The Figaro-Bénéteau One-Design class is a pivotal element of the French short-handed racing scene. Bringing together aspiring skippers and ’rock stars’, this championship is arguably the best place to sharpen one’s solo skills, learn from contact with the most distinguished specialists, and above all to compete at the highest level.

For Mini sailors, it represents the next level, the door to the world of professional solo racing. For IMOCA 60 racers, Vendée Globe and Route du Rhum winners or offshore multihulls experts, it’s the circuit to go back to… if only to gauge the talent of the “upcoming generation” and remind the young guns who is in charge! If today the Figaro Bénéteau II is the boat of the French Singlehanded Offshore Racing Championship, taking place every year and including three main events, the class owes its existence to the famous “Solitaire du Figaro”, whose history now spans 40 years.

The concept of what was to be renamed the “Solitaire” was born in a Parisian restaurant during the autumn of 1969, over a lunch shared by two journalists that both had a passion for sailing. Jean-Michel Barrault and Jean-Louis Guillemard, working for the French daily newspaper L’Aurore, had been given the mission to rejuvenate the image of the publication, reputedly very conservative. Why not then create an event sporting the newspaper’s name, a competition the public could follow and engage in? Barrault and Guillemard quickly agreed on the founding principles - long legs, controlled budgets and no handicap system for a better public understanding - and in 1970 the first edition of the “Course de l’Aurore” took place. At the time, any production boat complying with the half-tonner class rules could enter, which meant the fleet was at the same time homogenous and representative of what the average cruising enthusiast could easily get his hands on. The two journalists had another brilliant idea: competitors were to give their position at regular intervals so that the public could get hooked on the developments on the water and actually follow the race - it may seem obvious today, but certainly was not common 40 years ago!

In 1980, the “Figaro” daily newspaper took over, and the event took the name under which it’s still known today. The “pros” and soon-to-be offshore stars lined-up en masse, racing prototypes that were each year more and more refined - the early 1980s saw names like Peyron, Poupon, Auguin, Péan (to name but a few) make the summer headlines. In order to keep a level playing field, a specific boat was introduced in 1990 and the “Figaro Bénéteau” became the only design allowed to compete in the Solitaire, which speaks volumes about the success of the race itself - what other events can claim to have generated its own yacht? Parlier, Cammas, Le Cam, Desjoyeaux, Poupon, Vittet… they all won in the 1990s, by which time the race was long-established as a classic. The new One-Design launched in 2003 was perfectly timed and made the game step up a level, prompting the return of some legendary skippers willing to try their seasoned skills against an impressive fleet of young sharks, practising relentlessly all year long and repeating manoeuvres like musicians going up and down their scales. The famous Port-la-Forêt offshore racing school is definitely an offspring of the Figaro, which goes to show how important that circuit has been in the development of the French racing scene.

About the boat…

Designed by Marc Lombard - who also signed the plans for many IMOCA 60s amongst which Roland Jourdain’s Veolia - the current Figaro One-Design has been launched in 2003, and is built by the Bénéteau yard in Vendée. This modernised version came to replace the aging original Figaro, and sailors representing the class met with Lombard on numerous occasions during the conception phase to ensure they would have a “tool” perfectly adapted to their hands.

Having been tried and tested during six seasons already, including across the Atlantic, this powerful 10.10 metres (33 feet) monohull adopts a twin rudder system for more stability downwind, and has been know to reach speeds in excess of 22 knots under spinnaker. An electrically-controlled ballast system is also at the solo sailor’s disposal to replace the weight of the crew sitting on the rail!

Obviously very spartan inside, the Figaro Bénéteau II is a pure racer built to withstand the fiercest conditions, and the only boat in its class to have a transoceanic certificate right out of the box (OSR Category 1), which in itself is a tribute to its quality of construction and focus on safety.

Spec
Length overall: 10.10 metres (33 ft)
Maximum beam: 3.40 metres (11 ft)
Draft: 2.10 metres (6.9 ft)
Displacement: 3050 kg
Design: Marc Lombard, La Rochelle.
Build: Bénéteau, Vendée.
Number of units built since 2003: 90