SailRaceWin

Wednesday, 1 September 2010

Finn Gold Cup: Ed Wright Dominates on Day Two in San Francisco

Top mark. Supplied image.

by Robert Deaves

Thomas Le Breton (FRA) takes the lead at the Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco after two third places on Tuesday. Zach Railey (USA) stays in second place while the day belonged to third overall Ed Wright (GBR) after dominating and winning both races.
The day started misty and calm and by 12.00 it was a beautiful sunny day with 5-6 knots on the race area. However the heavy mist rolling in through the Golden Gate was a foreteller of things to come later in the day with a cold breeze quickly building on the first leg to peak out at 22 knots.

Race three started after a general recall with most of the fleet immediately tacking onto port to head to the right hand side. This proved to be the best decision as half way up the beat it was apparent that a massive change was about to take place. While the left side was still experiencing light winds, on the right, it started to increase and when the boats tacked they easily cleared the left.

Emerging from the middle right, Alexey Selivanov (RUS) led round the top mark from Piotr Kula (POL) and Ed Wright (GBR) and Ioannis Mitakis (GRE). Oscar flag for free pumping was raised at the top mark as the wind had already increased from 6 knots to 12 knots. Wright flew down the run to round the gate in the lead from Selivanov, while Gasper Vincec (SLO) had climbed to third.

Again favouring the right hand side, Wright extended on the second upwind, while Vincec climbed to second and Thomas Le Breton climbed to third. The positions stayed the same down the final run as the wind kept increasing to 18-20 knots for some spectacular downwind sailing.

Several of the front runners had a bad race with regatta leader Rafa Trujillo (ESP) climbing from the 50s at the top mark to 35th at the finish, Jonas Høgh Christensen (DEN) finishing 38th and Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) in 37th.

Ed Wright dominated on day two at the Finn Gold Cup 2010. Supplied image.

After a second general recall race four started in 18-22 knots with the right side again being the most popular, though there were also big gains to be made on the left on the second upwind. Wright and Mark Andrews (GBR) led to the right hand corner, tacked and led round the top mark from Le Breton and Greg Douglas (CAN).

Andrews got past Wright on the first downwind while Railey climbed to fourth.
Wright applied pressure to Andrews on the second beat and both passed him and created a useful gap. The final two reaches to the finish were fast and furious as the boats planed and surfed the choppy waves in balls of spray. Railey moved up to third, but Le Breton took it back on the reach to take his second third place finish of the day.

Le Breton summed his his day. “I have a good start. I am sailing well and it's nice. I had to stop sailing for about two months at the beginning of the summer as I got sick, but I am OK now. I am enjoying the sailing, so maybe that's the reason I am doing well.

“I started sailing the Finn two years ago and Jonathan Lobert (FRA) and I have been training together in that time. For sure it's a good way to improve your speed.

Railey said, “It has been a pretty good start to the regatta for me. I just kind of put myself in a good position after the first couple of days. I've been fortunate to four consistent results. I was very happy about the first race today. I rounded the first weather mark about 30th and got back up to seventh so that was for sure a key race for me.

"I think the regatta as far as the points being so close is going to continue. I think everyone is sailing really well and all the top guys are here, so if everyone carries on sailing the way they are the points are going to stay close the entire time. There are a few boats behind us now with a larger drops but also have some really good scores, so that will change things after the drop race comes in. But we still have a lot of sailing to go.

“This is definitely the first windy regatta of the season. We have had some windy days before but for the most part it's been a very light airs season so we have been working hard in the gym and I came out here for three weeks training in July to prepare for this and really working on my fitness and pumping. This is a very hard venue because you have long times on one tack to one side. The right has mostly paid, but a few times the left has paid, but you are spending 8-10 minutes on one tack, so it's just about you pushing the boat as much as you can. Everyone is going really fast out there so if you let off a little bit you fade away.”

Zach Railey in the Finn. Supplied image.

