50 knots for the Figarists

Final leg gets underway back to France tomorrow from Gijon, N Spain, but conditions will be lively

Weather for 0600 Thursday

The fourth and final leg of the leg for the singlehanded sailors competing in the 35th running of the Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro race starts tomorrow at the revised time of 12h00 noon (local Spanish) time from the port of Gijon.

Race Director Denis Horeau, has decided to bring the start time forward “in order to allow the fleet to leave before the low pressure system, which will bring southwesterly winds of a steady 30 to 35 knots with gusts of up to 45 when the system passes through on Wednesday evening." This is according to the Météo Consult forecast. Horeau adds, “this will allow the competitors a start under more manageable conditions.”

The final sprint will take the competitors over a 316-mile course, which is made up of two stages.

Firstly, there is a return crossing of the Golfe de Gascoigne, a distancce of 261 miles, with the same pitfalls as the sailors experienced on the previous leg. They will have to cross the anticyclone lies in the bay, either to the east or west, lengthening the leg. They will do this without forgetting to watch their closest rival. This leg concludes at Pen-Men, at the north Ile de Groix.

The second and last stage of this final leg is going to be no easier, with a final 55 mile inshore race between Pen-Men and Kerdonis point, to the south of Belle-Ile. Here there are shallow rocky waters to be avoided and strong currents between the islands and hundreds of rocks that border them, together with the summer's frequent thermal breezes both day and night to be taken into account. And all this before reaching the calmer waters of Quiberon Bay for the final determining short tack to Port Haliguen.

In the meantime at the forefront of the skippers' minds will be the depression that is forecast to hit tomorrow evening and will come complete with 30-35 knots of westerly, then southwesterly wind with gusts of up to 45 on Thursday as the fleet head north east across the Golfe du Gascoigne. The wind should swing round gradually from southwest to northwest and will ensure a fast pace for the leg. In these conditions the Figaros will fly and some are expecting the sailors to cover the 316-mile course in less than 48 hours.

In order to get the race off early tomorrow morning before the severe conditions arrive, the Race Committee has decided to cancel the 8 mile inshore course set in the Bay of Gijon. There will be a final briefing held at 09h00 before the race start.