It was at 09 hours 23 minutes and 02 seconds this Wednesday morning, that Jean-Pierre Nicol completed the third leg of the Solitaire du Figaro. 19th into Les Sables d’Olonne, 43 minutes and 42 seconds astern of winner Jérémie Beyou, the skipper of Bernard Controls had mixed emotions. He was disappointed at not really having had the weapons to hold rank, but proud for having struggled devilishly hard despite this temporary setback.

On leaving Dùn Laoghaire in Ireland at noon last Sunday, Jean-Pierre Nicol had a very clear strategy in mind for the first few hours of the race. However, very soon, the skipper of Bernard Controls saw his plans thwarted by a succession of pitfalls. There was an option which wasn’t that sophisticated at the start, a spinnaker which literally blew up and away at dawn when it should have had a central role in proceedings and finally a localised storm which had him in its clutches… the Breton sailor had it all. At the finish in Les Sables d’Olonne this morning, though he was smiling, it was evident that he was in two minds about his performance: “We knew it would be an important leg, where it would be necessary to be in on the action and not take risks. As far as I was concerned, everything went exactly the way if shouldn’t have! All the black cats in the world fell on me. At the finish, I have mixed emotions. I’m disappointed and very proud at the same time, because I did manage to limit the damage. I could have been penalised as severally as some of the others”.

At the back of the fleet in Irish waters, Jean-Pierre Nicol moved up through the fleet with stubborn determination and concentration, passing Wolf Rock in sixth place and then hoisting himself up onto the third step of the podium a few hours later. It was a considerable achievement when you reflect on the pace being set by the frontrunners at the time. However, as the pressure falls away on the dock, three points go round and round the mind of the skipper of Bernard Controls: the start, the final and ensuring he’s still in with a chance for the next leg and the end of the story.

The start?

“There was a short coastal course where I didn’t make a great choice. I went a little bit too far to the left and the whole fleet got past me. I saw guys heading off towards England, whilst I was still close-hauled, to the North, in two knots of breeze. The wind finally kicked in at the back and I told myself it was going to be alright. Then a gust hit and I blew my large spinnaker… At that point, I said to myself: “hard luck”! I found myself at the back of the fleet, without my large spinnaker, knowing full well that I’d really need it a few hours later. It was hard-going for an hour. What got me back in the mix was that there was a group at a standstill to windward. I told myself that I had to get back into it and that the further in front I was with my small spinnaker, the easier it would be to limit the damage.

The last few hours of the race?

“I managed to make a good comeback, but after that I couldn’t keep pace under small spinnaker and I positioned myself in the South, by default in part. I was the last to gybe so I could have the best possible angle on port tack. It went really well. After that though, I suffered another blow. I passed fairly close to Île d’Yeu, which wasn’t a bad idea on paper given that this island is relatively flat so the wind shadow is limited. Unfortunately, a storm developed right over this island, sucking up all the air around it to create a windless circle. I got caught up in it, watching helpless as all the fleet passed by.

The next stage?

“I’m not out of the running yet! I’m still here to do battle for the next one. I feel really divided. On the one hand I feel that I’ve not been that successful, whilst on the other I feel like I’ve put up a good fight. I’m happy not to have cracked up and happy that I didn’t attempt something a bit crazy and take a big gamble. I feel like I’ve done what I set out to do. I wanted to be in on the action for the final leg and I am. I’m going to tackle the last race with the notion that anything can happen and anything is possible.”

19th into the Vendée stopover, Jean-Pierre Nicol has lost a bit of ground in the overall standing and is now in 9th place. In terms of time, this “drop” is purely relative given how bunched the fleet is. In this way, with a deficit of 1 hour 33 minutes 31 seconds in relation to the leader, the Top 5 is within reach of the skipper of Bernard Controls. The next and final round of hostilities is due to commence at noon this Sunday, with the fleet setting sail for Dieppe.