In light drizzle and a weak southerly breeze, Corentin Horeau got off to the best start on "Mutuelle Bleue" on Sunday. He led the field out of the Loire estuary at the start of the 53rd edition of La Solitaire du Figaro. The soloists thus opened their 648 nautical mile long first leg. It will take the fleet north past Bishops Rock in the Scillies and around the island of Skokholm - a tiny bird sanctuary two miles off the Welsh Pembroke coast.
Successful Figaro start: the favourites are ahead
Only light to moderate winds are forecast for this first of three stages. There should be a number of opportunities for involuntary parking, but also for comebacks. After the first night, Robin Follin ("Golfe de Saint-Tropez - Territoire D'Exception") led the field on Monday morning, just ahead of top favourite Tom Laperche on "Region Bretagne - CMB Performance" and Alan Roberts on "Seacat Services". "Alva Yachts" skipper Jörg Riechers was initially in 20th place, with Sanni Beucke on "Giraffon" in 32nd place. The Olympic 49er FX silver medallist from Enoshima is one of nine rookies in the race with her campaign "This race is female", who are labelled "bizuth" by the organisers in the tracking.
Before leaving the dock in Saint-Nazaire on Sunday morning, early leader Horeau said: "The weather forecast looks very complicated. It will leave everything open. On the whole, we won't have to deal with any tough conditions on this first stage. Just a few fronts to deal with. We will have to act opportunistically. We'll also have to manage our strength and make sure we have reserves so as not to exhaust ourselves right from the start. Because strategic decisions have to be made in North Brittany. So you shouldn't stress too much if you lose a little under a small cloud or in a small front. After the island of Skokholm, there will be a nice chute to leeward when we get into the north-north-westerly wind. We will run well downwind until Port-la-Forêt (ETA Thursday morning). It won't be easy, but hopefully I can make the most of my experience."
New at the 53rd La Solitaire du Figaro: time bonuses for successful sprints
Sprint bonuses are a new feature of the 53rd La Solitaire du Figaro. On stage one, they come into play at the west cardinal buoy Chaussée de Sein. The first boat to pass the buoy receives a five-minute time bonus, the second three minutes and the third one minute. For the two German skippers, these bonuses are almost impossible to achieve. Both know that they have no chance of a top place in the race.
53-year-old Jörg Riechers wants to train for his planned Vendée Globe premiere in 2024. Before the race, he said: "It's the toughest race! Why am I taking part? I have no chance of winning. Not even a chance of finishing in the top ten. The reason I'm doing the race is this: I can learn a lot, get out of my comfort zone. I'm exposing myself to danger in order to get better. I have a goal in mind, I want to be perfectly prepared for my big goal: the Vendée Globe 2024. So I'm going to hate the Figaro. I'll be depressed, but I'll finish as a winner because I've learnt for the future."
Sanni Beucke: "There will be plenty of opportunities to catch up"
Susann Beucke has only just moved from Olympic sailing to solo sailing. She is still at the beginning of her new career, for which Beucke has set her sights on the 2028 Vendée Globe start. The 31-year-old from Strande said shortly before the start: "I'm very, very nervous because things seem to be going wrong on the morning of the start. I was late because I couldn't load the weather data, the Grib files, onto my computer. But it's going to be a very long leg with four nights at sea. So there will be plenty of opportunities to catch up, which is great for me. The whole situation couldn't be better for me. If I had been told in February this year that I would be competing in the first leg of La Solitaire du Figaro here, I would have said: No way!"
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
