Start (Eng) 54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec. Solo Sailor Figaro3 Foiler Race from France-Ireland

The 54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, a renowned solo sailing race, kicked off its first stage today at Ouistreham beach off Caen on France's Normandy coast. The 32 solo skippers were given a purposeful but relatively straightforward start on a 610 nautical miles leg, which passes down the English Channel. The racers will giant slalom across the Channel three times before turning northwest to the popular, pretty haven of Kinsale on Ireland's south coast.

Gaston Morvan, a young sailor from Région Bretagne CMB, broke the start line first and built a decent lead around a short upwind-downwind inshore course. He earned the Trophée Windchaser by Bollé for his start and the Paprec Trophy for leading round the first circuit. The moderate to fresh breeze was both shifty and puffy, keeping the solo racers on their toes from the gun. The racers were blown away by the built-up nerves and stress of a week of countdown, waiting in Caen city, with an immediate surge of adrenaline.

A sharp rain shower hit the racers, which was heralded by a sudden drop in the wind. However, as soon as the little front blew over, the fleet headed out into the Channel, heeled sharply. The first cross-channel section on Sunday afternoon and evening should be a speed race to Nab Tower in a heading, fading breeze. The leaders will likely stay south, outside of the Isle of Wight, unless there is enough north in the breeze to make it through the Solent on one tack with the new, favourable tide.

The course crosses back to Les Jument des Haux off Paimpol on the north Brittany coast, where the long climb through the Scillies to the Fastnet begins, passing the tip of Lands End. The leaders should be into Kinsale first thing Thursday morning. Early on the stage out of the bay this afternoon, a collision occurred between Loison and Hugo Dahlenne from YC de Saint Lunaire, a top Bizuth prospect. However, neither skipper was injured, and the damage is described as "not performance affecting."

Overall, the start of the race was purposeful, with Morvan leading the charge and the fleet experiencing a mixture of shifting and puffy breezes. The racers will now continue on their journey, with the leaders expected to reach Kinsale by Thursday morning.