The stage is set in the Bay of Seine
27 July, 2010
Eric Peron (Massif 2009) warded off some stiff competition to reach the offset mark some thirty minutes into racing in the lead and continued to ward off attempts by Frederic Duthil (BBox) and Adrien Hardy (AGIR) to grab the coveted Radio France mark lead.
The Solitaire du Figaro is an annual single-handed race held in multiple stages, and it is commonly regarded as the unofficial world championships of solo sailing. The race will cover 1,717 nautical miles.
Following a thirteen year absence Kinsale Yacht Club will host La Solitaire du Figaro from Thursday 12th to Monday 16th August 2010 This will be the nineteenth time that Kinsale Yacht Club has been a host port for the event, with an association stretching back to 1974. The last visit was in 1997 when Franck Cammas on "Athéna Assurances" won the 28th edition.
Five previous winners will attempt to go for a second title; Jeremie Beyou (BPI), Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel), Eric Drouglazet (Luisina), Armel le Cleac'h (Brit Air) and Nicholas Lunven (Generali). Among the 8 rookies this year is the Swiss Bernard Stamm, distinguished in offshore racing, is the most unusual of the rookies and there are 5 non French competitors and 3 women including the return of Karinne Fauconnier. La Solitaire would definitely not feel the same without the unconditional entry of the talented most senior member, Jean-Paul Mouren, who will be racing his 24th Solitaire!
French title holder Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) won the Prologue Suzuki in the waters of Le Havre, second to Ronan Treussart (Lufthansa) and third to Thomas Rouxel (Credit Mutuel de Bretagne). An action packed prologue: light breeze, tidal flow and four starting procedures. Eight boats fell victim of a black flag start, including past winners Kito de Pavant and Jeremie Beyou.
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