Les marins ont grillé les deux tiers de leurs cartouches sur cette 43e Solitaire du Figaro – Eric Bompard Cachemire dont la particularité est d’offrir cette année une pièce en trois actes. Vainqueur à Gijon, troisième à Saint Gilles Croix de Vie, Yann Eliès (Groupe Quéguiner – Le Journal des Entreprises) a pris l’ascendant au classement général avec 30 minutes et 17 secondes de bonus sur Morgan Lagravière (Vendée). Dix secondes plus loin, on trouve le troisième homme à la fête Nicolas Lunven (Generali). La deuxième étape a eu tendance à resserrer les rangs et les écarts sont dérisoires dans le premier carré. Très serrés également du 5e au 12e. Bref tout reste à faire dans un grand final à suspense à destination de Cherbourg-Octeville.
« Je crois que je suis en train de toucher du doigt l’osmose avec le bateau, les éléments, j’ai de la chance quand il faut, je fais les bons choix. Je me sens vraiment bien, j’espère que ça va durer jusqu’au bout » déclarait Yann Eliès cette nuit à son arrivée. A 38 ans et pour sa 13e participation, Yann est-il en train d’entrer dans cet état de grâce qui avait touché Jérémie Beyou et Armel Le Cléac’h sur les deux précédentes éditions ?
Cette 2e étape lui a permis de prendre 21 minutes de bonus supplémentaires. Le voici installé dans le fauteuil du leader avec une demi-heure d’avance. Mais sur La Solitaire, le temps ne suspend jamais son vol. « Une demi-heure c’est bien, mais ce n’est pas une assurance tout risque » tempère Yann. Que dire alors des 3 minutes et 32 secondes qui départagent ses trois plus proches poursuivants, dans l‘ordre Morgan Lagravière, Nicolas Lunven et Fabien Delahaye ? « Ce sont des écarts de bouée de dégagement » analyse Alexis Loison (Groupe Fiva) très en forme cette année.
Vers une bagarre énorme
La promiscuité entre ces trois jeunes garçons talentueux promet une bagarre énorme pour le podium sur la route de la Normandie. Même combat du 5e, Thierry Chabagny (Gedimat) au 12e, Damien Guillou (La Solidarité Mutualiste), séparés en tout et pour tout de 33 minutes. Entrer dans le top 10 de La Solitaire du Figaro – Eric Bompard Cachemire est déjà une performance, une marche importante dans la courbe de progression des skippers. Mais tous ne se contenteront pas de la médaille en chocolat. « Dans la dernière étape, il y aura certainement des comportements de navigation différents selon les objectifs des skippers. Il y aura les conservateurs et les têtes brûlées, poursuit Alexis Loison. Moi, je suis plutôt conservateur ». Xavier Macaire (Skipper Hérault) et Damien Guillou sont plutôt dans cet état d’esprit. Mais il ne faut pas en attendre autant de Thierry Chabagny, Erwan Tabarly (Nacarat), Fred Duthil (Sepalumic), Paul Meilhat (Skipper Macif 2011) ou du vainqueur de l’étape 2 Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) qui risquent de jouer leur va tout pour rendre une copie parfaite à Cherbourg-Octeville. « Je n’aurai peur de rien, confie leskipper de Cercle Vert. Les mecs qui jouent au classement général risquent de se contrôler, moi, j’en n’ai rien à faire. Il faut que je reste agressif ».
Avec 2h15 de retard sur le leader, Jeanne Grégoire (Banque Populaire), est en tête de la troisième division. Pas satisfaite de sa position, Jeanne a de bonnes raisons de garder espoir : « Je crois qu’on peut oublier le classement général. La troisième étape sera velue. Tout reste à faire ». Et c’est bien l’opinion partagée aujourd’hui sur les pontons de Saint Gilles Croix de Vie envahis par les badauds. Derrière Jeanne, toutefois, le temps s’égrène, jusqu’à 9 heures de débours pour Eric d’Hooghe (Voyons Large). Quant aux malheureux qui ont dû abandonner une étape, ils ne jouent plus du tout pour la gagne cette année. Toutefois, une victoire dans la dernière manche serait un bon lot de consolation pour Jean-Pierre Nicol (Bernard Controls) et Anthony Marchand (Bretagne – Crédit Mutuel Performance). Ces deux navigateurs en sont largement capables.
