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The Generali Solo 2011 - 1 - 21 June 2011
www.generali-solo.com - Regatta Europa 2011
Regattafotos
Marseille - Leucate - Porquerolles, from 1 to 21 June 2011
The Solitaire du Figaro
Perros-Guirec, Caen, Dun Laoghaire (Irl), Les Sables d’Olonne, Dieppe
31 July to 28 August 2011
The Quiberon Solo
24 to 30 September 2011
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French Solo Offshore Racing Championship
Generali Solo 2011
Jean-Pierre Nicol, fifth into Leucate
Arriving in the Languedoc port of Leucate in the early hours of this
morning, the protagonists racing in the Generali Solo kept up the suspense
all the way to the finish in this port-to-port hop, which set out from
Marseille on Sunday afternoon. Going it alone on a more coastal trajectory,
Jean-Pierre Nicol gave it his all in a bid to avoid a tricky section after
the start and get back up with the frontrunners. This daring move was
rewarded by a fine fifth place on the line for the skipper of Bernard
Controls and it proved to be another opportunity to showcase the skills of
this exceptional racer.
Relatively simple on paper, the first offshore race of the Generali Solo was
actually unusually complicated once the fleet cast off from Marseille’s
Vieux Port at the weekend. Added to the threat of erratic winds for the
majority of the course was the prospect of being ensnared by the local
Tramontana. As such, keen to show just what he was made of from the start,
Jean-Pierre Nicol attacked the first section of this 200 mile plus circuit
with a determination that was evident from the moment the starting gun
sounded across the bay. However, the Mediterranean was just as keen to make
life the characteristic lottery for the Figaro sailors: "I was leading at
the start, neck and neck with the hot shots. It was go, go, go and then
offshore of Cassis, the three boats I was with got through and I got stuck
where I was. I felt a bit demoralised at that point because I realised that
I would have to battle my way up through the fleet again. Still, my goal was
to stay with the leaders. Having slipped back a bit, I knew that I had to
take risks and play my hand! At Cap Cissié, I tried to take the inside lane
and ended up at the back again..."
Playing the thermals
Seeing his rivals stealing inexorably away again as they snatched any sniff
of breeze in a bid to eek out a lowly 2 or even 3 knots of boat speed,
Jean-Pierre Nicol opted to draw on his reserves to get free of the zone and
go for broke: “In the early hours, I dipped back into my weather notes
again. The whole fleet were making towards Leucate and I was well behind by
then. I decided I needed to try a different option and go and play the
thermal breezes. I had to commit to it fully even though I knew I wasn’t
going to be making headway directly towards the goal. I then hit some wind
whilst the others were making laboured progress offshore and the thermal
breeze accompanied me all the way to La Grande Motte at the end of the day.
When it dropped away, I plunged towards the mark and continuously hung onto
the wind". Pushed along by two knots more breeze than his rivals, the
skipper of Bernard Controls picked off his rivals one by one and finally
snatched fifth place in a stage won by the young Morgan Lagravière: "At one
point I told myself that I could win this, but that wouldn’t have been very
fair given the fact that the others had much tougher sailing conditions than
me.”
Gunning for glory all the way!
Tired after just two 10 minute naps in this race, today Jean-Pierre Nicol is
happy to be among the frontrunners in a fleet where everyone is so evenly
matched in terms of performance: "This is all very positive. Since the start
of this Generali Solo, I haven’t got beyond eighth position before. That’s
all history now though! I know that the cards could still be reshuffled but
all I want is to play for the win with my sights on the podium all the way
to the end!" Fifth in the Marseille-Leucate stage and its coefficient 3, the
skipper of Bernard Controls is also in fifth place in the overall
provisional ranking, with 34 points to his credit, compared with 18 for the
provisional leader Fabien Delahaye. Tomorrow is a rest day for the solo
sailors, who will be back in competition mode on Thursday during the Leucate
Grand Prix.
15.06.2011 - Jean-Pierre Nicol second in Porquerolles
13.06.2011 - Jean-Pierre Nicol ready to take risks between Leucate and Porquerolles
07.06.2011 - Jean-Pierre Nicol, fifth into Leucate
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