The storm in the Bay of Biscay, which has really put the gentlemen and the sole woman in the fleet through the mill, is now over. The island of Ushant is left to their stern and the soloists have begun the second part of the leg and have entered into a new weather system. A change of decor. The barometer has gone up a level as the sky clears and the sea calms down. The time has come to continue their route with a ridge of high pressure on the back and new conditions between the hands : a slackening north-north westerly flow with a rotation to the left is expected at the end of the afternoon. Little wind and a lot of currents, there you have the new ingredients comprising the soloist weather menu. The calm after the storm and a presumption that Aeolus will cut off the fans little by little and then do whatever he fancies. Playing the fate of the whole race in a lottery game over the last miles.

Doubtless this will complicate the ETA game, and undermine the moral of the escapees from Ushant, who are seeing the fleet come back and the gaps which they fought so hard for are painfully melting in the returned sun. The sails flog, the spinnakers flatten and the nerves of the soloists on the verge of exhaustion lie in tatters. The good old Single-handed Figaro which persists in announcing the name of the winners on the finish line from the last lap piles on the pressure. « Going for gold », says Gilles Chiorri (32 01 from Météo Consult) !

With this renewed grouping together of troops due to the weak gusts, each of them lay down their cards. The head of the fleet is still continuing to progress in a pocket handkerchief of less than 4 miles, headed at 1400 hours by Ronan Guérin (Saint-Nazaire – Escal’Atlantic). With 100 miles from the finish, among the eight candidates for the general podium, Kito de Pavant (Malice), Gilles Chiorri, Vincent Riou (PRB), and Jérémie Beyou (Delta Dore) « are still holding the tide ». All of them are chasing the flurries of happiness. Praying to all the Gods of the sea and sky, since they no longer know which saint to dedicate their energies to so as to separate themselves from each other. With a fine helm and very sharp on the weather, Gilles Chiorri has headed slightly out to sea in order to settle further out to the west, 5.6 miles from Ronan Guérin and the others who have chosen to settle more on the direct route. Without doubt they are intending to catch the wind in their sails which should come back by the west. After one spell in the lead, he is now positioned in eighth place… Laying in ambush, ready to attack.

Aboard the Figaro Bénéteau, the fatigue is beginning to set in after more than 48 hours of battle against the stiff wind and the heavy seas. Each of them is having to dig deep into their reserves for the umpteenth time to find the energy necessary to play the evanescent winds, before the crucial passage of the Raz Blanchard along with its overexcited currents which easily reach 9 knots. According to the local experts, from 10 o’ clock tomorrow morning, the doors will be opening to let the fleet pass by. That leads you to thinking that the frontrunners might perhaps drop anchor near Guernesey. So it won’t be before midday that we’ll finally know who the great victors of the Single-handed Figaro are. One thing is for sure : the suspense is surfing the wave of paroxysm in the middle of a hopelessly flat Channel !

Echos from the sea

Kito de Pavant (Malice) : « It is not easy to get control ! »
 « We have very little wind and there’s still 100 miles to go. All that is beginning to be long and we’re not going to arrive inside 24 hours. We’re going to have to be strong all the way to the end. We’ve really got some very unstable conditions : little wind, the tide and seaweed. It’s not easy to get control ! But I am well placed and it would be hard to do any better. I’m fighting with Jérémie Beyou, one of my most dangerous competitors. I have never passed the Raz Blanchard before. I have no particular apprehensions, it’s going to be difficult for everyone. »

Jérémie Beyou (Delta Dore) : « I am speaking to little Jesus ! »
 « I hope we’re going to have a little thermal, because then anything can happen. I worked hard up to Ushant to widen the gap and now everyone is coming back. I’m a bit green, as they say ! Kito is hanging on like a limpet to his rock and is attempting some little Mediterranean style coups. Now, it’s all down to a stroke of luck, like a lottery. I’m speaking to little Jesus, I’m asking him to give Beyou a little flutter ! But he’s not listening to me ! But no matter, I’m coming home… in my territory and it’s going to rock…. ! »

Eric Drouglazet (David Olivier) : « What flurry of wind ? »
 « It’s the uncertainty. We don’t really know which side it will return on. You have to be on top of it. We don’t know which gust will win. Normally when I’m in front, it comes from behind. And when I was at the back, it didn’t come back at all ! Frankly, I’m lacking success in this Figaro. But here, from air to air, it’s going along nicely. Luckily, I have had a fair bit of sleep and the aim is to keep the competitors on their toes. Just to aggravate everyone, there is some seaweed – tagliatelle we say – I have dropped three places pulling it away ! »

Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) : « Positioned by a fisherman ! »
 « It’s the calm after the storm. I missed my approach to Ushant a little. I’m in front of Bostik Findley and Petit Navire, and behind Thales and Galinette. There’s still everything to play for. We’re quite tightly packed. In the light winds, something could happen between Guernesey and the Raz Blanchard. The wind is unsettled and the conditions are favourable for a north/south attack. My Argos beacon isn’t working but this morning I was positioned by a fisherman from Aber Wrac’h ! »