Leading the fleet for two days, the Irishman was heading this morning towards his most convincing stage victory.
On board the Express boat
Tom Dolan (Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan) won his first stage last year in his home country, in Kinsale. But it was on the green carpet after a cheat was disqualified. This time, the nail is well and truly hammered in. The most Concarnois of the Irish demonstrated his mastery throughout the course between Gijón and Royan. If this morning, at the 6am call, the die was not yet cast, it still smelled good to him of the stable. : “The machine gives us an arrival in 5:15 at the entrance to the Gironde. The northwest wind is extremely unstable, so the wind moves a lot. It’s starting to calm down a little but there’s a lot of work on board. I haven’t rested much, you have to be on the settings all the time. The pilot steers quite well, on the other hand he doesn’t know how to adjust the sails yet. I manage to adjust better than him. The wind is roughly set at 320° for 14 knots, there is less sea. We still need a bit of adjustment, especially since last night I see the two champions behind, it annoyed me a bit. It’s very nice to see the ranking. As long as the finish line is not crossed, I will not say more, but yes it is very good. I am in pretty good shape, I feel good for this final »
Behind him, Gaston Morvan (Région Bretagne CMB Performance) had not said his last word even though he had almost 7 miles to spare. And despite his autopilot problem, he saw the end of his determination looming. The finish line was judged in front of Royan and not at the entrance to the Gironde estuary: “I’m hanging on as best I can to keep up the pace. It’s getting a bit tough in terms of sleep and energy on board. I see that I’m managing to hold on to the leading positions. I’m trying to give all the commitment I need until the end. There are about fifty miles left, we’ll soon see the end. The night was long, the sun is starting to rise, it feels good. It’s down to very little. There were a few clouds and therefore some instability, we had to be focused on the settings. I think I did well. We’ll see in Royan. I managed to put a little bit of pilot without it turning around, I was able to have a little nap or two but, it’s just. The weather is a little monotonous on this long leg. There was nothing, no sail changes, no maneuvers, I can’t wait to see the end but we don’t know how the very end of the race will go. The good news is that we are racing until the end of the course. That certainly means that there is wind otherwise it would have been shortened. The fact of having managed to overtake Wings of the Ocean (Alexis Thomas) feels good. We were side by side for quite a few hours. This time, it’s for me. We’re going to arrive with the current, the gaps should reduce but we’ll see. I managed to get Tom Dolan’s signal, he’s not far ahead, it’s pretty cool.”
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Charlotte Yven (Skipper Macif 2023) was also euphoric, having worked hard all night: “It’s going pretty well. I saw people reappear on the AIS as I got closer to those in front. I’m happy with that. So there will be a little less of a gap at the end. A long leg like that for hours and hours is not easy. A bit long and monotonous. But at the same time, the boat has to go as fast as possible and be on the sheets all the time. The others aren’t going to wait for you. You also have to manage to juggle between going to rest and finding the right settings. It’s all still interesting. The conditions have calmed down a lot because we had a big sea at the start of the recrossing of the gulf. It wasn’t pleasant. Now, it’s pretty nice. There are 10-12 knots of wind and the sky is clear and you can see the stars clearly. Without a moon, there is no light but it is nice. It is going great, I can’t wait to arrive with this endless port side and see the outcome of this race. I am very happy with myself. To have managed to hold my position and my speed compared to the neighbors who are usually fast. Whatever happens, I will be happy with my race. Now, I will fight to scrape together a few minutes and a few places and see what that will give.
Shortly before 8am, the spinnakers were sent out. They could all lengthen their stride. Charlotte Yven, quicker to send her balloon sail, took advantage of this to get the better of Alexis Thomas (Wings of the Ocean). Tom Dolan, still with his 7-mile lead, should cross the line shortly after 12pm.