Wright said, “It was a great day today. Two bullets for me and my coach did his good deed for the day finding a Finn sail sinking on the right side in the second race. I had two good starts and didn't make any mistakes like yesterday. Mark Andrews pushed me hard on the second race by using his acrobatics on the first run and passing me. But I hope for more speed again tomorrow.”

Old hand

The oldest sailor in the fleet is 75 year old Gus Miller (USA). He started his Finn career back in 1966 and has no intentions to give up just yet. Miller has seen the class evolve over more than four decades and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the boats and its sailors.

What keeps him coming back? “For me it has opened doors for me all over the world. The boat is a special boat. It is highly evolved but it's like having a little Maserati. It's so sensitive and such a good sea boat. As a kid up until I was 38 I sailed a hundred different types of boats, including 505 and oceans racers but when I sailed a Finn it was the best boat I had ever gotten in to.

“It's a very powerful demanding boat and you need a lot of initiative and attitude that you're going to do it yourself. There are a lot of coaches out there now but basically you are out there on your own. And everyone realises the challenges is yourself not the other guys. The challenge is the boat and that understanding is the old idea “I love my competitor because he makes me better”. The guys here have enormous respect because the challenge of sailing the boat is so great. If one guy figures it out then the others guys are glad for him that he's been able to do it.

“You see very talented new guys coming in and these guys are getting bigger and bigger. Nutrition has improved such that the Asians and others are getting bigger and stronger. And the Finn takes a big guy and a big smart guy and one of the characteristics of the Finn is that the Finn sailors has to be smart. If he's not smart big and strong then it's hopeless. You gotta have brains out there.”

How long does he think he will continue the sail the Finn. "Well I am staying on a yacht with a young Estonian and he was talking about having the Finn Gold Cup in Tallinn Bay and long ago I said I'd continue to sail the Finn until it was sailed in Tallinn Bay. So who knows. For a couple of decades now I have told my body, “just get me through one more regatta and I'll quit.” Well in the practice this week I came in one day and my body said to me, “You lied.” So as long as I can physically do it I will probably carry on."

Results after 4 races:
1 FRA 115 Thomas le Breton 21
2 USA 4 Zach Railey 21
3 GBR 11 Edward Wright 23
4 GBR 41 Giles Scott 23
5 SLO 5 Gasper Vincec 25
6 GBR 88 Mark Andrew 35
7 ESP 100 Rafael Trujillo 48
8 CRO 25 Marin Misura 52
9 GBR 85 Andrew Mills 56
10 ITA 146 Michele Paoletti 57

Finn Gold Cup

Laser Worlds 2010: The light winds balancing act in the early Qualifying stages

Image copyright Paul Wyeth/RYA.

by Andi Robertson

Across today’s two testing qualifying heats at the Laser World Championships off Hayling Island, England it was avoiding the early high score discard that was top of the agenda for most sailors.

But with big differences in the strength of the modest sea-breeze on different sides of the race course that was never going to be an easy goal to achieve.

After another picture postcard English summer’s day gentle SE’ly thermal breeze, puffy white clouds, shimmering sea and warm sunshine, Croatia’s Luka Radelic stands at the top of the overall leaderboard, a single point ahead of Kiwi duo Joshua Junior and Michael Bullot.

Image copyright Paul Wyeth/RYA.

But rather than being content with his overall position the leader’s mood was decidedly sombre. His 42nd in the first heat today, discarded in favour of his 2,2,1 to date had left himself with no latitude for further weighty scores during the eight races four day qualifying phase.

Among those who managed to stay at or very near the top across both races were New Zealand’s rising hope Joshua Junior, who backed up his win in Race 3 with a second to lead his compatriot Michael Bullot by two points.

Although he could scarcely contain his smiles and described his day as ‘awesome’ the young Kiwi has a 22nd as his discard.

Bullot, 2009 World Championship runner up, and Junior form today’s vanguard of a strong Kiwi Laser squad vying for 2012 Olympic selection with seven sailors here pushing each other incessantly and four of them in the top 12 after four races.

