The Mauritius Regatta : Advantage Michel Desjoyeaux !

Perfect sailing conditions for the second day of the Mauritius Regatta

Michael Desjoyeaux's latest mount: Champagnes Nicolas Feuillatte. Cat sailing in Mauritius for Vendee-ists/single-handed offshore sailors and/or their partners... Image copyright Mauritius Regatta.

by Mauritius Regatta media

The fleet left the moorings in Bénitier at 10am this morning to go to Mont Choisy, on the North-western side of the island. Race start was at 11am.

For the first time in this edition, boats sailed upwind to round the first mark near the Balise Marina. Michel Desjoyeaux proved to be better at this game and was first at the mark, taking the lead by using every little wind shift of today’s irregular breeze. On this tack, it was a proper olympic style regatta.

Michel Desjoyeaux is relaxed while sailing on his catamaran in Mauritius. Image copyright Mauritius Regatta.

The fleet then headed towards Mont Choisy where each sailor had to be very careful to avoid the coral reefs.  Champagnes Nicolas Feuillate skipper, in great form was the only one to chose a route further offshore than the rest of the fleet. This tactical option allowed him to keep the lead until the finish line.

François Gabart onboard SOL’S takes second by a short lead in front of FONDEOLE skippered by Franck-Yves Escoffier. The battle will be fierce for the final results!

Coconut palms, sandy beaches and idyllic conditions in Mauritius. Image copyright Dee Caffari.

Let’s not forget the excellent performance by Romain Attanasio who, despite a large crew with very little experience managed to stay in close contact with the first three boats.

The fleet is separated in two due to differences in boats and a true friendly battle is taking place between the female team led by Dee Caffari for the MTPA and YACHT MANAGEMENT’s boat skippered by Harry Spedding. The latter won the battle today. From a general point of view, the all-female crew brings a big smile to this competition between some of the best skippers in the world.

Close competition in the large catamarans in Mauritius. Image copyright Mauritius Regatta

20/05/2013 - Ranking

1. CHAMPAGNES NICOLAS FEUILLATTE      Michel DESJOYEAUX
2. SOL’S                                                         François GABART
3. FONDEOLE                                                Franck-Yves ESCOFFIER
4. LA BALISE MARINA / INVESTEC              Romain ATTANASIO
5. YACHT MANAGEMENT                             Harry SPEDDING
6. MTPA (female boat)                               Dee CAFFARI

The Mauritius Regatta participants are:

Romain ATTANASIO
LA BALISE MARINA / INVESTEC
Lagoon 440

Dee CAFFARI
MTPA
Nautitech 47’

Michel DESJOYEAUX
Champagnes Nicolas Feuillatte
Lagoon 440

Franck-Yves ESCOFFIER
FONDEOLE
Leopard 46’

François GABART
SOL’S
Catana 471

Harry SPEDDING
YACHT MANAGEMENT
Lavezzi 40

For more information, please visit www.themauritiusregatta.com as well as our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheMauritiusRegatta