55th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec is under way

International skippers Tom Dolan of Ireland (Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan) and Spain’s young Pep Costa (VSF Sports) were up among the leading group as Stage 1 of the 55th edition of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec enjoyed a brisk, purposeful start from La Havre this afternoon.

Under grey skies with 15-18kts of breeze, which meant clean, tidy sail and boat handling was immediately tested on the short inshore circuit which lead the 37 contenders out into the Channel, Dolan and Costa both made good, solid departures on the 615 nautical miles first leg to Gijon in Northwest Spain where the top skippers should finish Thursday.

Whilst the Irish skipper, 37, Dolan is setting off on his seventh consecutive challenge on this French multi stage one design solo classic, Catalan Costa has made the most of missing a year due to lack of funding. The 25 year old from Barcelona has accumulated considerable experience in Class40 and the Ocean50 multihull class as well as building metro experience weather routing on the Transat Jacques Vabre and ARKÉA ULTIM CHALLENGE-Brest. He is back on the circuit with new sponsors and just finished second on the crewed Tour Voile as skipper.

Morvan leads out
Whilst it was Gaston Morvan (Région Bretagne-CMB Performance), considered to be on the three outstanding title favourites this year, who led the fleet out of the bay of Le Havre, collecting the award for passing the Paprec buoy first, Costa was sixth and Dolan eighth.  

The first stage of the three legs which comprise this year’s monster course looks set to open tonight with a reasonably quick but tactical, technical leg to Wolf Rock. One initial key will be dealing with the very strong contrary tidal flow off Barfleur at the top of the Cotentin-Cherbourg peninsula on the 200 nautical miles beat then reach to the turn south at rocky lighthouse which lies 8 miles SW of Land’s End.

While the 37 strong entry includes a very healthy proportion of Bizuths – no fewer than 16 first time rookies –  reflecting the continued popularity of the race as well as the one design Figaro Beneteau 3 as an important stepping stone into the other classes. Most notably more and more top Figaro sailors and their sponsors move into the Ocean50 multihull fleet and the Figaro is still where the foundation solo skills are honed before moving into the world of the IMOCA 60s.

Top hopes
On his third participation Gaston Morvan is reckoned to be among the three standout favourites. Since winning the Bizuths top prize in 2021 in seventh overall, the 27 year old from Brest placed fifth in 2022 and fourth last year. Basil Bourgnon is still just 22 years old but is on his third La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec and after finishing second behind Corentin Horeau -who is now racing Ocean 50s – he is also a strong contender for the top prize overall. So too are Lois Berrehar (Skipper MACIF 2022) who was third overall in 2023.  Also in that very top group is veteran Alexis Loison who at 39 years old is starting the race for the 18th time.

Ireland’s Dolan should, by all accounts, be able to crack the top five this time. He has had an excellent warm up period finishing in the top five in all the key indicator solo offshore races and has prepared perfectly – taking a long period off this summer after a very intense spring and early summer. He is well set up, more confident than ever after winning into Kinsale on the first stage last season, and has kept his new race sails pristine for this pinnacle race.

Internationals
Alongside Dolan and Costa there are two other international skippers in the main field. Germany’s Sanni Beucke (This Race is Female), Germany’s 49erFX 2021 silver medallist is back for her third challenge and looking to break into the top 20 this time whilst 21 year old Swiss rookie Anaëlle Pattusch (Nemo) is following the development pathway from the Mini 650 into the Figaro which she raced double handed and crewed last year.

All three stages of this giant edition are over 600 nautical miles long. This first one should finish after four nights into Gijon. It is followed on the next Sunday by a 605 miles stage from Gijon to a mark to the SW of Cape Finisterre before turning back across Biscay to finish at Royan which lies on north side of the entrance to Bordeaux’s Gironde estuary. The final stage is the longest, 620 miles from Royan to La Turballe on the Loire Atlantic coast via a turning mark at Skerries Bank off Dartmouth.

New this year is the Défi Paprec a double handed ‘toe in the water’ option for young skippers seeking experience and amateurs who, in the same way as Le Tour de France’s cycling Tour Etape, race Stage 1 benefiting from the one the water safety boats and tracking. (read more here)  

They said
Pep Costa (ESP) VSF Sports: “I am a little nervous, yes, but that’s racing and I am fine with it. Negotiating the Cotentin peninsula at Cherbourg and the approach, doing some tacks, will be important getting close to the coast and out of the tidal current. And then going to Wolf Rock it will be in a SW’ly wind and it will be getting lighter and lighter. And then we pick up the wind at Wolf Rock and then the whole of Biscay will be difficult to predict. We don’t really know what is going to happen as we negotiate a ridge and then maybe a little front which is at the end of its life so it will be quite light and very tricky. We should get to Gijon in about four and a half days. I am focused on sailing well every day and first of all getting to Cotentin with the main group, trying to do my own thing but staying fast all the time. But everything will be played out on Biscay and so I need to get there with the pack and then attack at the end of the leg. I feel confident.”

Tom Dolan (IRL) Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan: “ There will be quite a lot of wind in the English Channel all the same, 25-30kts, so there will be a bit of work on the first night for sure, all solid all nighter upwind with the breeze lifting – going left – towards the end. That will be the windiest we will see. Certainly no rest till after Alderney and then maybe some rest when we are reaching towards Wolf Rock. Then Wolf Rock to Gijon it will be interesting, very interesting. There is a slow moving front coming in from the west, not very active and so not a whole lot of wind behind it. So it is difficult to know which of the two options to take. It is whether you cross the front and go to find the NW’ly wind in the west. Or do you try to stay in front of the front in the breeze. That is difficult to tell. Then when it goes there is a big ridge of high pressure moving across the Bay of Biscay and the question is whether we manage to sat ahead of the ridge. But probably we will all end up drifting off Gijon! That bit looks better all the time. We are seeing ENE’ly and NE’ly – the classic Cape Finisterre acceleration zone. I have never been to Gijon but the north coast of Spain the wind is either blowing E’ly or W’ly. The key will be the Bay of Biscay. Between Alderney and Wolf Rock there will be some elastic effect, the rich getting richer and the leaders go into the lifting breeze, more. And then the Bay of Biscay is so open it is about who goes where, who goes east, who goes west? It is a tricky one.”

Gaston Morvan (Région Bretagne – CMB Performance): “I know that I can push very hard if necessary. We will see what will happen. First up though I am focused on the first leg. We’re all forgetting the start of the season, this is a a blank page now. If you’re capable of winning a pre-season race, you’re capable of winning La Solitaire. Past winners have won an early season race and here there are only two of us who have won races this this year, so we’ll see if that holds true. The goal for the first leg is not to make any mistakes, to sail cleanly and to arrive with a comfortable time compared to the rest. It’s not the victory that interests me on the first leg, but rather sailing clean.”

Basile Bourgnon (EDENRED): “ We need to be on our settings right away. The rest should come easily. Afterwards, we’re also going to have to negotiate the transitions and the light airs. I think that my three years in the Figaro have taught me not to be too bad in these different phases. All that’s left to do is apply all that. The Cotentin passage is going to be a pretty tricky moment, it’s a complicated area with the lobster pots, rocks, the fishing boats and the current. It’s a big challenge to start with in lively conditions.”

Sanni Beucke (GER) This Race is Female: “This is my third participation and I really want to get a good result. A Top 20 would be great. Otherwise, like everyone else, I want to have fun, enjoy myself, feel good on the boat and learn a lot. I think my preparations went well this year.”