The tough La Solitaire du Figaro solo race for Finot/Berret one-design 30ft Bénéteaus got underway yesterday from Boulogne sur Mer.

A total of 38 skippers are sailing the four-leg race that runs to Crosshaven in Ireland, returning to France at Les Sables d’Olonne en-route to Spain before heading northwards once more to Cherbourg, a total of 1,691 miles. The event is seen as a stepping stone to the Open 60 classes in general and the Vendée Globe in particular.

Favourites for this year, the final Figaro to be run before the Bénéteaus are replaced by a larger one-design, are previous winner Eric Drouglazet and former Olympic sailor Gildas Morvan. Other previous winners of the event, which commenced as the Aurore Race in 1970, include Christophe Auguin, Laurent Bourgnon, Michel Desjoyeaux, Jean le Cam, Alain Gautier, Lionel Pean and Philippe Poupon.

Competitors immediately faced a problem as they headed westward along the English Channel, namely which shore to aim for given the light northerly winds and how to immediately deal with prolonged singlehanded hours near becalmed in one of the world’s busiest stretches of water. Yachting World will bring you the significant updates as the various acts of Figaro unfold.