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Solitaire du Figaro

These amateurs who love single handed racing

samedi 10 août 2002Information Solitaire du Figaro

They like it and they want more. In the big arms of the Figaro, the pure amateurs have had their baptism into solo-sailing between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Crosshaven. During this first leg what remains engraved in the minds of the best skippers, is that they have set out on the north face of their « maritime Everest ». But all is well aboard and the follow-up is shaping up beautifully. Take the « modest » words of Dominique Tincelin (Dragonfly), « non-pro »… and not dissatisfied with himself.

The most senior member of the fleet, Dominique has finally been hurled into the great bath and it’s not to upset him. This financial manager, voluntary treasurer to the FFV (French Sailing Federation), endeavours to prepare for this great plunge into the pure and hard realms of single-handed sailing according to the rules of the art. This highly skilled marathon runner, a trained long-distance runner, certainly had no desire to leave anything to chance in order to do well in this exercise, a clever mix of ocean and regatta racing.

Everything began one fine day in January when he decided to take the helm of his Figaro Bénéteau to participate in his last lap of 1691 miles. « To do it once in a lifetime ». Dominique juggled between his work in Geneva, his familly life with his wife and three children in Paris or Le Havre… and the deck of his monotype Monotype #sportboats . On the menu : physical, technical and maritime preparation, when his business agenda left him any freetime. But it was worth it : it was upwind that he came in at the end of this first leg in 31st position. He was in the 470 and 505 in the 60’s and 70’s, in Surprise in the 80’s – hoisting the sails on cruisers at the slightest opportunity – and has already left some adversaries in his wake.

First impressions

« We’ve had a very beautiful leg. A lot of good times. The coastline all along the rolling English contours was great. I already knew the Isle of Wight and so I didn’t have too many regrets about going past it out at sea. But I really got a lot of pleasure in rounding the Lizard at daybreak. I am a long-distance runner and I was able to hang on and catch up with some competitors. The first newcomer wasn’t so far ahead of us and some of those who preceded me had several solos under their belt. »

The hardest punishment

« Setting a course sometimes and choosing which options to take. I had huge uncertainties as I entered the Irish Sea. I wondered for a long time if I should bear right or left. I eventually opted for a little bit of westing before it took me off course. If I had to take one thing on board which I learnt most from this first leg, it would be that I lost too much contact with friends. I obviously gave myself too many options, two out at sea in particular. It was down to my inexperience as a newcomer. To be a single knight, is definitely not the way forward if you want the boat to give 100%. On the other legs, I must really try to stay in sight of the others. But looking back, this route wasn’t too difficult for me. I fear the bun fight more. We had 30 knots of wind at the end and if we had had to continue, I would have had to manage in the calm. »

Sleep

« Sleep management, on the other hand, didn’t cause me too many problems. I toned myself down a bit in order to keep something in reserve and I think I could have held out for another day or two. It’s essential, you could actually find yourself confronted by harder conditions at the end of the course and in that instance, you have to be able to hold out. I slept for periods of 25 minutes when I began to nod off and the boat was working well. On the last night, for example, I saw that the pilot was getting on better than me and so I was more than happy to hand over the helm 5-6 times for half an hour. No, quite honestly, I came to this event in pretty good shape and that reassures me that I can keep up with the rhythm and, above all, that I have the necessary resources to continue sailing for longer. »

And the others…

« There are two fleets at the end of this first round. But to be totally modest, that doesn’t surprise me at all. For the others, it’s their job and they sail with a great deal of talent. As a little aside, 5-6 years ago, I was in Kinsale and the Single-handed Figaro called in there. My Surprise was in the port. I saw the arrivals and I said to myself that I would never take part in this race of madmen ! That made me laugh remembering that during the first leg. »

News in brief...

Kito « rewarded » by Argos

It’s Kito de Pavant (Malice) who took the Argos prize for best progress in the rankings between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Crosshaven. A little under par at the start, and 24th to check in at the Radio France buoy, the skipper certainly didn’t lack tactical finesse and tenacity in making a thundering ascent up the rankings. So much so that the soloist actually finished this first leg in second, just 4 minutes 38 seconds behind the stern of Antoine Koch (Saunier Duval), fantastic first round winner. Suffice to say that he will be in pole position in the sequel to this 33rd edition totalling 1691 miles.

Eric’s sixth record Record #sailingrecord

The positions have given their verdict and award the record Record #sailingrecord for the greatest distance covered in 24 hours during this first leg to Eric Drouglazet (David Olivier). From 4 August at 1300 hours to 5 August at 1300 hours, the man who occupied the position of pack leader for a long time ran 82.5 miles… at an average of 3.44 knots !

Echos from the pontoons

Crosshaven : so Irish…

At the end of the first leg, testing in a number of ways, the 38 soloists have laid down their equal weapons. After some « uninterrupted » hours of good sleep, « beer time » for everyone, a time to relive the 437 miles between the English coast and the Irish Sea, rich in developments.

At Crosshaven, a small port nestled in the bay of Cork, all the conditions are right for the Irish phlegm. It’s a mad regatta, which hasn’t really toned down the « gentlemen » and sole woman in the fleet. The heavy rain, which came on specially to welcome the arrivals, has left the way clear for the good weather. Today the sun gladly made an entrance and Ireland was revealed in all its glory. In the port, adjoining the race village, the Royal Cork Yacht Club hasn’t emptied.

