["Under a grey sky the 44 skippers taking part in La Solitaire du Figaro, left Kinsale for the fourth and decisive leg. Tension was high and the Committee was forced to give two general recalls. Swiss Bernard Stamm (Cheminée Poujoulat) and French Matthieu Girolet (Entreprendre) were involved in a collision and suffered from serious damages to their boats. Both decided to abandon racing. Excellent start for, young Portuguese Francisco Lobato and Italian Pietro D’Alì. Weather conditions are expected to be fairly tough, for a fast 435 miles passage to the finish in Cherbourg."]
