I arrived in Perros-Guirec to find this year's Figaro Solitaire preparations in full swing. French Olympic Met specialist David Lanier, who lives in Caen, introduced me to Fabien Delahaye, also from Caen, who must be one of the favourites for this year's series, after an exceptional opening to his 2011 solo season. I also shook hands with Gildas Morvan, a stalwart of the Figaro, and saw friends from the French Olympic preparations in Weymouth in another guise, preparing the Vendee entry.
Excellent weather, though with light winds, has made a promising start to this year's expedition to Brittany, and I hope to be a bit further west by the end of the week. Certainly this encounter with French sailing stars has been an excellent omen...
Steve Fraser
Submitted on 28th July 2011