#soloconcarneau – 25 knots of wind from the West, a big lumpy sea, a foul tide and 31 other boats met David Kenefick's FULL IRISH on the start line for the 340-mile Solo Concarneau writes Marcus Hutchinson. Starting and finishing in the Breton port of Concarneau the course is taking the fleet of Beneteau Figaro IIs up through the Raz de Sein to a buoy just South of Ushant before a long dowind leg via the Birvidaux lighthouse near Quiberon to round the Ile d'Yeu off Les Sables d'Olonne before heading back North to finish in Concarneau. The estimated finish time is currently sometime on Saturday evening, but things can evolve as the forecasts roll through.
The start got away on time with a short upwind leg to the first weather mark to split the fleet up a bit. The wind shifted to the right almost at the start which meant the committee boat was the best place to be, David managed to get a second row start just at the boat and tack out to the right quickly to clear his air. There was very little port tack to sail and when he tacked back he was more than comfortable on the layline. Many boats to leeward however were struggling to lay and the middle of the fleet all missed the mark and had to gybe around and find a way back into the train of boats approaching on starboard.
The wind is going to keep the sailors more than busy over the next 18 hours as they make their way upwind in physical conditions. The first big decisions on strategy will kick in as they head across the Bay of Audierne. The foul tide will keep them inshore initially but as the tide prepares to turn their will be a timed exit from the shore to place themselves sufficiently far offshore to either get far enough to the West to sail outside the infamous Chausée de Sein and have the strongest fair tide for the longest time or to remain to the right, benefit from the forecast right hand shift and flatter water after the Raz de Sein.
Endless analysis of all of these points before the start can only go so far. A delay in the start or a bigger squall under the first cloud and a larger shift can alter angles and arrival times at strategic points by margins that throw everything into doubt. Decisions have to be made, evaluated, re-assessed and maybe modified all the time. In short there is a lot for the sailors to think about as they sail alone around the tip of Brittany.
The leaders in the early stages include several of the usual suspects in the class such as Jeremie Beyou and winner of the last two Solitaire du Figaros Yann Elies. The first boat at the first mark was Briton Henry Bomby sailing Red.
