With five boats having dropped out of the race, Café Joyeux is currently the only competitor in the IMOCA group - which has been severely delayed by the weather system - still striving to complete the course. 30 miles from the Azimut mark, Nicolas d’Estais is giving it his all to finish the 48-Hour Race on time, before 10 a.m. on Sunday morning …

Nicolas d’Estais believes in it! The skipper of Café Joyeux, who made a brilliant debut on the IMOCA scene right here last year at the Défi Azimut, continues to make progress toward the second race mark, which he could round between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m. today

The skipper, currently in 9th place, still has 110 miles to go to reach Lorient. “The breeze is set to hold steady along the course for another ten hours or so,” explains Francis Le Goff, the race director. “The end of the day and tonight, as he approaches the coast, will be more challenging, but the latest routings give us hope that he’ll arrive before the 10 a.m. cutoff.”

Whether he finishes in the rankings or not, Nicolas d’Estais can be proud to complete this course, which—due to a stubborn high-pressure system—has put the second group of competitors in a less-than-ideal position.

This situation led to a wave of retirements among the centerboard boats and foiling boats that were falling behind the fleet—an unprecedented occurrence in the history of the Défi Azimut and the races on the IMOCA Globe Series calendar.

Just in time ?

The first of the 14 IMOCA boats entered in the race to throw in the towel did so last night. In his first solo race, Japan’s Masa Suzuki (Milaï Furuno) informed Race Control at 9:47 p.m. that, due to “minor technical issues and the impossibility of finishing before Sunday morning,” he had decided to return to Lorient. Overnight and this morning, it was the turn of Manuel Cousin (Coup de Pouce), followed by Armel Tripon (Les P'tits Doudous), Pierre-Louis Attwell (RESILIENT, and finally Sébastien Marsset (Foussier) to withdraw and head back to Lorient.

These five skippers will be eager to sail with their partners tomorrow for the Tour de Groix, the dessert course of the Défi Azimut Lorient Agglomération following the main course of the 48-hour race. As for Nicolas d’Estais, he’ll barely have time to wolf down his croissants before heading off for another start!…