Marsh checked in from aboard Chipmunk as the fleet worked north toward Wolf Rock, the lighthouse off the southwestern tip of England that marks the top of the course before the fleet turns south for Vigo. The start had gone cleanly enough, but the boat struggled to find pace against the field for several hours. “We had difficulties finding a good mode compared to the other boats,” he said. “We struggled for a few hours.”
With the nap rotation approaching, Chipmunk was on the left side of the fleet, hunting a wind shift. “We’re hoping for a left shift later. Looking to sail fast and be first on that shift.” Cold outside, he said, and busy. All good on board.
At the 02:00 report on Tuesday morning, Chipmunk was in third, 0.7 nautical miles behind race leaders Thomas Dinas and Eliott Coville on Auray Quiberon by Orlabay, with Maë Cottereau and Simon De Pannemaecker on Seiko – Les Étoiles Filantes in second. The six Défi Paprec crews are tightly bunched, the gaps between first and fifth less than two and a half miles. At 8.0 knots, Chipmunk was the equal fastest boat in the fleet at that report. Ivica Kostelić and Deniz Bagci on Amelicor are the outliers in sixth, trailing by 6.3 miles.
Running alongside the main La Solitaire solo race, the Défi Paprec front-runners are sitting mid to front of the mid-pack of the 36-boat solo fleet. In that race, young solo skipper Marin Carnot lost his mast near Wolf Rock in one of the more dramatic moments of the opening leg, though Carnot was reported safe. Loïs Berrehar leads the solo fleet south toward Vigo.
Chipmunk is still in contention. Day two will tell whether the left shift paid off.
