Solitaire du Figaro, partenza con il botto
FigaroMonotipiaSolitaire du FigaroVela 17 Agosto 2010 Zerogradinord 0
Solitaire du Figaro – Kinsale – Ha avuto inizio questo pomeriggio l’ultima e decisiva frazione della Solitaire du Figaro. I solitari hanno lasciato Kinsale alla volta di Cherbourg sotto un cielo plumbeo. La tensione ha raggiunto livelli tali che il Comitato di Regata è stato obbligato a due richiami generali prima di vedere la flotta varcare correttamente la linea. A fare le spese delle concitate fasi che hanno preceduto il colpo di cannone sono atati Bernard Stamm, debuttante di grandissima esperienza, e Matthieu Girolet. Le barche dei due sono infatti rimaste seriamente danneggiate in seguito ad una collisione che ha obbligato entrambi al ritiro.
Su Chaminée Poujoulat si è cercato di chiudere la grande falla apertasi nella parte anteriore dello scafo. Ad aiutare lo shore team di Stamm sono stati i tecnici di tutti gli altri partecipanti. Uno sforzo comune profuso nel tentativo di permettere a Stamm di riprendere il mare in tampo ragionevole. Danni analoghi per Girolet, che ha notate zone delaminate all’interno dell’imbarcazione.
Tra le boe, invece, a doppiare la boa di disimpegno in prima posizione è stato Laurent Pellecuer, seguito da Jean Pierre Nicol e dal sempre più consistente portoghese Francisco Lobato, migliore dei debuttanti. Bene anche Pietro D’Alì, che ha girato la boa in undicesima posizione, come secondo tra gli stranieri.
Mentre la flotta puntava verso il Fastnet, da dove si lancerà verso la Manica, Meteo France ha emesso il nuovo bollettino che annuncia venti da nordovest compresi tra i 25 e i 30 nodi. Si annuncia una lunga notte per gli eroi della Solitaire du Figaro.
Per consultare le classifiche clicca qui.
[flashvideo filename=video/solitaire/Solitaire_170810.flv /]
Quarta tappa, pre-partenza. Video copyright Solitaire du Figaro.
SOLITAIRE DU FIGARO, THEY’RE OFF WITH A COLLISION
[Solitaire du Figaro] Under a grey sky the 44 skippers taking part in La Solitaire du Figaro, left Kinsale for the fourth and decisive leg. Tension was high and the Committee was forced to give two general recalls. Swiss Bernard Stamm and French Matthieu Girolet were involved in a collision and suffered from serious damages to their boats. Both decided to abandon racing. Excellent start for, young Portuguese Francisco Lobato and Italian Pietro D’Alì. Weather conditions are expected to be fairly tough, for a fast 435 miles passage to the finish in Cherbourg.
A lot is at stake, for the leaders as for each one of the competitors to the 2010 Solitaire and tension builds easily. That is especially the case at the start of the last and decisive leg. And today the 44 skippers were eager to leave Ireland, apparently. So much that the Race Committee was forced to hoist the general recall flag twice before getting a clear start.
And, it was when tension ran so high that between the first and the second start that a violent collision occurred involving Swiss Bernard Stamm and Matthieu Girolet. As boats suffered from serious damages to their hulls both skippers decided it was not safe to continue racing and abandoned the Solitaire. Stamm’s Figaro had a conspicuous hole on the bow and despite all the other competitors’ shore teams immediately started working on it in a solidarity effort, the damage was too extensive to be repaired in a reasonable amount of time. Girolet’s breakage was equally evident, and he also reported to have some parts detached inside the boat and doubted also that the rigging was still efficient. Stamm will be given a DNF in the final ranking which means the last’s time plus two hours.
Racing continued for the other 42 skippers, who, before heading offshore had to sail a windward/leeward course between the Seamobile and the Radio France Marks, with a good breeze of 10 to 12 knots. Racing was very close and intense and gaps reduced to a minumum. At the Radio France Mark, located near Bulman, it was Laurent Pellecuer to round in first, very closely followed by Jean Pierre Nicol and by a brilliant Francisco Lobato who showed very good speed under spinnaker. It was then the turn of Jérémie Beyou and Yann Eliè . Behind them boats arrived grouped together, creating a pretty confused mass with more collisions and protest flags. The other non French sailors were Pietro D’Alì in 11th, Jonny Malbon in 15th and Isabelle Joschke in 27th.
Competitors will now have to sail along the Irish coast to reach the famous Fastnet lighthouse that lied 45 miles away, leaving it to port side. The leaders should get there around midnight. According to the weather forecast by Météo France’s expert Sylvain Mondon, after having rounded the Fastnet on their way to Lizen Ven, the fleet will encounter stiffer NW breezes topping 25 with gusts over 30 knots.
To read the standigs click here.
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