The fleet is led by Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) this morning racing off the Loire estuary close to the anchored cargo ships and the Guérande wind farm. Although La Turballe, where the finish to this Stage 3 actually is, is only a few miles away and they will pass the town shortly they still have more than 570 miles to sail to complete this final stage.
At 0700hrs local time this morning the fleet is sailing along the safety perimeter of the huge wind turbines facing Guérande, La Baule and Pointe Saint-Gildas. They have been sailing in manageable conditions with a wind of 12 to 20 knots and on a sea that has evened out a bit. Basile Bourgnon (Edenred), Loïs Berrehar (Skipper Macif 2022) and Victor Le Pape (Région Bretagne – CMB Espoir) lead the fleet. Ireland’s Tom Dolan, overall race leader is eighth at 2.2 miles behind the leaders, but key for him is he is within one mile of his nearest rival Gaston Morvan (Région Bretagne CMB Performance) who is sixth.
"This first night was quite peaceful. We have a wind between 13 and 20 knots, from the west, slightly northwest, it's not bad, it gave us the opportunity to take a few naps until the Ile de Yeu. Fatigue is starting to set in. We have two legs in our bodies it's a bit tiring. Everything is fine, I am happy with my position, I am up with Basile and Lois in the leading group, it is a bit of a rerun of stage 1, it suits me well. Since the island of Yeu, we no longer have much time to rest, we are now on a slightly more coastal course with what that entails, the traffic, the buoys, it is quite dense, but it allows us to be wide awake. This start of the race is in line with what I wanted, not too war like, it will be so on Tuesday, but for the moment everything is fine, yes. We have a few squalls, the sky is clearing a little. For the moment, I am staying dry, it is cooler outside, it smells like the beginning of autumn.” commented Victor Le Pape (Région Bretagne), third in the ranking.
Same story for Loïs Berrehar:
« The start was magnificent under the Royan sun. It was cool to take the lead of the coastal course. I wonder if I haven't won the Paprec challenge. We're heading north, it's a bit of a straight line for now, but the options will become clear in a short time. In fact, we're waiting for a wind shift and that's why we're all on a mandatory tack, so to speak. In any case, we're going to hit the coast in a short while. There's going to be a tack change shortly to head west. There will be shifts to exploit linked to warm or cold fronts. It's going to be interesting with a nice strategic game. We've just shaved Noirmoutier at night, there are some small traps, small site effects and there will be things to play during the day. Currently, we're close-hauled with between 12 and 20 knots of wind. The sea has flattened out quite a bit since we got closer to the entrance to the Loire. I didn't sleep too badly at the start of the night, when the wind was more stable. We must not arrive too cooked, especially for the English part of this course and in the descent into the Four. We must tear ourselves away, but be vigilant to stay lucid. We will be at the Occidentale de Sein in just under 24 hours."
For stage leader Basile Bourgnon, the leader, the race will start to open up after the first tack, “"The night is cool, I am going fast, that is good news. We are waiting for a shift which will allow us to go and find a little more wind offshore. It will be very unstable, we will have to be vigilant, especially during naps, with a few alarms so as not to miss the oscillations of the wind. This tack should arrive very soon. I was able to link 5 or 6 naps of 20 minutes each. It is good to be correctly positioned, but we will have to have the stamina for the navigation in the Channel. The idea is not to arrive too burnt out up there. Upwind is the best point of sail for sleeping. The fleet is quite tight on this straight since leaving the Gironde. The gaps are not huge yet. It is cold and wet but we should have this until the end."
Behind this trio, the revolt is launched, Alexis Loison (GROUPE REEL), Élodie Bonnafous QUEGUINER - La Vie en Rose), Martin Le Pape (DEMAIN) and Gasotn Morvan (Région Bretagne - CMB Performance) are lying in ambush less than 2 miles away.