By Thomas Campion — La Solitaire du Figaro
Since 1:15am, the 35 solo sailors have been pushing south in a tight pack. The conditions remain fierce, with a lumpy sea state and a southwest wind holding around 20 knots. This morning’s standings show Nicolas Lunven (PRB) leading the fleet. The two-time La Solitaire du Figaro winner is clearly in his element in these conditions, with Alexis Thomas (Wings of the Océan), Arno Biston (Article.1) and Laure Gallay (Hauterive) trailing behind him. The day’s pattern looks fairly straightforward for the fleet as a whole—pushing south through this front system, which should stick around for another 15 hours or so. That’s a window where rest, hydration and staying warm will be critical. In these challenging conditions, managing your physical state will make all the difference. The cold, damp air and the boat’s constant motion take their toll on the body, so every sailor’s got to be smart about pacing themselves for the long haul. The run to Vigo is still a fair dinkum journey ahead, and it’s not going to get any easier. The trimaran Express is currently making its way to rejoin the fleet, and should be with the sailors by midday to capture some action footage and grab fresh quotes from the water.
“G’day all, here’s this morning’s check-in on the 2026 Solitaire du Figaro-Paprec. Obviously a bit of a rough night with that front coming through—what made it tricky was the sea state getting crossed up between the local wind chop from the south and the Atlantic swell rolling in from the west. We saw gusts pushing 35 knots with a solid 28 to 30 knots of wind. The tack choices out there are pretty interesting to watch. It might not look like much on the chart, but there’s a heap of small details playing out—sailors making trade-offs, trying to convert sideways distance into southerly progress by finding better angles to the wind. You can really see the tactics unfolding. Some boats have gone with a reef, others are flying full main. The boat speeds are pretty similar, but I reckon the crews with the reef will have better gear longevity down the track—that could matter later on. The wind’s easing slowly but we’re still looking at gusts around 28-29 knots through the day, and the sea’s staying a bit jumbled and rough until tonight at least. On the sailor and boat front, just the odd minor niggle, nothing serious for a front passage like this. The fleet’s still nicely bunched up, though there’s still a bit of uncertainty around the Vigo arrival, which we’re hoping for Thursday evening. All the best out there!” Yann Chateau, Race Director, from No Limit, one of the support boats.
Originally published in French by La Solitaire du Figaro.