Thomas Normand, premier des novices
Chez les débutants, Thomas Normand (Financière de l’Echiquier) bénéficie de l’avance acquise dans sa belle première étape et conserve la tête avec 29 minutes et 22 secondes d’avance sur Julien Villion (Seixo Promotion). A partir de Corentin Horeau (Bretagne-Crédit Mutuel Espoir), on passe la barrière de l’heure de retard. Tout porte à croire que la victoire au classement Bénéteau des Bizuths se jouera entre ces trois jeunes premiers.
Ils ont dit :
Yann Eliès (Groupe Queguiner- Journal des Entreprises), en tête du classement général provisoire après deux étapes : « Ne jamais croire que c’est gagné »
« 30 minutes, je ne suis pas loin d’avoir un écart très important, mais finalement, ce n’est pas assez au regard des passages à niveau du Raz de Sein, du Raz Blanchard qui vont arriver dans la 3e étape. Intellectuellement parlant il ne faut jamais lâcher l’histoire. Il ne faut jamais croire que c’est gagné sur une Solitaire. La confiance, la vitesse, la sérénité sont plus des trucs que j’ai là maintenant, mais avec les trois loustics que j’ai derrière, c’est forcément de la pression. Eux aussi l’ont. Ils doivent se dire « Eliès, on n’arrive pas à l’accrocher ». Le danger va venir du parcours. Théoriquement, tous les coureurs qui sont à moins de 6 h du premier peuvent gagner, mais je ne vois pas d’autres marins que ces trois là (NDLR : Nicolas Lunven, Morgan Lagravière et Fabien Delahaye) venir remporter cette édition. »
Morgan Lagravière (Vendée), 2e du général provisoire à 30 minutes et 17 secondes : « Faire parler la poudre »
« A regarder ce classement, il y a de belles choses à jouer. Si on m’avait dit qu’avant la 3e étape je me retrouverai dans cette position, j’aurai signé tout de suite ! C’est très positif. Ça laisse la porte ouverte pour une victoire, plus probablement pour un podium, mais peut être en deçà car les écarts sont serrés derrière. Il peut tout se passer dans un sens comme dans l’autre. Aujourd’hui, la seule chose à faire, c’est de me concentrer sur mes forces : la vitesse de mon bateau, l’énergie que je peux avoir, mon physique, la capacité à peu dormir… J’ai aussi des faiblesses, sur les choix météo, des choses qui s’acquièrent avec de l’expérience. Je n’ai qu’une mission : faire parler la poudre et ses points positifs. »
Nicolas Lunven (Generali), 3e du général provisoire à 30 minutes et 27 secondes : « Dispo et libéré »
« Mes 10 secondes d’écart avec le deuxième ne vont pas changer ma façon de naviguer, je n’espère pas en tout cas. La dernière étape va être compliquée avec un parcours semé d’embûches. J’ai regardé la météo ce matin : elle ne va pas être évidente. Ce dont je suis très content, c’est que j’ai réussi à faire toute l’étape 2 sans me prendre la tête sur des considérations de classement. Du coup j’étais dispo et libéré pour me concentrer sur ma navigation. Je souhaite faire la même chose sur la dernière. On comptera les minutes et les secondes une fois la ligne coupée. »
Thomas Normand (Financière de l’Echiquier), 1er du classement général provisoire Bénéteau des bizuths : « J’ai appris l’humilité »
« Si je pouvais avoir 1h ou 1h30 d’avance ça serait bien car les gars derrière, Julien, Corentin et les autres sont plus motivés que jamais. Corentin l’a bien montré sur cette deuxième étape. La prochaine étape est longue et pas mal de choses peuvent se passer, il ne faut pas se reposer sur ses lauriers. Après ces deux étapes, j’ai vraiment appris l’humilité. Je viens de faire une photo avec les trois premiers du classement général et je me suis rendu compte que c’était la première fois que je les voyais. Même si je suis premier au classement des bizuths il n’en reste pas moins que j’ai énormément de choses à apprendre pour espérer rivaliser avec les meilleurs. Ils nous donnent une grande leçon de navigation et c’est une bonne chose pour nous les jeunes. »
The second leg of La Solitaire du Figaro ��“ Eric Bompard Cachemire began in a frenzy of shouts and flapping sails on a busy startline, and ended with each of the 36 Figaro II one-designs slipping through the finish under spinnaker and moonlight.
