Fleet Depart After Postponed Start

This morning the weather broke and the depression that brought huge breeze and rain to the French coast made a swift turn of face to leave good conditions for the start of the race. As a result, the fleet departed Lorient on Time at 1400hrs.

Jean-Paul Moren commented this morning. "I am simply impatient to leave the winter of France in search of the sun and a more tropical climate." A sentiment shared by many of his competitors waiting to start the revised course.

Due to the postponed start, the stopover in Madeira was cancelled, however the 31 boats will still sail past the island as it will remain an official gate for the fleet. Teams can still stop at the island if they choose but they will have to remain for a time designated by officials to ensure teams don't use this course alteration to their advantage.

With no stopover this Atlantic crossing will take the fleet around three weeks and will be a first for the Figaro circuit. Sam DAVIES (GBR) is looking forward to the challenge, commenting, "the boat has been ready since the middle of last week so Jeanne and I have had a good opportunity to review the weather and routing options, now we are just looking forward to the start and getting out into the Atlantic".

Full position reports can be found on the event website at the address below.