Dalin 'wins' leg 3

2016 Solitaire du Figaro turning into a Skipper MACIF two horse race

Skipper Macif team duo Yoann Richomme and Charlie Dalin will go into the 130-nautical mile final Stage 4 of the Solitaire Bompard Le Figaro knowing that their closest rival for the four-stage solo offshore championship is each other.

Post finish-line Dalin on Skipper Macif 2015 was credited as the winner of Stage 3 following an eight-minute penalty imposed on Xavier Macaire, who reached La Rochelle on Chemins d’Oceans in first place at midday today. After inspection by the judges it was discovered that the lead seals on Macaire’s fire extinguisher attachment were broken and he was penalised two minutes for every 100 miles of the course, as per the race rules statutory penalties. This dropped Macaire to third place on the leg.

“It is a penalty applied systematically,” commented George Priol, President of the International Jury.

Finishing sixth into La Rochelle, Richomme on Skipper Macif 2014 lost 16 minutes and 22 seconds of the lead he had held over Dalin at the start of the 395-mile leg 3, which started from Paimpol on Sunday evening.

Now Richomme will start Wednesday evening’s showdown, the 24-hour, 130-mile circuit northwest to the Isle de Yeu and back to La Rochelle, with a margin trimmed by his teammate to just 14 minutes and eight seconds.

Richomme’s next nearest challenger is the 2009 overall winner of the Solitaire, Nico Lunven on Generali, who is one hour 13 minutes and 32 seconds behind in the overall cumulative elapsed time results.

Leg 3 was defined by a high pressure ridge which blocked the fleet’s passage across the Bay of Biscay. In the unsettled, very light and unpredictable breeze – considered atypical by many of the skippers well-versed in reading all the signs of such anticyclonic transition zones – there were big losses and gains, a painful slow motion rollercoaster of fortunes.

Richomme had looked secure going into the high pressure area yesterday afternoon – predicting a first-in, first-out type of compression – but he lost miles to the chasing pack. Even so he still led at the BXA mark at 0339 local by two minutes and six seconds with 40 miles to sail.

But then Richomme was outflanked on the windward leg and kite reach to the line and lost his hard-earned margin to his rival Dalin, who has been the most consistent finisher so far, placing third into both Cowes and Paimpol.

“This Solitaire is incredible!” Richomme commented on the dock in La Rochelle’s Vieux Port. “It’s been so tough. The third leg was every bit as hard as the first two. We didn’t have any time to get any rest, as the wind was so variable, and we’re kept busy trimming.

“I’m pleased with what I have done,” he added. “I’m still able to lead the fleet and to be leader after 36 hours of racing. I attempted an option this morning, as I was convinced I would be the first to pick up the wind, but unfortunately it didn’t pay off. That’s my way of sailing. It’s what I did in the first two legs. I can’t wait for Thursday evening to see the result. Now, I need to get some rest and it’s going to be hard to be ready for tomorrow. There’s not much time to recuperate and even if it is the same for us all, we know it’s going to be tricky.”

Leg 3 winner Dalin, second overall in 2015 and third in 2014, commented: “The key point is you must never be discouraged. Anything can happen and there can always be chances, and you have to be ready to grab them. There have been so many times when I could have told myself during the Solitaire that it was over and that I would end up 40 or 50 minutes behind at the start of the fourth leg. But I kept my spirits up and remained determined and the opening appeared. I was lucky and managed to grab that opportunity.

“This was another very tiring leg. There was plenty to play for between BXA and Oléron. I saw my chance and got ahead of Yoann. There were stretches under spinnaker, which were fast. I took advantage to get a lot of sleep. I know I lost some ground at that point, but I wanted to get some 15-minute naps to be on form for the end of the race. In the end, I got back 16 minutes from Yoann, so that was a job well done. As for my strategy tomorrow, it will depend on the weather, but I don’t think I’ll change the way I sail.”

