Just over 24 hours after the start of the first leg of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, the fleet has rounded the first major mark of the 2025 course — Skerries Bank, off the southeast coast of Cornwall.
Tom Goron (Groupe Dubreuil) and Arthur Meurisse (Kiloutou) were the first to reach it, though by very different routes.
Rounding order at Skerries Bank:
1st Tom Goron (Groupe Dubreuil) – 12:47:04
2nd Arthur Meurisse (Kiloutou) – 12:56:53
3rd Charlotte Yven (Skipper Macif 2023) – 12:56:54
4th Alexis Loison (Groupe REEL) – 12:59:55
5th Romain Bouillard (Décrochons la lune) – 13:00:40
Ireland’s Tom Dolon is 16th, 3.1 nm off the leaders.
Britain’s Ellie Driver is 34th, 13.8 nm off the leaders.
The bold tactical move launched overnight by Tom Goron and Charlotte Yven (Skipper Macif 2023) didn’t create a decisive break, but it certainly made an impression. Positioned in the leading group at Barfleur, the pair chose to dive west, alone, skirting under the no-go shipping lane (Traffic Separation Scheme).
That gave them a sharper angle towards Skerries Bank, powering along at more than 8 knots while the bulk of the fleet was stuck at 5–6 knots upwind. Goron was the first to round the mark.
At the head of the eastern group, Arthur Meurisse managed to squeeze in between the buoy and Charlotte Yven in a maneuver worthy of the best match racers — snatching second place by a single second. Alexis Loison (Groupe REEL) was right in the rhythm, rounding in fourth.
With the mark behind them, spinnakers went up for the long slide down to the next waypoint: the Daffodils cardinal buoy, off Dieppe.
Another Channel crossing lies ahead, but this long run should give the solo sailors a chance to regroup: grab food, snatch some rest, and think ahead to the next tactical calls.