In between the solo skippers experienced a close-quarters contest around the buoys off the Spanish coast, and night navigation around some Brittany landmarks, but the majority of the 442-mile race was spent on a reaching course, mostly under spinnaker, and always with the numbers on the speedo holding precedence.
Leg 2 started from Gijon, on the northern coast of Spain, on Sunday July 1 in a 12-knot north-westerly. With shifty conditions the majority of the fleet opted to rank up at the left-hand side of the line, with several boats arriving too soon at this congested approach. Briton Sam Goodchild (Artemis 23) was among those given individual recalls, as was Leg 1 runner-up Morgan Lagravière (Vendée).
Eventual stage winner Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) escaped cleanly up the first beat and led around the top mark onto a spreader leg, followed by a tight spinnaker reach. British rookie Henry Bomby (Artemis 37) made a good start and was in the top 10 during this early inshore section, before incurring a penalty turn.
After two short spinnaker legs the fleet then pointed their bows across the Bay of Biscay in light north-westerlies, with a ridge of high pressure to overcome over the first night. Day two dawned with Nicolas Lunven (Generali) holding the lead as the fleet set spinnakers in new south-westerly pressure on a 250-mile straight-line sprint across Biscay towards the north-west tip of France. Lunven and Morvan’s duel continued with the pair separated by less than a mile throughout the day, Morvan taking the lead going into the second night as they gybed for the approach to the French shore.
The second evening at sea saw the 36 soloists round three marks in darkness, including the Raz de Sein, a highly tidal stretch of water between the Ile de Seine and Pointe de Raz. Crossing this section of course with a favourable current was key in order to stay in touch with the main pack. Having steadily climbed through the fleet after a mid-pack start, leg 1 winner Yann Eliès (Groupe Queguiner/Journal des Enterprises) converted himself up to third during the night, a position he held to the end despite ongoing autopilot problems. Others who made gains during this triangular section of course were Alexis Loison (Groupe Fiva), who gained 8 places overnight to rise to fourth, Fabian Delahaye (Skipper Macif 2012) who jumped 4 positions into the top 10, and Thomas Ruyant (Destination Dunkerque) who made up 9 places in the second half of the fleet.
From La Plate the final section of course was relatively straightforward, with all the skippers taking the most direct route, south of Belle Ile, rather than attempting to make gains by heading dramatically inshore.
Gildas Morvan, competing in no less than his 17th Figaro race, sealed his first stage win at 23.58 p.m. on Tuesday, July 3rd. Nicolas Lunven (Generali) came home at one minute past midnight, July 4th, while Eliès confirmed his third place 7 minutes later.
Behind the leaders the contest for leading rookie or ‘Bizuth’ was more eventful. On Wednesday afternoon Nick Cherry (GBR, Artemis 23) had been leading among the first-timers for over 24 hours, in a neck-and-neck race with Corentin Horeau (Bretagne – Credit Mutuel Espoir). However, as the fleet rounded the Le Boeufs marker that evening, Horeau established a fractional lead which he held to take the honour of first newcomer home in 23rd place.
Fellow Bizuth Julien Villion (Seixo Promotion) was another who closed rapidly during the closing stages — Cherry held off Villion around the Pilours marker at the entrance to the finish port, but on the final gybe to the line Villion snuck through to finish just 17 seconds ahead in 25th place. First British skipper Sam Goodchild (Artemis (23) took 24th place. Norway’s Kristin Songe Molle (Kristen For Fulle Seil) finished in 33rd place. Henry Bomby (GBR, Artemis 37) brought home the fleet at 02.43 a.m.
