2023 RANKING
GENERAL RANKING
Dans la nuit du 15 septembre, le rideau est tombé, à Piriac-sur-Mer sur La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec en trois étapes. Trois morceaux de bravoure pour 1670 milles (3092 km) cumulés qui récompensent la course de Corentin Horeau, le skipper le plus régulier. Ce surprenant cru 2023 se distingue aussi par la dramaturgie de son deuxième acte. Fatale pour de nombreux candidats aux places d’honneur, l’étape Kinsale-Baie de Morlaix restera inscrite au fer rouge dans les annales de la course.
Voici ce qu’il s’est passé sur l’eau, et non pas sur le tapis vert. En dépit de l’exclusion de Benoît Tuduri et de la disqualification de Pierre Daniellot par le jury, sanctionnant à l’arrivée finale le comportement de ces deux bizuths, cette 54e édition n’en reste pas moins celle de la révélation d’une nouvelle génération de solitaires.
Que les courses - à la régulière -, d’Hugo Dhallenne, Julie Simon, ou encore Victor Le Pape, résolument dans le coup dès leur première participation, soient saluées à leur juste mesure. Tout comme celles de Tom Dolan, Basile Bourgnon et Jules Delpech, les trois magnifiques vainqueurs d’étape de cette Solitaire de tous les retournements de situation.
RANKING BY STEPS
STEP 1 - CHANNEL AND CELTIC SEA
The first stage alone presents all the characteristics of the Solitaire, with a very coastal and demanding first part and a second offshore part. After setting off from Caen and rounding the Saint Marcouf Islands, the sailors will make a double crossing of the English Channel via the Isle of Wight.
I have left the island bypass free, so that each sailor can make the choice of rounding the island via the Solent or from the south depending on the conditions at Nab Tower, the first brand around the east of Isle of Wight.
Once the Jument des Héaux de Bréhat mark has been crossed, the skippers will set sail for the Fastnet lighthouse, for a leg of almost 300 nautical miles, which will begin the offshore part of this leg. A few tacks later, the arrival at Kinsale could be tricky with tidal coefficients of more than 100.
STAGE 2 - IRISH SEA
Often coveted, never achieved, the rounding of the Isle of Man is the symbol of this stage which makes all the richness of the Solitaire. A 630 nautical mile stage, with only one course mark (or almost), and yet a stage that we could qualify as coastal.
Departing from Kinsale, the tidal coefficients will always be high, generating strong currents in the Irish Sea. The evolution of the figaros will surely be dictated by this factor until the bypass of the Isle of Man, in a region famous for its mists, its rapid weather changes and its many fishing boats.
Vigilance will therefore be particularly important before starting the final stretch towards the bay of Morlaix.
STAGE 3 - IROISE SEA AND GULF OF BISCAY
Having become almost a Solitaire classic, a double crossing of the Bay of Biscay, via a mark in front of Gijon, will close the 2023 course. After the start in the bay of Morlaix, the figaros will evolve along the fairly steep north coast of Brittany , to get to the western side of Sein.
The skippers will most likely have to choose between taking the Passage du Fromveur, south of the island of Ouessant, or the Chenal du Four, along the coast of Finistère. The Bay of Biscay can offer complex weather situations, and the finest strategists will then be able to fully express themselves.
The finish in Piriac-sur-Mer, in Loire Atlantique, will close this 2023 edition.
