02/08/2025 19:52:13

Good weather and light but still present wind for the penultimate stage of the Costarmoricaine 2025 – Mondial des Raids in Formula 18, during which the FRA 7 of Émeric Dary and David Fanouillière continues to widen the gap in the general ranking on Formula 18 with 39 minutes 13 seconds ahead of the second-placed FRA5 of Matteo Chevrier and Gaspard Cosse. The FRA7 began its breakaway on the return from the Mauve and will then widen the gap with an ever-impressive speed. For the Vipers, victory continues to be at stake since the FRA1969 of Thomas and Eilin Gorgues once again overtakes the FRA1313 of Mathieu Bioret and Alexandre Hamel in the leg and general ranking.

The crews were welcomed last night by the entire team from the Plérin Nautical Center Association, who hosted a dinner and an awards ceremony for the leg in the presence of Maël Henry, Deputy Mayor for Community Life, Sports, and Local Initiatives for the City of Plérin.

The second alternative route was chosen at the Légué buoy. While the standard route is essentially coastal, this route extend the distance by going to the Petit Léjon buoy in the middle of the bay. This mark is located much farther out than the usual sailing zone for these catamarans, but racing in a group with support boats allows them to safely exceed this limit. This extension also makes the navigation a little more technical. The course length is increased to 45nm, compared to 36nm for the smaller version.

The sky was still a little cloudy at the start this morning, but it cleared up during the day. The wind was lighter than in recent days, around ten knots, generally from the north, with some whitecaps in the middle of the bay. The crews encountered both tacking and spinnaker tacks.

There were a few more incidents today: Ghislain Melaine and Jean-Jacques Redon's FRA29 capsized and tore its mainsail. It will be numbered GBR5141 tomorrow (but will have the same identifier in the rankings). Adrien Leclere and Thomas Breard's FRA2594 encountered a rudder problem shortly before the start, which could not be repaired, and therefore headed directly to the port of Erquy.

Tomorrow's final leg, departure at 11:00 a.m. off the Port of Erquy, with the Formula 18 and Viper boats launching at 10:00 a.m. They will head to Cap Fréhel and return to Erquy in the mid-afternoon.