Oceanracing 2004 - The Transat Race 2004 - ORMA 60 RACE - Plymouth

The Transat Race 2004
Plymouth - Boston - Start 31.05.2004
www.thetransat.com - zur Übersicht

09.06.2004
THE TRANSAT: THIRD PLACE FOR FRANCK CAMMAS ON GROUPAMA...

IN BRIEF:
* FRANCK CAMMAS ON GROUPAMA CROSSED THE FINISH LINE OF THE 2800 MILE SOLO TRANSATLANTIC RACE IN BOSTON AT 0316 GMT TODAY (WEDNESDAY 9.6.04) TO CLAIM THIRD PLACE IN THE 60FT ORMA MULTIHULL CLASS...
* FRANCK CAMMAS COMPLETED THE 2800 MILE COURSE FROM PLYMOUTH (UK) TO BOSTON (US) IN 8 DAYS 14 HOURS 16 MINUTES 2 SECONDS...

IN DETAIL:
At 0316 GMT today (Wednesday, 9.6.04) Frenchman Franck Cammas crossed the finish line of The Transat at the entrance to Boston Harbour to claim third place in the 60ft ORMA multihull class of the historic solo transatlantic race.

Cammas raced the 2800 mile course in 8 days, 14 hours, 16 minutes and 2 seconds. Michel Desjoyeaux claimed victory at 2129GMT setting a new transatlantic race record of 8 days, 8 hours, 29 minutes, 55 seconds. The previous record for the race was held by solo round the world record holder Francis Joyon who set a record of 9 days, 23 hours and 21 minutes in the last race in 2000. Desjoyeaux has taken 38 hours and 52 minutes off the record. Two hours 8 minutes later Thomas Coville on Sodebo also crossed the line to clinch second-place.

Frank Cammas auf dem Podium

Cammas crossed the finish line between Deer Island Light and Long Island head Light at the entrance to Boston Harbour, four miles from downtown Boston before heading towards the finishers podium at Rowes Wharf outside the Boston Harbor Hotel.
A total of 37 boats, included 12 ORMA trimarans, started the race at 1300 GMT on 31st May and to date five boats have abandoned the race. The reindexder of the ORMA fleet will finish in Boston over the next few days whilst the Open 60 monohull class leaders are expected to arrive from Saturday (12.6.04) onwards.

CAMMAS RACE:
31.5.04: First across start line 1400 hrs BST. 1.6.04: First big low pressure approaches and Cammas spends all night strapped into helming seat not wanting to risks going down below and leaving the boat unmanned. Groupama in 7th place. 2.6.04: Collides with whale bringing boat to complete stop. Daggerboard is intact but superficial damage to board's casing. Groupama moves up to 5th place. 3.6.04: heads for centre of first depression and tacks south at approx 2030GMT. Groupama moves into 4th place. 5.6.04: Groupama moves into 3rd plae 93 miles behind leader. Comments on ice exclusion zone: "It was a wise decision - otherwise only a crazy skipper would win!" 6.6.04: Drops back to 161 miles behind Geant: "He (Desjoyeaux) is going to have to make a big mistake or break something. There is no weather system ahead that can stop him. It is going to be difficult to come back..." 7.6.04: Gains back some miles to 117 behind Geant. 8.6.04: As Geant and Sodebo slow in light airs Groupama closes gap 99 miles behind Geant at 1700 GMT.

FRANCK CAMMAS PROFILE:
Date of birth: 22/12/1972 (age 31)
Nationality: French
Place of birth : Aix en Provence
Current residence: Scaër
Personal status: married, 1 child
Previous participation in The Transat 2000 / 3rd Class 1 Multihull

At 31 years old Franck Cammas may be the youngest skipper in the 60ft ORMA multihull fleet, yet he is also one of the strongest competitors for line honours in The Transat. Consistent good results have seen him win the ORMA annual championship three out of the past four years. Last year he won every race he entered aboard his white and green Groupama trimaran - inshore and offshore, fully crewed or short-handed alike - except one Grand Prix when he was second. And this was despite his van Peteghem-Lauriot Prevost designed trimaran being one of the oldest in the ORMA fleet, launched six years ago, albeit heavily modified and upgraded over this period.
As a single-handed offshore racer Cammas was a prodigy. In 1994, his first season in the highly competitive Figaro class he won six out of 12 races and three years later was victorious in the hotly contested Solitaire du Figaro itself. Aboard his Groupama trimaran he finished third in the Europe 1 New Man STAR in 2000, to date the only single-handed race he has not finished aboard his trimaran (like a majority of skippers) is the 2002 Route du Rhum.