The mandatory passage point where the Intermediate Sprint bonuses were allocated, the Occidentale de Sein was very crowded this morning. From 5:04 a.m., the solo sailors started to pass with Basile Bourgnon in the lead. He takes the intermediate sprint and won the 5-minute bonus. Ushant was already in their sights.
The competitors opted for a passage through the Fromveur channel, before entering the Channel. At present, the Iroise Sea allows the solo sailors to recharge their batteries one last time before tackling the very big part of this last stage, the double crossing of the Channel which is set to be in challenging conditions.
First to cross the intermediate sprint line, Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) wins the five-minute bonus. Loïs Berrehar (Skipper Macif 2022) by crossing the line in second position wins three minutes, Gaston Morvan (Région Bretagne – CMB Performance, recovers the last prize, namely one minute. Ireland’s Tom Dolan (Smurfit Kappa – Kingpsan) was fourth at six minutes after Morvan.
Times 1.EDENRED - 5h04, 2.SKIPPER MACIF 2022 - 5h06, 3.REGION BRETAGNE CMB PERFORMANCE - 5h07, 4.SMURFFIT KAPPA KINGSPAN -5h13 5.YCSL PRIMATICE - 5h16
This waypoint also marks the entry into the Iroise Sea. Known for its legendary storms, it offers a short respite on this new morning of racing. On a flat sea at 100° to the wind, the sailors are sailing at 12-13 knots in a wind of around twenty knots, heading for the Fromveur passage, located between the island of Ouessant and Molène. It was around 7:30 a.m. that the first competitors arrived there. Behind Basile Bourgnon, the entire fleet is sailing in pretty much a straight line.
"I'm happy to finally be at the end of Brittany, it was starting to feel long. I'm still taking advantage of it to take a few naps, as long as the conditions allow. The sea is flat at the moment, but after Ouessant, it's going to start to change with the wind that's going to pick up. It's going to be rough. I'm going to take advantage of a little boost in the Fromveur passage to head north. In theory, we should all go through it. The next step is to preserve the boat and myself. It's going to go very quickly. I already have an idea of what I'm going to do, but I'll have to choose my sails carefully. I've already equipped myself with my dry suit. We have 20 knots of wind on a flat sea at 100° from reality, we are sailing at 12-13 knots, it's going fast, it's starting to get a bit wet," commented Tom Dolan, current leader in the provisional general classification after two stages.
Basile Bourgnon already has his plan in mind, but it's difficult to get him to reveal it during this morning's call.
"We had to be on deck last night because, depending on the clouds, the wind was changing quite a bit. In this little game, I managed to stay in front. Now, we're starting the bulk of this stage. You just told me that the intermediate sprint was in the western direction, so much the better. It's important, we'll see that at the end. We changed the course, which means that the angles are no longer the same. We have a long tack up to the first waypoint where we have to go, and there, I'm taking a few naps to make sure I'm fresh on this tack later. We have 20 knots of wind, on the beam, with the swell on the beam as well, but not very big yet. It will gradually deepen throughout the day to 2.5 m swell. The wind will crescendo up to 30 knots or even more in the gusts. It's still quite strong wind for our small boats. As I'm going to stay at the helm at that time, we have to be sure to have all the energy possible to be ready."