“The competition with Pierre is really intense but I have realised that I can’t just focus on what he is doing in a race like this. It would be too hard to spend the whole leg covering him,” commented Harris.

On leg three, top British finisher Nick Cherry on Redshift in 13th, who arrived just two minutes ahead of Alan Roberts in 15th.

Although unlucky for some, Cherry was happy with his result. Setting off from Paimpol in a solid third position, the 31-year old from Southampton set himself up well on the leg and stayed close to the top-10 for the duration – his best performance yet.

“When it all goes right it’s quite simple,” he laughed, visibly tired after no sleep for 24 hours. “I started alright, then Alan (Roberts) and I caught a good shift on the first beat and managed to get away on a lucky break at Ushant.

“It’s all swings and roundabouts with this race,” he continued. “Heading into the long leg across the Bay of Biscay, we didn’t know whether we were going to cross the ridge or sail around the outside of it, but we managed to cross the only patch of no wind and slow up. We had a bit of a shuffle just before the BXA mark and I guess it’s only fair that the guys who got left behind at Ushant had a chance to catch up. Overall I’m happy with how I came out of the leg.”

With three legs down and just one 130-mile coastal sprint to go, Roberts leads the eight Brits in the overall rankings in 16th position. Despite his goal of a top-five finish looking out of reach, the determined skipper will fight with everything he’s got to the finish.

“I’m happy to be the top Brit, but it would be nice to be ahead of a few more of the Frenchies as well,” Roberts joked on the dock. “But we’ve got one more leg to go, and anything can happen.”

Asked about the quick turnover time between Legs 3 and 4 Roberts replied, “I’m hoping I’ll be a bit more rested than I am now, but you can never be rested enough after what we’ve been doing. It’s been a tough race.”

Three places and 12 minutes behind Roberts, Robin Elsey and the newly repaired Artemis 43 finished Leg 3 in 19th position, now 22nd overall.

In the ‘Bizuth’ or rookie division, Frenchman Pierre Quiroga racing Skipper Espoir CEM once again claimed the Rookie top spot in 16th, finishing 16 minutes ahead of Harris in 21st. Although now 2-1 to Quiroga, Harris still maintains his overall Rookie lead by 11 minutes and 14 seconds. With just 130 miles of the 2016 Solitaire Bompard Le Figaro left to race, Leg 4 will be the decider.

“The competition with Pierre is really intense, but I’ve realised that I can’t focus just on what he’s doing in a race like this,” said Harris. “I’ll be keeping an eye on him during Leg 4 for sure, but it would be too hard to spend my leg covering him.”

Moving on to tomorrow’s restart, Harris said, “Going into Leg 4 with one night’s sleep will be better than no sleep like we’ve had on these last legs. Hopefully that rest will be enough to get me round the course. It’s the last night of the Solitaire after all, so I’ll see what I can do.”

After taking a late gamble in the east on route to the finish line, a disappointed Sam Matson racing Chatham finished the third stage in 22nd, after occupying both 11th and then fifth position earlier today. Matson’s Leg 3 result sees him 21st on the overall leaderboard. #SeaChange skipper Andrew Baker finished in 30th, while Rookie Mary Rook racing Artemis 23 is about to finish in 33rd.

In a dramatic twist to the end of the race, Leg 3 winner Xavier Macaire racing Chemins d’Oceans was awarded an eight-minute penalty for a broken seal on his fire extinguisher – a devastating blow for the skipper who over the final hours of the race climbed from 20th to first.

Charlie Dalin, sailing Skipper Macif 2015, now moves into the leg winner position, putting the 32-year-old second on the overall leaderboard. Dalin sits just 14 minutes behind his Skipper Macif teammate Yoann Richomme in first.

After 1,365 miles of solo racing, the 2016 Solitaire Bompard Le Figaro skippers have just 130 miles to go. With only 24 hours between the end of this stage and the beginning of the final leg, competitors will spend their time, eating sleeping and looking at charts before the grand finale gets underway at 1800 tomorrow.

Results