After Wednesday’s light and shifty conditions, the Tour Voile Figaro Beneteau 3 fleet is back on the water Thursday at Camaret-sur-Mer for one last day of bay racing. Nine boats will start at 12:30, with the race committee planning two constructed courses followed by an 11-nautical-mile coastal race that takes in Pointe Saint-Mathieu and the Fillettes buoy near the Brest goulet entrance. Wind looks steadier than Wednesday, with a gradual shift to the right — enough to open up scoring opportunities without letting anyone get away from the tactical puzzle Brittany’s waters always pose.
The fleet will be back at the dock around 5:30–6 p.m., then the briefing for stage four offshore kicks in. Tomorrow they depart for Larmor-Plage. The Grand Prix de Camaret-sur-Mer wraps up at 7 p.m. with a trophy ceremony at the foot of the Tour Vauban tower, with local officials in attendance.
Reading the currents
Racing light in Breton tidal waters is its own discipline. Current and wind shadow become everything, and several skippers are already thinking through the day’s tricky patches.
Simon de Pannemaecker’s Seiko team has pro sailor Corentin Horeau joining them for Thursday — “a super opportunity,” de Pannemaecker says, to absorb his knowledge while pulling off something impressive on the water. He’s expecting conditions much like Wednesday but with a bit more breeze, and he’s banking on understanding the strong Breton currents rather than fighting them. The coastal run toward Pointe Saint-Mathieu should play to his team’s strengths if they can keep the boat moving.
Thomas Jouans (PAPREC by Normandy Inshore Program) brought Pierrick Letouzé back to the crew after a day that mixed tactical lapses with genuine light-air speed. Dunkerque – Kiloutou have crept closer in the standings, and Jouans isn’t happy sitting still. “Nothing is settled,” he says. More racing means more chances to chip away at their lead.
Jules Delpech (La Réunion) is reading the forecast as a net positive: the high-pressure system drifting north should deliver steadier north to north-northeast wind, even if conditions stay light and patchy overall. He’s flagged several zones where wind shadow and current will separate the quick from the slow. A coastal race this technically demanding is exactly where momentum builds. Delpech’s team has moved upward over recent days and intends to keep climbing.