Skandia Team GBR’s Paul Goodison, World and Olympic champion, had to work hard to preserve a scoreline consisting entirely of single figures. He found himself on the wrong side of the course, away from the best of the wind pressure in his first heat today but battled back to a ninth, a useful discard to have in reserve. His title defence remains firmly on track, one point ahead of Austria’s 2004 Olympic silver medallist Andreas Geritzer who profited nicely in the 4-7kts breezes, reading the strong tidal flow well, to earn second and a first also today.

In the sometimes fickle breezes there were opportunities to be seized straight off the start line. Malaysia’s Nik Azizan Ashraf Qaedi was delighted to sail to his first ever major championships race win in his fleet, raising a megawatt smile as he hosed down his boat ashore. His single 1 score may stand proud between three placings in the 30’s and 40’s but it boosted his confidence no end, and will be a great spur through to the end of the regatta.

In the Junior World Championships Denmark’s Magnus Kaeldso leads overall, keeping firmly grounded to reality after a first and second today allowed him to draw clear of Italy’s Francesco Marrai.

Laser World Championships, Hayling Island
Standard Open – Provisional Results after four races 1 discard
1. Luka Radelic (CRO) 2,2,(42), 1, 5pts
2. Joshua Junior (NZL) 3,(22),1,2,6pts
3. Michael Bullot (NZL) 1,2,5,(13),8pts
4. Paul Goodison (GBR) 3,1,(9)4,8pts
5. Andreas Geritzer (AUT) (33), 6,2,1,9pts
6. Nick Thompson (GBR) 2,3, (25), 6, 11pts
7. Pavlos Kontides (CYP) 4,3(21) 4 11pts
8. Tom Slingsby (AUS) 1,8(29)3, 12pts
9. Andrew Murdoch (NZL) 6,4 (11)2,12pts
10. Aron Lollic (CRO) (7),6,3,3,12pts

Junior World Championship – Provisional Results after four races 1 discard
1. Magnus Kaeldso (DEN)2,(15),1,2,5
2. Francesco Marrai (ITA)2,3,(7),5,10
3. Thorbjoern Schierup (DEN)3,3,6,(19)12
4. Lukas Feuerherdt (GER)1,5,(41)8,14
5. Marko Peresa (CRO)(11),9,2,3,14

Image copyright Paul Wyeth/RYA.

Quotes
Paul Goodison (GBR):
“It was a real tough day today. It was light with a fickle sea breeze which came in from the SE. It looked the pressure came and then shifted right and then died and shifted left. That’s what it looked like to me. I just sort of got on the wrong side of a couple of big things on the first race but I came back quite well to finish in the top 10. I was in the 30’s, so I was happy with that.

In the second race I was more in it. At the moment it is about trying not to use up the discard too early. It would have been easy to get caught out on the wrong side today, and not easy to get back, so keeping in single figures for me is good.”

Luka Radelic (CRO):
“I still feel the same, just like any other day really. I have that 42nd place which is a big weight to carry, the discard already spent. So I’m under real pressure I can’t make any more bad races until the finals. It is certainly not as good as it looks!

“Conditions were very light with a lot of shifts. I had good speed I felt and read the current well.”

Joshua Junior (NZL):
“I’m stoked. It’s awesome. With the 1,2 it all seemed to go my way, the best day ever. I seemed to manage to really work the right hand side and got the shifts right and stayed in front.

“We have seven sailors here all looking for Olympic qualification so it’s going to be tough.

“There was probably eight knots dropping to four at times and usually pressure on one side and not the other and I got early into the right pressure well. Another day like that would be awesome.”

Magnus Kaeldso (DEN):
“It was extremely tough, lots of current and pressure difference. The starts were so important if you wanted to get to the best pressure first and to be able to choose. A good start makes it all so much easier and I seemed to be able to make good starts. We have four Danes here, all in the yellow fleet today, and that helped us today. We all did good.”

