This news was released a couple of days ago in France. What complete horseshit.
OCS, and the Figaro newspaper who owns the Solitaire du Figaro, have announced that as of 2028, the Solitaire will no longer be raced on small monohull one designs, but with Open 50 trimarans instead.
With something like 60 years of age, this is the oldest French race. It has always been raced on small boats, first IOR, then one design Figaro Beneteau 1, 2 and now 3. This allows for relatively modest budgets to compete and, therefore, this race has always been an entry point for young sailors. Who can later on move on bigger boats, like Class 40 and of course Imocas.
This race has produced over time magnificent skippers who have won almost all offshore races, including most (if not all) Vendee Globe winners. This race is unique in the world, considered “the university of offshore sailing”, and explains why France has been a dominant force on offshore sailing over the last decades.
The reason given for dropping the Figaro Beneteau 3 is supposedly some difficulty to make money with the race, something that is hardly audible as 36 boats entered the last race! The Open 50 trimarans require something like x5 to x10 budget-wise vs the existing one designs.
Needless to say, participation will be divided by something like a factor 3. The shockwave sent in the sailing community in France is massive. Apart from the Open 50 class, who supports this move, 99% of the community is strongly against it. Passed winners of the Solitaire, like Nicolas Lunven, Vincent Riou, Alexis Loison, amongst many others, have strongly expressed their opposition. Current Solitaire du Figaro sponsor, Paprec, have publicly stated that they will not be sponsoring the new race.
The good news is that the Figaro Beneteau Association, together with the French Sailing Federation, have already stated that they will be organizing a new race keeping the same principles of the old one: strict one design, small boats (Figaro Beneteau 3s), financial accessibility.
Maybe Paprec will become the new sponsor of this race, who knows? (just speculating). In a nutshell, It is an absolute shame: money and business could potentially kill an historic race, that is unique, thrilling, and is the best school in the world for offshore racing. to be continued….
