By thomashowson2 — La Solitaire du Figaro
While the leaderboard keeps shuffling, there’s no shortage of action on the water. In a solid south-westerly breeze pushing 20 knots, all 35 solo sailors are giving it everything they’ve got to battle the confused, heavy seas that aren’t making life easy. Hiking hard isn’t optional—it’s mandatory. Under these conditions, the sailors have to grab rest when they can, eat and stay hydrated, all while keeping one eye on steering and their gear. Back in the fleet, three solitaires have slipped a bit: Ellie Driver (STEM on the Startline), Marie Gendron (Kereis SNCF Voyageurs) and Joss Creswell (digiLab). Up front, the leaders are just past the halfway mark, grinding along at better than seven knots heading south. There’s a weather shift coming, but it won’t arrive until tomorrow. That’s when they’ll need to get their heads around what’s next—especially the approach to Spain and the light-air zone along the coast. It’s a bit like a cycling breakaway: the frontrunners are taking turns up front to recover and hand over the reins. After Nicolas Lunven (PRB) did his stint, it’s now Arno Biston (Article.1) leading the charge towards the highway to the sun. ©Nicolas Lunven “There are little pockets developing, some quite interesting,” noted Yann Chateau, race director for La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec. “We saw Arno Biston try to pull the helm down at one point to swing that westerly wind into a southerly run—quite effective for a bit. The fleet’s pretty well positioned for the next shift, though it won’t happen until tomorrow. You can feel in the chats between the sailors that it’s been genuinely tough out there. Plenty of minor gear niggles, everyone’s soaked through. But now they’re catching those first rays of sunshine, which should do wonders for morale. Most of them are just trying to grab some kip right now.”
Originally published in French by La Solitaire du Figaro.