2010 Laser Worlds

RS:X Worlds: Van Rijsselberge Soars Ahead on Day 2

by Henrik Møhl

Dutch sailor Dorian van Rijsselberge has launched himself into the lead today at the RS:X World Championship, with the final two qualification series races held off Kerteminde, in the centre of Denmark. With six races now sailed and the discard coming into play, van Rijsselberge, 22, dropped his black flag disqualification from race one and with an impressive three firsts is now on just 10 points, five ahead of Poland’s Piotr Myszka and Beijing Gold medallist Tom Ashley.

Van Rijsselberge said of his performance today: “I was confident and it was nice racing. I was a bit unlucky in the first upwind leg of the second race. I went around 19th but I came back to fifth. There were a lot of opportunities. The second race was really shifty. It went both ways. We have so many different modes on the board, that it was very interesting.”

This year the young Dutch sailor has only been off the podium once in the five races he has competed in. He attributes his success to “a lot of hard work, a lot of fun and training with the right people,” although he has recently shed his curly locks in favour of a Mohican. “Actually forget about the hardwork and the right people: it is just the haircut!”

His training partners include New Zealand’s Jon-Paul Tobin, now holding fourth and France’s leading sailor at this regatta, Alexandre Guyader, who shot up the leaderboard from 16th to eighth today.

While Poland’s Piotr Myszka had the best score of today with a 1-4, Guyader was not far behind with a 3-6. “The first day I was a bit frustrated because twice I was in the top ten but the wind was a bit crazy [he ended up with a 12 and a 25] and it was difficult to read the wind. Since yesterday it has been better,” said Guyader.

British hopes are on the rise with Nick Dempsey winning the second race today, as did Beijing bronze medallist Bryony Shaw. Dempsey, the defending World Champion, is now tenth overall. “I seem to be making it quite difficult for myself,” he admitted. “I made a mistake in the first race and went from 3rd to seventh. Normally I don’t tend to go backwards much.” Less congestion lured him into taking what turned out to be the wrong leeward gate mark.

In race two Dempsey was buried on the start line but recovered to seventh by the first weather mark rounding and managed to pull into the lead on the second beat, just by doing a better job reading the giant shifts. “In a venue like this everyone can count some big scores. It is all to play for although I think I have left myself too much to do. This venue is very shifty, very difficult and now we are in gold fleet it will be even harder.”

The Polish team will be pleased. They have second and seventh placed sailors in the Men’s fleet and after two races held in the Women’s today (bringing them up to five in total – one short of the Men), they now hold first and sixth there, with Maja Dziarnowska into first place. Her lead is small, just one point in front of France’s Charline Picon.

Picon, who recently won Skandia Sail for Gold, today scored a 4-1. “The wind was very shifty and it is hard when you are in front to stay there, because there are gusts and downwind the girls close in on you.”

Based out of La Rochelle on France’s Atlantic coast, Picon came to Kerteminde in June for training with the French team, but on that occasion they didn’t have the same conditions. “An offshore wind - it is hard, but it is very interesting,” she says of this week’s conditions.

While four time Olympic windsurfing medallist Alessandra Sensini finished the qualification stage in fifth place, another ‘grande dame’ of the RS:X Women’s class was also firing on all cylinders today. Australian Jessica Crisp has been windsurfing competively for more than 20 years now. She has been to the last three Olympic Games where she has always finished tantalisingly close to the podium, but never on it. “I was good when we didn’t have to pump and now we have to pump Alessandra is much better - she is stronger,” Crisp admits.

Today Crisp posted a 3-2, hoisting her up the leaderboard to 19, level with Sensini and Poland’s Zofia Klepacka. Discarding a DSQ from race one also helped. “I was in a pile up yesterday - I caused a girl to fall in which wasn’t great, which is why I got thrown out,” she confides.

Crisp says she enjoyed today’s first race, held in lighter more shifty conditions, similar to those she is used to on Sydney Harbour. “The trick for today was go to the wind, and use what you have and reposition. I was lucky - in the last downwind I stayed in a gust and went from 8th to third, so that pretty good. I couldn’t complain about that.”

