The verdict is in. Supporters of the passage to the east of the DST Smalls for entry into the Celtic Sea have won the game for the moment in the 2nd stage of the Solitaire du Figaro Paprec. Gaston Morvan led the way to Land’s End in the 6 p.m. rankings, followed by Élodie Bonafous (Quéguiner-La Vie en Rose), Romain Le Gall (Centre excellence voile-Secours Populaire 17), Benoît Tuduri (CAPSO En Cavale) and Corentin Horeau (Popular Bank).
For Gaston Morvan, the surprise was gratifying: “It lengthens the stride and we finally have the conditions to slide our Figaros and that’s cool. We’re going straight for the tip of English Cornwall and we’ll be there in a little over two hours. For the passage of the DST Smalls, there was the choice of going right or left. I hesitated a little and decided to go ashore instead to recover the favorable current first. And I knew the wind was going to be easterly today and this overland route was more conducive. I’m glad I did this. »
But the skipper of Landéda knew that the road was still long: “My ranking is a good surprise but nothing is done. In any case, it’s always good to be in a good position approaching the final stretch. For the rest, it’s still random because there are small storm cells around. If they don’t pass us by, we should cross calmly to Roscoff. Otherwise, it could very well stop and cause the yoyo to play. I don’t really know what to think. Our departure weather files are no longer very reliable and the Météo Consul bulletin told us this morning that it was going to be complicated. »
At Alexis Loison (REEL Group), at the head of the group having chosen the passage to the West of the famous DST and 10th at the end of the afternoon, doubt was very present a few hours earlier: “I am almost on course towards Land’s End. But I don’t have all the information to say where I stand. I don’t know where the others are even if I hear them on the VHF. The last time I saw boats visually or on AIS was Tuesday afternoon. This reminds me of 2019 when I escaped with two friends. I heard the rankings this morning at 5 a.m., but I can’t figure out where some people are placed. I only have their distance to the goal. Do they have a better angle? I don’t have stress but rather excitement. » In the 6 p.m. rankings, the Normand was more than 8 miles behind the new leaders.
Passing the English tip, there would still be 100 miles to cover with a new crossing of the English Channel to arrive in the Bay of Morlaix, in Roscoff, this Thursday.
