Leg 1 : Cherbourg-Octeville / Santander

590 miles - tactical, technical and downwind : For the 37th edition of La Solitaire Afflelou le Figaro race, the first leg from Concarneau to Santander was the longest at 590 miles. The race between France and Spain was set over a course that took the 44 single handed sailors round two marks off the south coast England ; Shambles and Wolf Rock. After a start in the Bay of Cherbourg in light winds, a rookie sailor, Corentin Douguet (E.Leclerc Bouygues Telecom) lead the fleet from the Radio France offset mark across the English Channel on a long downwind run to Shambles buoy. The next 135 miles along the south coast is fought upwind. Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert), who positions himself furthest north, rounds Wolf Rock in the lead ahead of Charles Caudrelier (Bostik) and Gérald Veniard (Scutum). Spinnakers are hoisted in 25 knots of breeze and then it is fast run south to the Bay of Biscay. The wind gradually slackens and becomes variable on the final approach to the Cantabrian town of Santander. At 1 am on the 9th of August, Scutum, particularly fast downwind, moves into the lead, a lead he maintains right to the finish. At 18h31 that same day, Gérald Veniard crosses the finish line after 79 hours and 24 minutes of racing (at an average 7,43 knots) ahead of Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) and Charles Caudrelier (Bostik). Gérald is to later loose his first place after the jury applies a 24 minute penalty for exceeding the weight limit 3 hours prior to the start in Cherbourg.

Leg 2 : Santander / Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie

314 miles - West gives runaway leaders huge advantages : Against all odds, it is on the shorted leg of the 37th edition of La Solitaire, that a winner is decided. Following a wonderful inshore race in the bay of Santander, set with the backdrop of the Magdalena castle, Eric Drouglazet (PIXmania.com) is the first skipper to pass the Radio France offset mark. The 44 competitors proceed on to the Birvideaux Lighthouse on one long run. The conditions, unclear from the start, complicate the sailing for all but two ingenious sailors. Nicolas Troussel and Thierry Chabagny head off west off the course and are the only two sailors to find wind. First and second in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie after 62 hours racing, these two sailors manage to gain more than 4 hours advantage over Armel Le Cléac’h (Brit’Air), the third to finish in the Vendee town. The advantage the winner gains over the rest of the competitors is vast (ranging from 7 to 16 hours). This marks the deciding point of the 37th edition of La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro.

Leg 3 : Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie / Dingle

545 miles - A windy 30 hour run upwind for a lottery ticket finish : With barely any time to rest in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, the 44 skippers leave the Vendée for Ireland just 36 hours later. The race organisers reduce the leg by 70 miles, cutting out the trip down to the Ile de Ré. The boats head north, led by Armel Le Cléac’h (Bit’Air), in a big sea swell and on an abeam reach. Jeanne Grégoire (Banque Populaire) moves in to take the lead, which she holds for the next 30 hours of upwind tacking in strong 25 to 30 knots of north westerly wind. Ingeniously, the rookie sailor, Erwan Israël (Delta Dore) momentarily takes the lead from Jeanne. The fleet regroups at the Fastnet Rock for the final run along the southern Irish coast to Dingle. Liz Wardley (Sojasan), who flies up the fleet having taken a westerly option, joins Jeanne Grégoire, who still maintains control of the fleet. Everything boils down to the 21st of August, just five hours before the finish ; a calm settles over all those close to shore, among these Jeanne Grégoire and Nicholas Troussel (Financo), whom are forced to drop the anchor as they watch despairingly those further out hoist their spinnakers and avoid the treacherous calm. Samantha Davies (Roxy), Corentin Douguet (E.Leclerc-Bouygues Telecom), Gérald Veniard (Scutum), Nicolas Bérenger (Koné Ascenseurs), Marc Emig (A.ST Group) and Gildas Mahé (Le Comptoir Immobilier) all benefit from their fellow competitors wrong footing. As the sun sets, the calm settles once again over the fleet in the Bay of Dingle. The myriad of green red and white lights appear out of the darkness making it impossible to say who can win in the night. Gérald Veniard, with his masterstroke of genius, crosses first again. The second leg will be remembered for the huge gaps built at the finish and the third leg for the minimal ones. 35 boats cross the finish line after 83 hours and 479 miles in under 35 minutes !

Leg 4 : Dingle / Concarneau

458 miles - Full pelt under spinnaker to the Scilly Isles and the calm for the finish : A third for Gérald Veniard. The skipper of Scutum wins the fourth and final leg between Dingle and Concarneau. The exhausting race, 458 miles long pushes the sailors to the absolute limits ; 36 hours of strong downwind sailing under spinnaker in a huge sea swell and then a nerve-racking day spent in frustratingly calm conditions before the finish. Nicolas Troussel (Financo) who leads the overall ranking at this point, starts well to round the Radio France offset mark in Dingle first and then the trio Le Cléac’h, Veniard and Bérenger (Kone Ascenseurs) take control of the fleet in this marathon spinnaker run to the Scilly Isles. Veniard pips Le Cléac’h at the post at the Seven Stones lighthouse boat to take the Grand Prix Suzuki. The frightening gybes in 30 knots, is not for the weak or faint hearted ; blown spinnakers or wrapped round the forestay and then faulty autopilots or electronics are some of the problems encountered. Everything changes at Ushant, the wind drops and the fleet set the counter to zero for a new start just 100 miles from the finish. Once again, the West proves best. Christophe Lebas (Armor Lux) makes an astounding climb up the fleet whilst Le Cléac’h, Eliès and many others are forced to drop anchor. Feeling the wind come in further ashore, Veniard heads out together with Krauss (AXA Plaisance Plaisance #Plaisance ) and Marc Emig (A.ST Group). It is these three who eventually win in Concarneau. Nicolas Troussel and Thierry Chabagny manage to keep their time advantage and therefore 1st and 2^nd places overall, so masterfully established in Saint Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. Le Cléac’h relinquishes his third place to Gérald, the triple leg winner.