She was training up in Norway immediately before coming to Kerteminde, which she says is relatively similar. “It is a really pretty town and the sailing conditions are great here, because it is different all the time. Every day it comes from a different direction. And it is warmer than Norway!”

With the qualification series complete, tomorrow is a lay day at the RS:X World Championship and competitors will be using the break to take in Kirteminde and the other treasures to be found on the island of Fyn. Racing resumes on Thursday and Friday with the fleet divided into gold and silver fleets prior to the top 10 show down in Saturday’s medal races.

Results
Women - top 10

1 - POL 7, Maja Dziarnowska 1-(12)-2-2-10 15
2 - FRA 4, Picon Charline 7-4-(10)-4-1 16
3 - CHN 8, Sun Sasa 2-1-4-(20)-11 18
4 - CHN 7, Li Ling 1-3-2-(22)-12 18
5 - ITA 25, Alessandra Sensini 9-2-1-7-(11) 19
6 - POL 8, Zofia Klepacka 8-(34 OCS)-1-4-6 19
7 - AUS 1, Jessica Crisp (34 DSQ)-6-8-2-3 19
8 - ISR 25, Lee-el Korzits 3-5-3-(16)-10 21
9 - GBR 94, Bryony Shaw 4-10-(12)-8-1 23
10 - ESP 1, Blanca Manchon (12)-9-5-5-4 23

Men - top 10

1 - NED 8, Dorian van Rijsselberge (57 BFD)-2-1-1-1-5 10
2 - POL 82, Piotr Myszka 2-1-(7)-7-1-4 15
3 - NZL 181,Tom Ashley 1-5-3-4-(18)-2 15
4 - NZL 151,Jon-Paul Tobin 6-6-1-2-2-(17) 17
5 - GRE 8, Byron Kokalanis 1-7-4-3-(22)-3 18
6 - ISR 21,Nimrod Mashiah 7-(12)-2-1-6-3 19
7 - POL 126, Przemyslaw Miarczynski 6-3-2-3-(11)-8 22
8 - FRA 7, Alexandre Guyader 12-(25)-4-2-3-6 27
9 - CYP 1, Andreas Cariolou 3-(16)-5-9-9-6 32
10- GBR 1, Nick Dempsey 16-(18)-3-5-7-1 32

RS:X Worlds 2010

Four Kiwi Sailors in Top Four in Two World Championships

Jon-Paul Tobin in the Men's RS:X Worlds. Image copyright Vincenzio Baglione.

by Jodie Bakewell-White

Olympic class World Championships racing continued overnight in both Kerteminde, Denmark for the RS:X Men and Women, and at Hayling Island for the Lasers.

New Zealand has four sailors currently place within the top four and despite Ashley and Bullot slipping from the top spot in their respective events they are both well in touch with the leaders as are Jon-Paul Tobin and Josh Junior.

RS:X

Reigning Olympic champ Tom Ashley described it as a tough day: “Very shifty on the water with big variations in wind strength. I had a mixed day - 18th in the first race and 2nd in the second.”

With a total of six races completed all sailors can now discard their poorest score from their points total and this helps to keep Ashley among the leaders on equal points with Poitr Myszka of Poland, with only Dorian Van Rijsselberge ahead.

Jon-Paul Tobin had a similar day but started with a good race finishing 2nd going on to a 17th in the subsequent race. He is now in fourth position overall just two points adrift of Ashley and Myszka.

Ashley describes the day: “My poor performance in the first race was totally my own fault- I was too cautious at the start and didn't get off the line well (I was also at what turned out to be the wrong end of the start line), then dropped my rig in the water (!) when I was trying to get clear. Amateur hour.”

“Struggled to get clear air on the first upwind and missed passing opportunities throughout the race. Only got back to 18th after being around 35 or 40 at the top mark.”

“The second race went much better. I learned my lessons from the first race and got a great start. Three of us got a huge jump on the rest of the fleet and fought it out between ourselves. I led on the second upwind but the Spanish guy got around me just before the top mark and then disappeared downwind in a big gust, never to be seen again. I had to settle for second after a bit of a scrap with the Greek sailor on the final downwind.”

