to the Brittany weather mark, which is a good thing. I changed to Solent not that long ago, maybe a bit late actually, because the wind has really come in now. When I went to change the sail, the autopilot force tacked the boat, so I found myself under the Genoa and with the full water ballast below. So my oilies a just slightly wet! The sea is not all that rough yet, but it is going to come. I let the autopilot drive the boat for most of last night so managed to get some sleep and rearing to go!'
www.lasolitaire.com/
by Sabina Mollart-Rogerson 
Click on thumbnails to enlarge and find more photos:
Devonport, TAS
