Now we know the course for the 2009 Solitaire du Figaro.
In addition to the French ports announced earlier, the fleet will call at la Coruña in Spain and Dingle in Ireland.
The history of the race
The single-handed race was created in 1970 following an idea by Jean-Michel Barrault and Jean-Louis Guillemard, journalists at the daily newspaper Aurore. The Course de l’Aurore rapidly became an un-missable event in France.
In 1980, the Course de l’Aurore became La Solitaire du Figaro and in 1990 the one-design boat class appeared, sharpening up the competition. Notable events were the 1973 storm which put three quarters of the fleet out of action, Patrick Eliès’ 4 leg victories in 1979, the special dispensation which allowed the 17-year-old Alain Gautier to enter the race (it took him another ten years before he won it), Luc Berthillet, reported missing in 1985 and finally found by a Spanish trawler, rookie Laurent Bourgnon’s fine victory in 1988, Philippe Poupon’s 3rd title in 1995, Alain Gautier’s rescue by Nicolas Bérenger in 1996, Jean Le Cam’s 3rd victory in 1999, the 13 seconds separating Armel Le Cléac’h from Alain Gautier in 2003, Michel Desjoyeaux’s 3rd title in 2007… And many other tales of sailors and the sea.