“Consolation from today is that plenty of top guys had at least one bad race, so I possibly didn't end up paying for my bad sailing as much as I deserved to,” says Ashley.

Now three days in, the RS:X fleets in Denmark will enjoy a rest day tomorrow before cracking into two days of finals racing to determine the top ten for the medal race on the final day, September 4th.

“Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED) is leading with 10 points, but will have to be on his best behaviour during the finals as he is currently discarding a DSQ, which means that he will automatically carry any bad races he has from now on,” explains Ashley. “I'm also discarding a big one, though, so I will also have to sail very well during finals to avoid any big scores.”

2010 RS:X World Championships, 29th August – 4th September

New Zealand’s provisional standings after day three
Men’s Championship (111 sailors)
2nd =Tom Ashley (1, 5, 3, 5, 18, 2)
4th Jon-Paul Tobin (6, 6, 1, 2, 2, 17)
73rd Antonio Cozzolino (41, 39, 21, 24, 41, 58)

Women’s Championship (66 sailors)
New Zealand’s provisional standings after day two
36th Kate Ellingham (11, 14, 16, 18, 20)
37th Stefanie Williams (14, 13, 14, 29, 18)
43rd Natalia Kosinska (28, 22, 27, 15, 9)
48th Alice Monk (18, 20, 22, 26, 25)

Laser

There’s been a shake up in the standings after day two at Hayling Island where the 2010 Laser World Championships are currently being staged. A discard comes into play and the kiwi sailors mostly come out on the right side of this.

Young Wellingtonian, Josh Junior is the big winner, having had a superb day on the water with a win and a 2nd he drops his one poor score from day one and rockets up the board into second place overall.

Luka Redelic (CRO) has climbed into the lead but is now under pressure to return top results all the way as he discards a 42nd which he returned in the first race overnight. Josh Junior’s discard is also a big one which means he will be looking for consistency for the rest of the series.

Aucklander, Mike Bullot, who had the early lead is still mixing it at the top, but slips to third overall sharing equal points with Paul Goodison (GBR). In last night’s racing Bullot placed 5th and 13th.

Andrew Murdoch remains in the top ten holding onto ninth place overall after an 11th and a 2nd on day two, and Andy Maloney takes a giant leap up the board into 12th place sailing solidly last night with a 4th and a 10th.

As racing resumes tomorrow the Championship will hit the halfway mark. The last day of competition is September 5th.

2010 Laser World Championships, 30th August – 5th September
New Zealand’s provisional standings after day two (Total feet: 159)
2nd Josh Junior (3, 22, 1, 2)
3rd Mike Bullot (1, 2, 5, 13)
9th Andrew Murdoch (6, 4, 11, 2)
12th Andy Maloney (2, 22, 4, 10)
21st James Sandall (42, 7, 6, 14)
27th Sam Meech (10, 46, 5, 14)
42nd Max Andrews (12, 41, 19, 7)

Yachting New Zealand

America's Cup: 34th Protocol Finalised and New Class Announcement 13th September 2010

The America's Cup. Image copyright Anne Hinton - all rights reserved.

by Tim Jeffery

Organizers for the 34th America's Cup plan on September 13 to host a press conference in Valancia.

The face of things to come? Which will it be - mono or multi? The Wave, Muscat, Extreme 40, crosses in front of BMW ORACLE Racing off Cowes, while the latter was finishing the 1851 Cup round the island race course. Image copyright Anne Hinton - all rights reserved.

Three of the four cornerstones of the next competition will be revealed in Valencia:

* The year in which it will be held
* The new Class of Boat for the competition
* The competition rules (The Protocol)

Emirates Team New Zealand in an ACC version 5 boat, Act One, Marseille. Image copyright Anne Hinton - all rights reserved.

The objective for the 34th America's Cup has been to create the fairest-ever competition, sustainable to teams and their partners with transformed racing to attract the widest possible audience for an event planned for either 2013 or 2014.