The third stage of the Solitaire du Figaro begins on Sunday, July 8, with a return leg to Cherbourg. Heading into the final race, the winner of the opening leg Yann Eliés (Groupe Queguiner/Journal des Entreprises) still holds the overall lead on cumulative time by 30 minutes and 17 seconds from Morgan Lagraviere (Vendée) in second, with Nicolas Lunven (Generali) just 10 seconds further back in third.
Quotes from the finishers:
Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) 1st in 2 days 11 hours 28 minutes and 28 seconds:
“Starting from Gijon, my goal was to put everything back in place after my bad first leg. I had to be attacking and to be aggressive enough as soon as crossing the starting line. This was the main idea. It was necessary to be ahead of the ridge to get out first of this high pressure area and reach the wind first. There is a morning I could not get out in front of Lunven and I did not quite understand why. I had a plastic bag on the keel which was impossible to remove. I had to haul down the spinnaker, go backwards and restarted behind him. After that, it was a great fight. I then managed to overtake him just before crossing the West of Sein and I knew it was a key point there. I knew that getting out in first position there would enable me to have the best current to until La Basse du Lis and then towards the Raz de Sein with the backing tide. There were a few shots to play by getting the current to Tevennec.
“I’m happy because I managed to lead over almost the whole race. I was aggressive when I needed to be and I did not give up. I was in good shape on the last day because I slept well before and I really did not want to miss that one. To stay focused on the settings: you had to be on it to avoid being overtaken. I managed to hold on to Nico Lunven, for me it’s fabulous. The goal is to win the third stage where there are plenty of manoeuvres to make, with currents to play in.”
Nicolas Lunven (Generali) 2nd in 2 days, 11 hours, 31 minutes, 45 seconds:
“I’m really happy, but the hint of disappointment is that I did much of the Bay of Biscay as a leader. I tried to analyse this little slump and I cannot explain where Gildas passed me. I then managed to scrounge a little bit back but not enough to come back and overtake him. So I miss the leg victory down to one small mistake, but I am very, very happy to be second. It was a great stage, I had a lot of fun. I cannot wait to be in a good bed, I’m pretty tired. Between Groix and Belle Isle and I managed to rest a little but I have spent my whole time sailing the boat.”
Yann Eliès (Groupe Queguiner Journal des Entreprises) 3rd in 2 days, 11 hours, 38 minutes, 53 seconds:
“I’m happy with this third place because at one point the picture wasn’t looking so good, once we got out of the high in the Bay of Biscay. The leaders were 4-5 miles ahead with the possibility to increase that lead on the inshore, but I finished 7 minutes behind Nicolas Lunven and so it is not that bad. I still gain some time on my 1st leg-fellows. I’m glad it worked out like that.
“I’ll have to be more careful on the starting line. For now this is not my strong point and it could cause me some issues. I’ve managed to salvage it every time. It’s more complicated when you start to come back with a long speed run as compared to an inshore course where you have more opportunities. I slept well this afternoon. We had a long reaching leg where my backup autopilot helmed properly, so I arrive tonight pretty much rested.”
Erwan Tabarly (Nacarat) 4th (15 mins, 47 secs from leader):
“It was complicated. We had a rather difficult race start. To get off Spain in the light wind we had to cross a ridge that shook up the positioning. Under these conditions, you have to remain calm. There are boats that are moving and others that are stuck. For me it was not too bad. So my fourth place is quite satisfactory. I’m having a good race. The first two have managed to escape.”
Jean Pierre Nicol (Bernard Controls) 6th (21 mins, 20 secs):
“I wanted more because when you are ahead you are obviously looking at the podium. But if I sail on every leg like that, it will be fine. There were some options missing on that stage for me. The small shots I did make worked out fairly well, and I did not leave the helm until the tip of Brittany.”
