Charlie Dalin knows the Solitaire du Figaro well.
Even if he did not win it, Le Havrais played seven editions between 2011 and 2018 and signed five podiums in a row.
Asked by the race site, the second in the last Vendée Globe confided that he would join there one day ...
What does La Solitaire du Figaro represent for you?
Charlie Dalin.
- Like a Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe, a Transat Jacques Vabre, or the Vendée Globe, La Solitaire is one of the great classics. It's like a grand slam tournament in tennis. This race on equal terms is extremely difficult to win. We sleep very, very little there. In recent years, I took naps that rarely lasted ten minutes. We arrive exhausted at the stages. It has forged a lot of sailors; and she forged me. I learned a lot about this race, almost everything about solo sailing. If you want to win the Vendée Globe or the Route du Rhum, it is, for me, a race that you cannot ignore. It's a bit like "pass your baccalaureate first", "pass your Solitaire first" ...
The Solitaire has to be a race with stages lasting three or four nights.
Charlie dalin
How is this race formative?
On each stage, the result depends on what you gave on the water.
Each time, you have to put everything on the line. Beyond that, on the Figaro circuit, there are a lot of competitions and a lot of training sessions.
Unlike IMOCA (the Vendée Globe boat circuit, editor's note), you cannot rely on technology.
You spend a lot of time on the water to sail, race, practice.
The maneuvers, the placements, the adjustments gradually enter your blood.
There are no secrets, it takes hours and hours to develop this instinct which forges a true temperament as a solitary sailor.
What strikes you about this 52nd edition that you are following with interest?
During the first two stages, I noticed that each time, the new one-design, the Figaro Beneteau 3, created rankings with more time gaps. Beyond that, I find that this edition is really well calibrated in the layout of its stages and the level of its difficulties. The Solitaire has to be a race with stages lasting three or four nights. This edition meets the definition of a hard race with little recovery time at stopovers between courses that mix pebbles, shifts in currents and more oceanic phases. There is no moment of respite, and we see that everyone becomes a bit of a slave to the running of their boat. You have to keep up, at the risk of being overtaken immediately. It's very clear on the second step,where the skippers had to chain tackles without asking any questions. They had no choice. A bit like on a Solo Le Havre, where I had made 207 turns to circle the Isle of Wight from East to West… ”
Which skippers stand out in your eyes on the second stage between Lorient and Fécamp?
The winner of the stage, Pierre (Quiroga), whom I am also because he is Skipper Macif, as I was, deserves the victory he went for. He widened a first gap at Guernsey level. Then, I said to myself that it smelled good for him when he was at the level of the raz Blanchard, Barfleur, where in terms of currents, it seemed to be linked together for him, even if things can always happen in bay of the Seine. He sailed in his own way, following what makes his trademark. He is a fairly playful and attacking person. And we see that this is the best strategy to follow, rather than trying to go against its nature. Beyond that, Gaston Morvan, who finished 5th in this second stage of his life on La Solitaire, finished with a great result. However,I'm not necessarily very surprised. He seems mature, stable and calm to me; and above all, he trained a lot, with this idea that to reach a certain level, you cannot just rely on your talent.
To stay sharp, I feel like spending time in it can only do the greatest good.
I will come back to this when the opportunity arises.
Charlie dalin
Beyond Pierre, Erwan Le Draoulec (Skipper Macif 2020) finished with a good result. What is your take on this?
Each skipper appropriates the sector as he wishes and adapts the program according to his personality and his way of sailing. And each skipper duo finds its way of working. The Macif training program allows you to evolve and progress in good conditions. You have to have already proven yourself to be selected and access this sector imagined as a springboard for competition at the highest level in ocean racing. Beyond 2016, which was exceptional, since Yoann (Richomme) and I finished one and two respectively on La Solitaire, we see that each year one of the two Macif skippers finishes the race in a good position. It is a bit like a Formula 1 team, with two drivers and a little internal competition that shoots upwards;and real collaboration and exchanges during training. Two good mornings engaged in the same sector, it can really create emulation and a positive dynamic.
And will we see you again at the start of this race?
I often think about it.
This race is always in the back of my mind.
In the Vendée Globe, I thought to myself that I might be able to do it this year, but it is taking place at a time too late compared to the next Transat Jacques Vabre which I will compete in doubles with Paul Meilhat aboard Apivia .
Last week, I took part in a solo race on a small support that I won on Lake Geneva.
I had the real pleasure of rediscovering a little of the sensations of Figaro.
To stay sharp, I feel like spending time in it can only do the greatest good.
I will come back to this when the opportunity arises.