Three Leaders in Mini-en-Mai Neck-and-Neck at Royan Turn

11th May 2017

Line honours leader Ian Lipinski in #865 Griffon prototype Credit: B. Gergaud/Facebook

Ireland’s Tom Dolan was neck-and-neck with Pierre Chedeville and Emile Henry as their three Pogo 3s closed in on the Royan turn at 1700hrs to lead their class in the 500-mile Mini-en-Mai offshore challenge, which leaves them with 147 miles still to race back to the finish at La Trinite sur Mer writes W M Nixon

With speeds around 6.5 knots in a southerly breeze which shows a tendency to veer, they’ve currently slightly less speed than the main body of the fleet astern. But with the turn made, it’s an entirely new ball game, with the course to be shaped towards the coast and some intriguing overnight pilotage which will take them close past La Rochelle and inside the Ile de Re.

The forecasts had been for a freshening south to southwest breeze, but the weather situation is fluid, and the increasingly coastal element to the course will see many other factors coming into play.

Published in Solo Sailing

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