Fabien Delahaye (Skipper Macif 2012) 7th (23 mins, 55 secs):
“It turned out to be all about speed and trajectory. After crossing the ridge in the Bay of Biscay there was a big choice to make before the west of Sein. There are some who lost a lot of places. Myself, I managed to come back there. After that, you had to be concentrated on boat speed. But the ranking was already decided.”
Thierry Chabagny (Gedimat) 8th (26 mins, 54 secs):
“I had some small problems going with my big spinnaker which was split from the first night. To sail the whole Bay of Biscay with 20m2 less spinnaker than the others under a small kite made the game unequal. It was hard to see others coming back from behind and taking your place. There is a moment you either give up or continue; as giving up is not part of my vocabulary, I though hard for ways to come back and try to limit damage. Fortunately it was not only spinnaker sailing and I managed to keep my eighth rank. Tearing the spinnaker twice on two stages, it’s a lot.”
Vincent Biarnes (Prati ‘Bûches) 9th (28 mins, 52 secs):
“The start was not very good, but I quickly caught up and have negotiated the ridge well. At Sein, the fleet gathered and the options were then difficult to take. The following part was just pure speed. For me it is a good result because my goal is to finish within the top 10. However, I am completely exhausted.”
Xavier Macaire (Skipper Hérault) 10th (29 mins, 55 secs):
“They were two tough stages, different from each other but with the same result, 10 and 10. To be consistent is part of my objective. I must do as well on the third and score a small advantage.”
Jeanne Grégoire (Banque Populaire) 11th (30 mins, 49 secs):
“I’m really happy. We had a lot of fun on the water and have very interesting sailing conditions. Well, it ‘s a bit grey and foggy and did not see much of the sun, but we have interesting weather, some tricky stuff. I made some mistakes but I was really happy, I enjoyed it. I was totally into it from the start. I was going to make a really beautiful leg but by staying in contact with Vendée (Lagraviere), I just lost sight of my basic strategy. I lost 10 ranks in the battle. At one point, I was disappointed, I cried telling myself I was worthless, and then I pulled myself together and said: ‘Now, you must overtake some boats: three at the end’.”
Morgan Lagravière (Vendée) 12th (31 mins, 45 secs):
“A difficult leg overall. I made a lot of mistakes on my route and my positioning especially when crossing the ridge. It took more than others to come back on the main pack and to finish in a decent place. I managed to sleep well on the final part of the leg. Thus, I feel good but the boat has some troubles after my collision with Jean Pierre Nicol at the start. We have some work to do on it.”
Fréderic Duthil (Sepalumic) 13th (32 mins, 30 secs):
“I was put out at the start and got stuck at the buoy. The result? I crossed the ridge on the wrong side in the west with a lot of delay getting out of it, plus poor downwind speed: it is hard to come back. Mid-fleet is pretty good.”
Paul Meilhat (Skipper Macif 2011) 14th (36 mins, 22 secs):
“It was a good start and I am 4th at the Radio France buoy. Then I managed the ridge of high pressure well despite the uncertain conditions. In the morning, I was 5th or 6th and then I could not move forward anymore. I had to put a mask to look under the water: I had a plastic thing on top of the keel that I could not remove. I tried to go backwards to get rid of it but without success. I had to wait for the wind to lighten to remove it with a knotted rope. So I lost a lot of places. In the end, I did not really care about the ranking, I gave everything and I remain in the main part of the fleet so I’m satisfied.”
Damien Guillou (La Solidarité Mutualiste) 15th (36 mins, 32 secs):
“What is unfortunate is that I have not kept the pace until the end. I finished 15th but I was much better at some points during the stage. It’s still a good sign because I managed to play at the front for a while.”
Yoann Richomme (DLBC) 16th (48 mins, 25 secs):
“I was doing well from the start, but afterwards I got stuck in the ridge. I then did my best during two days to come back and I finished 16th. I had no chance because I broke my ballast transfer valve on the first windward leg while I was leading. I still had fun.”
