04/10/2001
Warta Polpharma arrives in Marseilles
This evening, Roman Paszke and his crew comprising Dariusz Drapella,
Wojtek Dlugozima, Robert Janecki, Zbigniew Gutkowski, Mariusz
Pirjanowicz, Jaroslaw Kaczorowski, crossed the finishing line of The
Race, outside the official time limit.
Warta Polpharma, the Polish catamaran, left Barcelona on 31st December
2000 at 14h00 and has therefore taken just under 100 days to complete her
circumnavigation : 99 days 12 hours 31 minutes
The Race Event Press Release
This is the second time round for this Ollier-designed cat which was built by the
Multiplast yard at the end of 1986/beginning of 1987. In 1993, with Bruno Peyron at the
helm, she was the first multihull to sail round the world in under 80 days.
Warta Polpharma was forced to make a pit-stop in Fortaleza in Brazil between 22nd and
24th March to make repairs to her cracked portside hull. That put paid to any chance of
her finishing the race within the official time limit (30 days after the arrival of the first
boat, Club Med, i.e. by the 2nd April 2001). Two crew members disembarked on that
occasion for health reasons, namely Richard Block and Piotr Cichocki. The damage
sustained to Warta Polpharma could have given Team Legato the chance to cross the
line ahead of the Poles but the British boat ran into technical problems with her mast
step, forcing her to divert to the Canary Islands and wave goodbye to any chance of
pipping the Poles at the post.
And so the story draws to a close. Throughout the race, in spite of a modest budget and
a technical environment which was not much of a match for some of the others, the
crew have always shown their unfailing good nature and experiencing the simple
pleasure of sailing. Even at the toughest times, when faced with arduous conditions,
just after Cape Horn for example, or when the hull was damaged - the sort of incident
which might very well have forced them to abandon ship, not only did the crew act as
the truly experienced professionals they are, in full control of the situation, they also
demonstrated the sort of fine philosophy which commands admiration and respect.
A strong Polish delegation was there in Marseilles to welcome the national heroes.
Sponsors, families, friends or supporters who have made the journey specially from
Poland, together with Poles living in Marseilles, all of whom were proud to fly the white
and red Polish flag.
Meanwhile, 750 miles from Marseilles, head to wind, Team Legato is still making little
headway on her way up the coast of Africa. She hopes to cross the Strait of Gibraltar
at the end of the day. She is not now expected to arrive in Marseilles before the end of
the week.
In a message received this morning, Tony Bullimore expressed his great disappointment
at not having had the chance to battle it out with Warta Polpharma in the Mediterranean
– not to mention having been deprived of the chance to beat them!
Never the less, he is grateful to his boat for her fine qualities of sturdiness and
reliability, the only problems which they had with her at all having arisen on new parts,
not on the boat herself.
The last days of the race could turn out to be long ones for Team Legato as it looks as
though they are going to have nothing but light air ahead once they make it through the
Strait of Gibraltar.
Mireille Vatine
Translation by Nikki Scott-Despaigne
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