Onboard Express
After a peaceful start yesterday at 1:40 p.m. from Kinsale, the 32 competitors in this second leg of the Solitaire were able to enjoy a mild night. Once the bronze curtain had been lowered, the celestial vault and the lunar lamp could then guide them in their crawling. The wind had closed one eye. They didn’t have the time. It was necessary to make a choice of route despite their slowness. Either go along the coast, or deviate offshore while waiting for Aeolus to blow their sails again. Helping them in this in their ascent towards Carnsore Point and the Saint-Georges Channel, gateway to the Irish Sea.
Reachable by VHF shortly before sunrise, Charlotte Yven (2023 MACIF Skipper) who had opted for an intermediate route, was delighted with her choice: “We were treated to a magnificent sunset followed by a lovely sunrise. moon. And to a great first evening, despite the calm. But that’s part of the game. We kind of expected that. At the last classification, I was in the lead. I followed my wind, I positioned myself roughly where I wanted to be. I’m pretty happy with my route, I just turned. The sun is not up yet. We have 12-13 knots of wind upwind; things are progressing well, and we can head north towards the tip of Ireland. The native of the Bay of Morlaix wondered about the rest of the morning. An important passage would have to be negotiated: “The current remains an important parameter, especially since the wind is not super strong. We are going to reach a peak, a priori with the right timing to have the current with us. For the moment, he is in front. The fleet is quite scattered. There are people who have gone further to the coast. We will probably see them appear at the next intersection. It will be a bit of a surprise, we’ll see. Today, the wind should remain quite stable. But there will be effects of current, site, peak, winds to be negotiated. In a place that I do not know well, it will be a bit of a discovery. »
The same feelings for Gaston Morvan (Région Bretagne-CMB Performance) who had chosen him offshore: “I’m pretty well placed. During the night, there was more wind than expected and it didn’t really stop. With small readjustments to play, four to five tacks during the changes of wind. All this to place ourselves in relation to the next peak that we are going to pass. It wasn’t complex, but with play. When the wind was well set, I took the opportunity to go lie down for a few minutes. »
The Breton from Aber Wrac’h did not really know where some of his little comrades were, as he no longer had them at the AIS. He must have been praying to cross ahead of them at the tip: “There, I’m upwind, under genoa, mainsail, and I’m making 7 knots. According to the timing in which we will be, we will pass the peak with the favorable current. This will allow us to accelerate. We will be there between 9 and 10 a.m. But there will be sandbanks. The choice will be to go ashore to have the overhand first, or off. So there will be phases to find. Our next mandatory mark, South Arklow, will pass a little before 2 p.m. »
The choppy sea should straighten out shortly. At the famous reverse of the current. Around 9 a.m., fans of the coastal route passed the tip first. Taking a break. Hugo Dhallenne (YC de Saint-Lunaire) led the dance ahead of Arthur Hubert (MonAtoutEnergie.fr), Jules Delpech (Orcom) and Alexis Loison (REEL Group). The most extreme offshore enthusiasts were then relegated to more than 10 miles. But the gaps are often made and undone on a stage of the Solitaire.