Francisco Lobato (Roff) 17th (51 mins, 25 secs):
“It was an intense leg and fatigue began to accumulate. The first part of the race, I think, was the only bit that mattered. You had to be in the east from the beginning as Yann and Gildas did.”
Charlie Dalin (Keopsys) 18th (56 mins, 46 secs):
“I’m just happy for Gildas who won the stage. I had a speed deficit downwind. I do not know why but I’ll take care of this during the 4 days’ stopover in St. Gilles.”
Adrien Hardy (Agir Recouvrement) 21st (59 mins, 50 secs):
“I’m not really happy. It was long and I did not have too much fun sailing on this one whereas it is usually nice. But here we did not have any rocks. The start was not that good. There was no opportunity to come back, so yes I am disappointed. I started to prepare the 3rd leg towards the end of this stage, I must move on.”
Corentin Horeau (Bretagne Crédit Mutuel Espoir) 22nd (1 hr, 14 mins, 15 secs):
“I am satisfied as I end up first rookie on this leg and because I made a good comeback. I had a small technical problem in the Gijon inshore and thus I was last out of the Bay. I then gave everything I could all the way. I finish first rookie, but 22nd overall which is not that great but considering my race start gives me some energy for the end of La Solitaire.”
Sam Goodchild (Artemis 23) 23rd (1 hr, 16 mins, 23 secs):
“It was very difficult, I lost a lot of miles at the beginning of the leg and then spent a lot of the leg trying to catch up, and struggling mentally and physically to catch up. In my head it was pretty difficult to try to get to grips with what was happening – in the Figaro you’re on your own, there’s no one else to talk to so I did a lot of fighting by myself, and then I had a nice little race with Nick and a few other guys came back in so it was ok, but generally very, very difficult.”
Nick Cherry (Artemis 77), 26th (1 hr, 17 mins, 25 secs):
“For me it was kind of the opposite in that I started badly, then did ok in the middle, then lost a few places at the end, so it’s a bit of frustrating but I’m happy with the overall result, just. I was first rookie until the end when I let two of them past. It would’ve been good if I’d been first. I feel pretty tired, I’ve got a lot to think about from the leg, about where it went well and where it went badly, but I’m pleased to be in. I’m not happy at the moment but maybe I will be, there are a few things from the start – maybe a protest – and it’s always frustrating to lose places near the finish, but I’m happy.”
Yannig Livory (One Network Energies), 27th (1 hr, 24 mins, 33 secs):
“It is average because I had made a good first part to the Raz de Sein and, at the exit of the Raz, I found myself with all the ballast tanks filled with water and got passed by 7 or 8 boats. I am not happy about it. Still more rain, again and again. I am tired of winter training, it would be good to get a bit of summer.”
Thomas Normand (Financière de l’Echiquier) 28th (1 hr, 29 mins, 38 secs):
“Actually I’m fairly divided. I had great times at sea and lots of fun. It was a great battle with the guys but I missed on two or three things. This is the daily life of rookies, we must learn. I gradually integrate the stuff. I will try to do better next Sunday for the third stage.”
Henry Bomby (Artemis 37) 36th:
“It seemed like quite a long way to get here in the end. But I’m definitely glad to be back onshore. I feel very tired, I feel like I’ve used a lot of energy to get here and so I’m looking forward to going to bed, and sorting the boat out tomorrow, and starting to look at the next leg tomorrow morning, but I’m pretty tired right now.
“I had a problem on the first night with my electronics, just as it got dark and we started to work our way out of the trough all my electronics failed, all my instruments went down and the pilot as well, so the boat broached because I was under pilot at the time. And then I called Gilles and asked for permission to speak to the other competitors to ask for advice and then a few of the French guys gave me a few things to try and eventually an hour and a half later found the problem and were able to take it out of the system. After that I managed to get going again but I was then back in the trough and had to work my way back out of it again before getting into the breeze so I’d lost a lot of time by then.
“People tell you it’s hard, but you can only imagine how hard until you do it. I think it’s just learning to overcome those things and making them smaller in reality, and just concentrating on the positives.”