A total of 76 skippers have signed up for the 35th Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro 2004 which starts on 27 July.

The event, which covers a total of 1,476nm, will take in the English Channel, Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic with the first stopover in Portsmouth. This 160-mile leg is one of the shortest in the history of the Solitaire with competitors expected to arrive on 28 July before setting off again on 30 July for the second leg.

After another 463 miles of coastal and offshore sailing competitors will call in at Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, in Vendee before departing on 5 August for Gijon. This 537-mile leg takes in the Bay of Biscay and the fleet is expected to arrive on 8 August. The final 316-mile leg to Quiberon starts on 11 August with an estimated finish date of 13 August.

The entry has attracted 33 newcomers, three women and nine from overseas including the likes of Armel Le Cléac’h (winner of the last race in 2003), Kito de Pavant (winner in 2002), Eric Douglazet (winner in 2001), Pascal Bidégorry (winner in 2000), Dominic Vittet (winner in 1993), Marc Emig (winner of the novice class in 2003), Gildas Morvan, Yann Eliès, Charles Caudrelier, Ronan Guérin, Marc Thiercelin, Lionel Péan, Jean Luc Nélias, Halvard Mabire, and the last winner of the Mini Transat – Armel Tripon.

Overseas entries include: Sander Bakker (The Netherlands) Samantha Davies (England), Peter de Smet (Belgium) Eskill Degsell (Sweden) Hervé Fabre (Switzerland), Pascal Desmarets (Belgium) Antonio-Pédro Da Cruz (Cape Verde) Victor Maldonado (Mexico), Branco Palic (Croatia).