Luffing match in RC44s: Puerto Calero and Ceeref. Image copyright Anne Hinton - all rights reserved.

A new, dynamic and exciting class of boat will be revealed.

Will the new class be a larger version of the RC44, with its impressive, 'wow' factor, kite? Image copyright Anne Hinton - all rights reserved.

The year of the 34th America's Cup will also be confirmed.

BMW ORACLE Racing, on 'Deal Breaker', lead in an RC44 match race. Image copyright Anne Hinton - all rights reserved.

Negotiations over the host city venue - the fourth cornerstone - continue, but organizers are confident of making an announcement ahead of the December 31 objective.

TEAMORIGIN racing with Jaguar at the end of the 1851 Cup round the island clockwise race off Cowes, August 2010. Image copyright Anne Hinton - all rights reserved.

The Protocol is now finalized and will be formally signed by the defending Golden Gate Yacht Club and the Challenger of Record, Club Nautico di Roma, in a live-streamed ceremony on the official America's Cup website: http://www.americascup.com

America's Cup
Golden Gate Yacht Club

Route du Rhum: Monohull Safran has Sights Set on the Rhum

by Soazig Guého

The ninth edition of the Route du Rhum – La Banque Postale is the big event of the 2010 season for Marc Guillemot and the monohull Safran. The legendary transatlantic race between St. Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe will start on 31st October.

Ten single-handed sailors aboard IMOCA monohulls will be lining up at the start off St. Malo in Brittany. Three new 60’ boats (PRB, Virbac-Paprec 3 and Foncia), considered to be sister-ships to Safran, wil be setting sail. With Groupe Bel, that means that in all there will be five boats designed by the VPLP – Verdier team.

“Considering just how reliable Safran is and how well I know the boat, I think it’s only normal that I set my sights high in a race I have already experienced (this will be his fourth time, editor’s note). Without wishing to underestimate my rivals, I shall be setting out with the advantage of having covered so many miles already on this machine, with the Vendée Globe and two Transat Jacques Vabre races under my belt. Whatever people think, the best way to prepare is still to take part in races. I feel increasingly confident in what I’m doing aboard this boat and we’re now very well suited to each other”, explained Marc Guillemot.

Autopilots: “We have taken a giant leap forward”

The modifications that were made to Safran last winter (a new coach roof, new channel through which the lines are fed, a central cockpit unit) have improved the reliability of the boat and made her lighter, as Safran now weighs in measuring 60 kilos less. On top of that, Marc Guillemot took advantage of the return delivery trip from Spain to la Trinité-sur-Mer in Southern Brittany back in the middle of the summer to work on the autopilots. “With Pierre Bourcier (in charge of the autopilots and instruments, editor’s note), we made a lot of progress. Last year sailing under spinnaker above twelve knots meant we were in for some acrobatics. Now, we have been able to test Safran under autopilot with real winds above 45 knots with three reefs in and she can now sail under little spinnaker with winds above 30 knots. This means we have taken a giant leap forward.”

Intensive preparation for the big event

Since Safran was relaunched last spring, Marc Guillemot has frequently been out sailing aboard her alone or with a crew. With two months to go to the start of the Route du Rhum – La Banque Postale, the pace of the preparation is stepping up: after the get together in La Trinité with the “Happy Baie !” event (from 3rd to 5th September), the skipper will be taking part in a series of training courses in Port-la-Forêt. Three three-day sessions are planned (mid and late September, and early October) on short race courses requiring a quick succession of manoeuvres. A way to revise the basics, but also a way to judge how the rivals are doing… After that, there will be the final service and check-up for the boat. “These training sessions save us time in our preparation, as we face real battles, not just against the other competitors, but above all it’s a fight from within to achieve our best and feel more and more confident. It’s also an opportunity to do some close contact sailing, and to observe our rivals doing manoeuvres, which is something that almost never happens during a transatlantic race.”

The monohull Safran will be moored up in the harbour in St. Malo from the 22nd October.

Safran
Route du Rhum