Solo Guy Cotten Concarneau

March 9 and 10, 2024: Dockside inspection of boats
March 11, 2024 – 11am: Start of coastal races
March 12, 2024 – 11am: Start of coastal races
March 13, 2024 – 2:30 pm: Start of the main race
March 15, 2024: Finish of the main race
March 16, 2024 – 11:30 am: Prize-giving ceremony

Here are Adrien Simon’s first words at the finish of the big race:
“We’ve just finished the big race in the Solo Guy Cotten. I got off to a bad start and generally had a bad start to the race. I started at the back of the pack, but I managed to find the motivation to attack and get back in touch with the leaders. In the end, I didn’t do too badly, despite some very complicated manoeuvres which cost me a few places, but otherwise there were a lot of positives and negatives.

As for the weather, we had some wind and fairly rough conditions, particularly towards the end of the race. Sailing solo, under spinnaker or gennaker, in strong winds, was a first for me. We had up to 35 knots of wind when I was under spinnaker off Yeu Island.
I slept well in general, even if I still haven’t got my bearings in the boat to sleep well and stow the gear properly. I slept a bit on the ground in the puddles. But otherwise I got through it pretty well.

I’ve learnt how to handle the boat in strong winds and carry out solo manoeuvres. I’ve also had to learn to sail at the back of the pack, without giving up anything and trying to keep coming back. There were a lot of positive points in this race, like my speeds upwind under gennaker. I found myself to be pretty fast, which was great for the rest of the race.
On the other hand, I did have a bit of a scare: at one point, a strong wind suddenly came up and the boat stayed down for a long time.
I couldn’t right it. I was a bit scared, but that’s part of the race too!