With only a six hour rest at the ‘Pit-Stop’ in Santander, the remaining six boats have turned north once more and are heading back towards Brittany for the penultimate stage of the 1000 mile Brittany Ferries Race. It was Dominic Vittet (Atao Audio System) who crossed the spanish finish line at 03:00 yesterday morning in first position, taking full advantage of the breezy conditions, where competitors had witnessed gusts of up to 30 knots.

The fleet of six had to once again start the arduous task of crossing of the Bay of Biscay, with Vittet first to depart Spain in rising winds. At midday today it was clear he was advancing fast on Roscoff, and holding a commanding lead. A battle seemed to be emerging between Yvan Noblet (Appart City) and Benoit Parnaudeau (Jardin Bio – Prevoir) however – second and third respectively – as they reached the half-way point of this third stage.

Unfortunately the hunt for Vittet was short-lived by Noblet. The skipper announced his boat’s retirement from the race this afternoon – 40 miles behindAtao Audio system, 230 miles from Roscoff (see above).Appart Cityexplained: “Following last night’s bad weather, we had small damage at the front [of the boat], which had been repaired at the time of Madeira sands, but had obviously slackened?This is a hard decision to take, but in the current sea [we] could endanger the boat. We will be present for the next stage of the 1000 mile [race].”