Mr Eric Bompard, CEO of Eric Bompard Cashmere and Mr Francis Morel, General Director of the Figaro Group are delighted with the agreement.

“Mr Bompard showed particular interest in strengthening this relationship last year into today’s announced partnership that we are so pleased to announce. We are very happy that Eric Bompard Cashmere is consolidating its commitment to the Figaro Group by becoming, as well as a faithful advertiser, also as the main partner of La Solitaire. The Figaro Group shall be proud to display the colours of the new partnership as of the summer of 2011” explains Francis Morel.

“Following a wonderful season on La Soliaire last August with the Edic Bompard boat we studied with great care the proposal for to be the Figaro’s title partner for the next three years. We accepted this joint adventure with great enthusiasm thanks to the values that the event and our company share.” Said Eric Bompard.

A stimulating course for 2011

The single-handed sailors will face a 1,695 nautical mile race in a traditional format with four legs with a decidedly northern course, set between the 46th and 53rd parallels.

Back to basics for the foretaste of this edition of La Solitaire du Figaro Solitaire du Figaro #LaSolitaire as Perros-Guirec and the Brittany Region will inaugurate the festivities. From 23rd to 31st July the seaside town will prepare a lively welcome for the competitors.

On 31st July the single-handed sailors will set off for 320 nautical miles towards Caen. Although 160 miles separate Perros-Guirec from Caen, the course of the first leg does not follow the direct route. On the contrary, the competitors will follow the British coastline before sailing down into the Bay of Seine. The main town of Lower Normandy where the harbour and the race village, ideally placed in the centre of town, shall welcome for one week thousands of visitors curious to meet the skippers. Following several days rest, the fleet shall once again set sail on 7th August for the second leg, of 470 nautical miles, that will take the Figaro Bénéteau 2 towards Dún Laoghaire in Ireland.

After leaving the Bay of Seine, a 40-mile or so run, the first obstacle will be the passage of the Barfleur point. The course remains inshore, as the single-handed sailors will sail along the Cotentin to the cape of the Hague, before heading towards the Channel Islands. It will be compulsory to leave the islands of Aurigny, Herm and Guernsey to starboard. The skippers will then take on a long crossing of the English Channel, 120 nautical miles to Land’s End. The last third of the course is a sail up almost full North over 190 nautical miles to reach Dún Laoghaire harbour, South-East of Dublin. Ireland will be the only non-French stop-over of the new race course, a discovery for the single-handed sailors who shall no doubt appreciate the charm of a finish in the magnificent harbour of Dublin and the warm welcome of the National Yacht Club. After a few days rest and recuperation, the fleet then will set sail on 14th August to The Vendée and the legendary harbour of Les Sables d’Olonne.

The third leg is long at 475 nautical miles, full South for over 300 nautical miles to the Brittany point. The Grand Basse de Portsall buoy will mark the entrance to a coastal run as the point of Brittany will have to be rounded leaving Ushant to starboard. The skippers will be free to choose the course to reach Southern Brittany and the Vendée. In 2007, the Vendée harbour celebrated Michel Desjoyeaux’s victory. Since then, the General Council and the town have been strongly committed to sailing, always ready to welcome sailors of all walks of life - most notably the Vendée Globe skippers. The people from the Vendée have become fully involved with the Vendée Globe event and shall prepare an especially warm welcome for La Solitaire du Figaro Solitaire du Figaro #LaSolitaire .

Finally, to close the 42nd edition, the fourth leg, of 430 nautical miles, which will take the Figaro Bénéteau 2 to Les Sables d’Olonne in Dieppe, will be the ultimate decider. Unlike the first three, this leg is 100% inshore, the Île d’Yeu and Belle Île and the isle of Ushant to be left to port. For the second part of the race, from the Brittany point to the Cotentin, that is 130 nautical miles, the course will be clearer, the only course mark to be respected being the isle of Aurigny, to be left to port, before taking on the Blanchard undertow at the entrance to the Cotentin. The last miles along the coast approaching the cape of Antifer will be the last obstacle of the race. The course, although coastal, will be very open and full of surprises. The finish will take place in Northern Normandy and is expected for the 24th August. The people from Dieppe will welcome the skippers on their last miles and will have a program of festivities prepared for them, the climax of which will be traditional closing parade on Sunday 28th August.

« The 2011 edition is a particularly selective competition through four legs equal in distance, but fraught with pitfalls. All throughout the course, the skippers will have to negotiate a great number of obstacles close to shore. The skipper, to achieve a faultless performance, will be in a league of his/her own” specifies Jacques Caraës, Race Director of La Solitaire du Figaro.