The 442 mile second leg of the Solitaire du Figaro delivered mixed conditions for the 36 single-handed sailors racing from Gijon, Spain to Saint Gilles Croix de Vie, France. Gildas Morvan (Circle Vert) won the leg under a moonlit night sky after 60 hours, 28’ and 28”, his first leg win after competing in the race 16 times. Nick Cherry (Artemis 77) led the rookie fleet for 26 hours producing a nail-biting second-half that ultimately saw Corentin Horeau (Crédit Mutuel Espior) overhauling Cherry in the final stages as did Jullien Villon (Sexio Promotion).
“I am not happy at the moment but I think maybe I will be,” said Cherry at the dockside in France. “It’s always frustrating to lose places near the finish.” Even though Cherry is disappointed that he was knocked off the top spot to finish just three minutes behind Horeau and 17 seconds behind Villon, he has one leg remaining to go for the top rookie spot.
After the downwind drag race across the Bay of Biscay the fleet rounded three marks in darkness on the second night, including the notorious Raz de Sein, known for it strong tidal waters. The fleet then headed south to the finish in a 12-knot southwesterly before the wind became lighter around the finish. Sam Goodchild (Artemis 23) had also been racing to the finish within the Cherry and Horeau group finishing in 24th place, another frustrating result for him as he was looking for a better place on this leg: “I lost a lot of miles at the beginning and spent the rest of the race trying to catch up, and struggling both mentally and physically. I found it pretty hard to get to grips with what was happening.” One of the hardest aspects solo sailors face is just that, being on your own, and something Goodchild struggled with on this leg: “In the Figaro there is no one else to talk to so I did a lot of fighting with myself.”
The youngest skipper in the group, Henry Bomby (Artemis 77) finished in 36th place after suffering total electronic failure on the first night, but persevering and closing the distance between him and the fleet until the end. “I had a problem on the first night with my electronics, just as it was getting dark all my electronics failed. This included all my instruments and my autopilot and as I was under spinnaker the boat broached. I then had to call Gilles Chiorri (race director) to ask if I could speak to other competitors on the radio to ask for their help. After an hour and half with some help from some of my French competitors I managed to isolate the problem. I then managed to get the electronics back up and running, but by this point I was back in the ridge of little pressure and I had to work my way out of that and back into the breeze. By this point I had lost a lot of time.”
Leg 1 winner Yann Eliés (Groupe Queguiner/Journal des Entreprises) still maintains the overall lead on cumulative time with Morgan Lagraviere (Vendee) in second and Nicols Lunven (Generali) in third.
Solitaire du Figaro Leg 2 overall results.
Position / Name (boat) / Finishing time / Date / Time at sea
1st Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert), 23:58:28 / 03.07.12, 2d 11h 28’ 28”
2nd Nicolas Lunven (Generali), 00:01:45 / 04.07.12, 2d 11h 31’ 45”
3rd Yann Eliés (Groupe Queguiner/Journal des entreprises), 00:08:53 / 04.07.12, 2d 11h 38’ 53”
24th Sam Goodchild (Artemis 23), 01:14:51 / 04.07.12, 2d 12h 44’ 51”
26th Nick Cherry (Artemis 77), 01:15:53, 04.07.12, 2d 12h 45’ 53”
36th Henry Bomby (Artemis 37), 02:43:34, 04.07.12, 2d 14h 13’ 34”
Solitaire du Figaro Leg 2 Rookie class results
Position / Name (boat) / Finishing time / Date / Time at sea
1st Corentin Horeau (Bretagne – Crédit Mutuel Espoir), 01:12:43 / 04.07.12, 2d 12h 42’ 43”
2nd Julien Villion (Seixo Promotion), 01:15:36 / 04.07.12, 2d 12h 45’ 36”
3rd Nick Cherry (Artemis 77), 01:15:53 / 04.07.12, 2d 12h 45’ 53”
6th Henry Bomby (Artemis 37), 02:43:34 / 04.07.12, 2d 14h 13’ 43”
Solitaire du Figaro overall results
Position / Name (boat) / Leg 1 / Leg 2 / Cumulative time
1st Yann Eliés (Groupe Queguiner/Journal des entreprises), 3d 3h 9’ 7” / 2d 11h 38’ 53” / 5d 14h 48’ 0”
2nd Morgan Lagraviere (Vendee), 3d 3h 9’ 4” / 2d 12h 0’ 13” / 5d 15h 18’ 17”
3rd Nicolas Lunven (Generali), 3d 3h 46’ 42” / 2d 11h 31’ 45” / 5d 15h 18’ 27”
24th Nick Cherry (Artemis 77), 3d 6h 55’ 24” / 2d 12h 45’ 53” / 5d 19h 41’ 17”
25th Sam Goodchild (Artemis 23), 3d 7h 1’ 55” / 2d 12h 44’ 51” / 5d 19h 46’ 46”
31st Henry Bomby (Artemis 37), 3d 8h 36’ 26” / 2d 14h 13’ 34” / 5d 22h 50’ 0”
The Artemis Offshore Academy skippers said:
Henry Bomby
“I feel very tired, I’ve used a lot of energy to get here and I am looking forward to going to bed. Tomorrow morning I will start sorting the boat out and looking towards leg three, but right now I am pretty tired. The race is a lot tougher than you think. A lot of people say it’s hard and you can only imagine how hard until you do it. It’s learning to overcome problems like this and not letting them turn into a big deal so you can overcome them and focus on the positive aspects and finish.”
