Onboard Express,

In their ascent to the Isle of Man and Chicken Rock, the leaders of this second stage wasted no time. Undoubtedly motivated more than ever by their substantial lead over the bulk of the troops. First in South Arklow, early yesterday afternoon, they lengthened their stride without flinching and progressed in the Irish Sea to reach the English mark in 4 p.m. This one rolled up, joined by VHF, Hugo Dhallenne, perky, could explain the situation: “The climb happened like a speed race with the little friends. It was the one who was going the fastest towards the North. Overall, the wind-current sequence means that this tends to widen the gap. I try to make the most of it. It’s really nice to be at the forefront. Now there is the descent that awaits us, with more uncertain weather at the end of this stage. For the Malouin, also sailing towards his 33rd birthday, the conveyor belt was going to swallow the road at high speed: “As we passed the lighthouse, the situation was quite calm with 14 knots from the North-East. This allows you to go south at 8.7 knots, under tight spinnaker, J2, high mainsail and large spinnaker. All the sails are on. Deep South, because we’re going with the flow. If all goes well, this should further widen the gaps. My goal is rookie ranking. If a seasoned Figaro sailor overtakes me, it will be a shame, but it won’t be so serious. »

The schuss descent then began for him, finally at more than 12 knots. Arthur Hubert (MonAtoutEnergie.fr), third behind Alexis Loison (Groupe REEL) and 26 minutes from the top of the pack, was also delighted with his performance: “I just played Chicken Rock, it’s super cool . I’m glad we came this far. The lighthouse was really impressive, even though we passed by at night. It was worth the trip. There was a crazy current and it seemed to stir well with a lot of juice. I hang on, I’m in the right package. Like on a bike, I’m in a breakaway and you have to fight to stay there. »

The timing was ideal for him: “What was special was that we passed the lighthouse at the right time. Even if I stumbled a little. The current is being reversed and it will be harder and harder for others. It’s impressive, it reminds me of my navigations in the Gulf of Morbihan where you tread water against rocks and at night it’s quite stressful. There, we didn’t have the detailed maps. You had to be on it so as not to lose speed, do small maneuvers, before hoisting the spinnaker. We will have the current with us and I think it can get complicated for those after. But I’m starting to know Solitaire now. At any time, there is the return of the crank. We can be stopped at the Scilly and the group behind goes inside and puts us 20 miles. You have to be ready for anything. »

Behind, many losers had to be embittered. Gaston Morvan (Brittany Region-CMB Performance) for example crossing the mark at 6:02 a.m.

Pointing at Chicken Rock Lighthouse

1 / Hugo Dhallenne (Saint-Lunaire YC): 4h28

2 / Alexis Loison (REEL Group): 4h49

3 / Arthur Hubert (MonAtoutÉnergie.fr): 4h55

4 / Guillaume Pirouelle (Normandy Region): 5h00

5 / Jules Delpech (ORCOM): 5h05

6 / Nils Palmier (TeamWork) : 5h11

7 / Julie Simon (TWELVE): 5:17

8 / Philippe Hartz (National Navy-Foundation of the Sea): 5h25

9 / Tom Dolan (Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan) : 5h32

10 / Charlotte Yven (Skipper Macif 2023): 5h48

11 / Romen Richard (Health Passion): 5h52

12 / Mael Garnier (J’M Garnier): 5h53

13 / Gaston Morvan (Brittany Region-CMB Performance): 6h02