A spectacular broach by French solo sailor Corentin Douguet in 40 knots of wind his Figaro boat vividly shows how hard these bulletproof boats can be pushed. This fantastic series of shots taken off the Brittany coast from a helicopter by the talented snapper Jacques Vapillon is reminiscent of Alex Thomson’s famous photoshoot in the late Open 60 Hugo Boss in much the same waters, when he was invited to “Send it!” and duly did, in an explosion of white water. What is it with these fearless solo sailors?

Douguet, a former winner of the Mini Transat, was one of the sailors who set off from Belle Ile this weekend on the single-handed Figaro race the Trophée BPE in his boat Bouygues Telecom. To the French, this is the unofficial world championship of solo sailing raced on level pegging in the 33ft Bénéteau Figaro one-design.