People are busy preparing the little review of nearly 500 miles. The skippers are already swotting up on the charts and weather forecasts. They’re thinking up an initial course for the second leg, which is shaping up to be a fabulous race of speed. But while the competitors maintain the tense nature of racing, others make the most of this Irish stopover to discover the havens and the charm in the bay of Cork. And in this way, at the crack of dawn, Jean-Christophe Marmara, photographer for the Figaro, got out his best lenses to capture the numerous and varied birds : oyster catchers, snipes, grey herons among others…

After the effort, the comfort

In the makeshift village in front of the pontoons of Crosshaven, the Bayer tent is a full house. It’s there that the four physiotherapists from Doctor Chauve’s team, always loyal to the race, work wonders in the relieving the pains of the 38 soloists after a long 150 mile tack, compact and hotly contested in a short choppy sea. Today, the time has come to « repair » the men. After an initial medical examination, a place for massage to relax muscles put through the mill.

« We stay seated at the helm for hours and, to recuperate as best we can, we work with the physiotherapists on the relaxation of the back and the neck », explains Erwan Tabarly (Thales – Armor Lux) on leaving the medical tent.

Laure Faÿ


Etape 1 : Boulogne sur Mer/Crosshaven
- 1 KOCH Antoine 10 Saunier Duval arrivé le 08/08/02 à 07h13’05’’ en 91h13’05’’
- 2 DE PAVANT Christophe 8 Malice à 4’38’’
- 3 BEYOU Jérémie 3 Delta Dore à 12’05’’
- 4 CAUDRELIER Charles 5 Bostik Findley à 18’06’’
- 5 VICARIOT Philippe 44 Thales à 20’39’’
- 6 CHIORRI Gilles 24 32 01 de Météo Consult à 22’20’’
- 7 MORVAN Gildas 4 Cercle Vert à 26’09’’
- 8 JOSSE Sébastien 2 Créaline à 28’29’’
- 9 LE CLEAC’H Armel 6 Créaline à 33’35’’
- 10 DROUGLAZET Eric 1 David Olivier à 33’36’’
- 11 TABARLY Erwan 7 Thales - Armor Lux à 34’56’’
- 12 AUDIGANE Sébastien 46 Sport Sans Frontières à 37’17’’
- 13 RIOU Vincent 85 PRB Produits de Revêtement du Bâtiment à 37’51’’
- 14 PETIT Benoit 201 Top’Océan à 40’34’’
- 15 ELIES Yann 9 Groupe Générali Assurances à 41’03’’
- 16 GUERIN Ronan 150 Saint-Nazaire / Escal’Atlantic à 50’17’’
- 17 ATTANASIO Romain 51 Port Trebeurden à 1h13’21’’
- 18 TROUSSEL Nicolas 136 Galinette à 1h25’37’’
- 19 CHABAGNY Thierry 147 Petit Navire Le Bon Goût du Large à 1h47’02’’
- 20 PELLECUER Laurent 110 Languedoc Mutualité Hippocratus.com à 1h49’07’’
- 21 TOULORGE Alexandre 35 Cherbourg - Crédit Mutuel à 1h58’40’’
- 22 MOUREN Jean-Paul 97 M@rseille Entreprises à 2h22’15’’
- 23 MARSSET Bertrand 22 Passion à 4h17’38’’
- 24 € BOISSIERES Arnaud 30 Delta Dore & Partenaires à 4h18’04’’
- 25 NABART Laurent 27 Ajaccio Corse du sud à 4h22’13’’
- 26 € RIOU Gwénaël 42 Espoir Crédit Agricole à 4h50’40’’
- 27 € GREGOIRE Jeanne 18 Département de l’Aisne à 5h00’30’’
- 28 BALOGH François 14 Générale d’Emballage - FIGA à 6h58’56’’
- 29 € FEREC Alain 94 Hotel Vauban - Camaret sur Mer à 7h55’26’’
- 30 € MARTINAGE Yvan 11 Société Générale - CAB - Boulogne/mer à 8h02’49’’
- 31 € TINCELIN Dominique 214 Dragonfly à 8h09’39’’
- 32 € PEYRET Jean-Marie 21 Dubus SA, la Bourse Universelle à 9h35’20’’
- 33 € BULOT Jean-François 142 Crédit Mutuel à 10h10’03’’
- 34 € GRAVELEAU Vincent 101 Bati 85 Qualeader à 10h46’49’’
- 35 COATNOAN Christophe 19 Groupe Partouche à 10h51’45’’
- 36 ALFARO Amaiur 50 Le Journal du Pays Basque à 11h32’40’’
- 37 € GREGOIRE Yann 33 Sailfast.Biz Gestion Projet Voile à 13h25’10’’
- 38 ROBEIN Louis 100 Le Souffle de la mer à 18h36’27’’

Dans la même rubrique

Solitaire du Figaro : Cascades of close finishers behind Antoine Koch

Solitaire du Figaro : Hold on in the currents !

image 300 x 158Kito de Pavant at the start from Boulogne sur Mer. Photo : Ch.Guigueno

Solitaire du Figaro : Who loses wins ? Superstition runs rife !


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