Nick Cherry
“I started badly, did ok in the middle and then lost a few places at the end. It’s a bit frustrating, but I am happy with the overall result. I was the first rookie until the end when I let two past. It would have been good if I had finished first. I feel pretty tired and I have a lot to think about, where it went well and where it went badly. I am pleased to be in now.”
From : Artemis Offshore Academy
Credit : Artemis Academy
“I am not happy at the moment but I think maybe I will be,” said Cherry at the dockside in France. “It’s always frustrating to lose places near the finish.” Even though Cherry is disappointed that he was knocked off the top spot to finish just three minutes behind Horeau and 17 seconds behind Villon, he has one leg remaining to go for the top rookie spot.
After the downwind drag race across the Bay of Biscay the fleet rounded three marks in darkness on the second night, including the notorious Raz de Sein, known for it strong tidal waters. The fleet then headed south to the finish in a 12-knot southwesterly before the wind became lighter around the finish. Sam Goodchild (Artemis 23) had also been racing to the finish within the Cherry and Horeau group finishing in 24th place, another frustrating result for him as he was looking for a better place on this leg: “I lost a lot of miles at the beginning and spent the rest of the race trying to catch up, and struggling both mentally and physically. I found it pretty hard to get to grips with what was happening.” One of the hardest aspects solo sailors face is just that, being on your own, and something Goodchild struggled with on this leg: “In the Figaro there is no one else to talk to so I did a lot of fighting with myself.”
The youngest skipper in the group, Henry Bomby (Artemis 77) finished in 36th place after suffering total electronic failure on the first night, but persevering and closing the distance between him and the fleet until the end. “I had a problem on the first night with my electronics, just as it was getting dark all my electronics failed. This included all my instruments and my autopilot and as I was under spinnaker the boat broached. I then had to call Gilles Chiorri (race director) to ask if I could speak to other competitors on the radio to ask for their help. After an hour and half with some help from some of my French competitors I managed to isolate the problem. I then managed to get the electronics back up and running, but by this point I was back in the ridge of little pressure and I had to work my way out of that and back into the breeze. By this point I had lost a lot of time.”
Leg 1 winner Yann Eliés (Groupe Queguiner/Journal des Entreprises) still maintains the overall lead on cumulative time with Morgan Lagraviere (Vendee) in second and Nicols Lunven (Generali) in third.
Solitaire du Figaro Leg 2 overall results.
Position / Name (boat) / Finishing time / Date / Time at sea
1st Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert), 23:58:28 / 03.07.12, 2d 11h 28’ 28”
2nd Nicolas Lunven (Generali), 00:01:45 / 04.07.12, 2d 11h 31’ 45”
3rd Yann Eliés (Groupe Queguiner/Journal des entreprises), 00:08:53 / 04.07.12, 2d 11h 38’ 53”
24th Sam Goodchild (Artemis 23), 01:14:51 / 04.07.12, 2d 12h 44’ 51”
26th Nick Cherry (Artemis 77), 01:15:53, 04.07.12, 2d 12h 45’ 53”
36th Henry Bomby (Artemis 37), 02:43:34, 04.07.12, 2d 14h 13’ 34”
Solitaire du Figaro Leg 2 Rookie class results
Position / Name (boat) / Finishing time / Date / Time at sea
1st Corentin Horeau (Bretagne – Crédit Mutuel Espoir), 01:12:43 / 04.07.12, 2d 12h 42’ 43”
2nd Julien Villion (Seixo Promotion), 01:15:36 / 04.07.12, 2d 12h 45’ 36”
3rd Nick Cherry (Artemis 77), 01:15:53 / 04.07.12, 2d 12h 45’ 53”
6th Henry Bomby (Artemis 37), 02:43:34 / 04.07.12, 2d 14h 13’ 43”
Solitaire du Figaro overall results
Position / Name (boat) / Leg 1 / Leg 2 / Cumulative time
1st Yann Eliés (Groupe Queguiner/Journal des entreprises), 3d 3h 9’ 7” / 2d 11h 38’ 53” / 5d 14h 48’ 0”
2nd Morgan Lagraviere (Vendee), 3d 3h 9’ 4” / 2d 12h 0’ 13” / 5d 15h 18’ 17”
3rd Nicolas Lunven (Generali), 3d 3h 46’ 42” / 2d 11h 31’ 45” / 5d 15h 18’ 27”
24th Nick Cherry (Artemis 77), 3d 6h 55’ 24” / 2d 12h 45’ 53” / 5d 19h 41’ 17”
25th Sam Goodchild (Artemis 23), 3d 7h 1’ 55” / 2d 12h 44’ 51” / 5d 19h 46’ 46”
31st Henry Bomby (Artemis 37), 3d 8h 36’ 26” / 2d 14h 13’ 34” / 5d 22h 50’ 0”
The Artemis Offshore Academy skippers said:
Henry Bomby
“I feel very tired, I’ve used a lot of energy to get here and I am looking forward to going to bed. Tomorrow morning I will start sorting the boat out and looking towards leg three, but right now I am pretty tired. The race is a lot tougher than you think. A lot of people say it’s hard and you can only imagine how hard until you do it. It’s learning to overcome problems like this and not letting them turn into a big deal so you can overcome them and focus on the positive aspects and finish.”
Nick Cherry
“I started badly, did ok in the middle and then lost a few places at the end. It’s a bit frustrating, but I am happy with the overall result. I was the first rookie until the end when I let two past. It would have been good if I had finished first. I feel pretty tired and I have a lot to think about, where it went well and where it went badly. I am pleased to be in now.”
From : Artemis Offshore Academy
