 
Back in the race, Hugh Brayshaw representing The Offshore Academy put his boat speed to good effect along the south coast of England, working the tidal streams on a stretch of coast which he knows well. After some windless hours drifting south of the Cornish coast, Hugh was in touch with the leading bunch, rounding Wolf Rock in 11th place. On the final miles into Saint-Brieuc Hugh managed to gain some places, finishing Stage One in seventh position (a personal best) on what was a tough leg, with conditions ranging from 0 - 40kts. Fellow Brit Alan Roberts also secured a personal best result in fifth position making it the first Solitaire stage to have two Britons inside the top 10! On the dock Hugh commented: "I feel so good. It was such a tense last day. So tense. You just knew that it was so close, people were going to pass people at every point and so I was just hanging on in there. And to be in ahead of a lot of very fast boats feels really good. And I managed to hold my speed and stay with them. It is amazing to have a top ten result. I managed to stick to my game plan and stay rested to the end. I had enough energy and brain power to make a good result. I feel like I just worked through the fleet without taking too many risks.” | 
Stage Two was a 530-mile leg from Saint-Brieuc, heading west to Ushant before transversing the Bay of Biscay, rounding Cape Finisterre and into Ria De Muros-Noia. With all boats and sailors repaired and rested 36 Figaro skippers lined up on the start line. Initially, a slow downwind leg along the Brittany coast passing Roscoff and shallow rock-strewn coastline of the Brest peninsula. Leading the fleet initially Gildas Mahé opted to take the Westerly route in expectation a build in wind further offshore – half the fleet opted to take the offshore route chasing down Mahé, including Brayshaw and Cherry, and so a 50:50 split in the fleet unfolded. Unfortunately, this was not to pay off with the westerly group not seeing the expected increase in wind or favourable shift.
