Sodebo. Image copyright Th. Martinez/Sea&Co./Sodebo.
by Sodebo media
This morning, at the appointed hour, Sodebo, Idec, Gitana 11 and Groupama all arrived beneath the ramparts of the corsair city of St Malo.
Having left La Trinité Sur Mer yesterday at 1615, Thomas Coville and his team entered the port first this morning. They berthed the trimaran in the Vauban Basin shortly after 1000.
Sat at table in front of a lunch welcome after a white night, the skipper relates: "It started with a convoyage of small time, with burning stones in the oven and the Raz de Sein on flat sea and under a very beautiful moon; finishing with superb reaching at up to 30 knots while arriving on the tops of Bréhat and Cape Fréhel, in front of my place! We did the last miles over a longer leg than Idec with an absolutely sumptuous sunrise. Gitana 11 entered an hour earlier and Groupama followed not far behind."
The competitors must all be at the harbour before Friday October 22 at noon. This week, around Brittany, this is therefore a big kick towards "st-mal". "We met a lot of boats during the night, Class 40s notably. I refused to sleep, to remain active on deck. We had all this anguish of the last delivery with the risk of hitting something, and sustaining damage, the fear of the last which would runi the work of many months," said Thomas. "For the technical team, to moor Sodebo in the Pool Vauban, finally ready for the start, means that the first objective is complete. It is up to me now to work well to Pointe-A-Pitre."
A mounteback of the sea
Before finding himself alone on board, Thomas was well accompanied for this delivery. Members of the technical team, cameraman, people close to the project and friends, they were nine altogether... how did they manage, despite the size of the giant, the trimaran has a cockpit and a cabin for solo sailing? Nevertheless, it is very important for the skipper to take advantage of these deliveries to share the privileged moments at sea with those on whom he depends.
This time, one of his guests was a regular of the "trips" into nature but his thing was more the snowy arrêtes than the crests of the waves. High mountain guide at to St Gervais, Ivan took Thomas to ascend Mont Blanc twice in mid-September. It was, therefore, his turn to come to share the life of a sailor. "This sailing trip was a beautiful gift in return for what we did together on the mountain," he confirmed. "Thomas knows my activity and I came to discover his. I really felt the level to which the people on board are masters of their subject. At sea, as on a mountain, we touch wild nature. We ascended Mont Blanc in perfect conditions at the end of the season, on fresh snow where there were not yet any tracks. And here, I have slipped across the sea to 30 knots at night under the moon. An inspired memory."
In French:
Ce matin, sous les remparts de la cité corsaire, c'était l'heure de pointe. Sodebo, Idec, Gitana 11 et Groupama sont arrivés à Saint-Malo.
Partis hier à 16h15 de La Trinité Sur Mer, Thomas Coville et son équipage sont entrés dans le port malouin par le premier sas ce matin. Ils ont amarré le trimaran dans le Bassin Vauban peu après 10 heures.
Attablé devant un déjeuner bienvenu après une nuit blanche, le skipper raconte : « Cela a commencé par un convoyage de petit temps, avec du rase cailloux dans le Four et le Raz de Sein sur mer plate et sous une très belle Lune ; pour finir par un superbe reaching à 30 nœuds en arrivant sur les hauts de Bréhat et le Cap Fréhel, devant chez moi ! Nous avons fait les derniers milles à une longueur d’écart d’Idec avec un lever du jour absolument somptueux. Gitana 11 était rentré une heure plus tôt et Groupama suivait pas loin derrière. »
Les concurrents doivent tous être au port avant vendredi 22 octobre à midi. Cette semaine, autour de la Bretagne, c’est donc la grande ruée vers "St-Mal". "Nous avons croisé beaucoup de bateaux cette nuit, des Class 40 notamment. Je me suis refusé à dormir, pour rester bien actif sur le pont. Nous avions tous cette angoisse du dernier convoyage avec le risque de percuter quelque chose, de subir une avarie, la peur de la dernière tuile qui gâche le travail de tous depuis des mois, » poursuit Thomas. "Pour l’équipe technique, amarrer Sodebo dans le Bassin Vauban, fin prêt à prendre le départ, c’est un premier objectif rempli. A moi, maintenant de bien travailler jusqu’à Pointe-A-Pitre."
