Oceanracing 2004 - Transat Québec-Saint Malo

Transat Québec-Saint Malo - 6th edition
Start 11.07.2004 - www.quebecsaintmalo.com - zur Übersicht

11/07/2004
It was a good start for the nineteen crews in this sixth edition of the Transat Québec-Saint Malo.
The best start amongst the Orma multihulls went to Médiatis - Région Aquitaineskippered by Yves Parlier. Light conditions are forecast for the first 48 hours. The descent of the Saint-Laurent river and its various currents and a dominant south-westerly wind will be downwind. The two skippers of the 50 foot multihulls, Anne Caseneuve (Atlantic Nature) and Philippe Bousquet (Aquaera) have not taken the start. As a result the fleet is composed of twelve Orma multihulls, four 50 foot multihulls and three 50 foot monohulls. Sodebo returned to port just after the start after breaking six of their indexsail battens but has since re-started the race.

The fleet in this Transat Quebec-Saint Malo have got off to a great start on this 3000 mile course via three different stretches of water: the Saint-Laurent river, the Atlantic oceanand the Channel. The nineteen participants crossed the start line off the QuebecYacht Club in two stages: 12h35 Canadian time, 1635 GMT for the Class 2 multihulls and 12h50 Canadian time or 1650 GMT for the Orma multihulls. It was Médiatis -Région Aquitaineskippered by Yves Parlier in the Orma multihull class that got off to the best start. As for the Class 2, it was Franck-Yves Escoffier on Crêpes Whaou ! who quickly took the head of the 50 foot multihull fleet, followed by Luc Coquelin on Marina Fort Louis - Ile de Saint Martin in the 50 foot monohulls. Next leg : passage of the course mark « Bouée de Matane » located 200 milles (370 km) from the start, that is 171 miles (316 km) from the exit to the Atlantic.

The fleet set off under blue skies viewed by the thousands of spectators carpeting the banks of the river. A light 10-12 knots west/ south-westerly is forcing the nineteen participants into a gybing ballet for the first part of the descent which is likely to take the Orma multihulls one and a half to two days. A reaching wind channelled by the heights of the Saint-Laurent river will play a big part in the proceedings until the fleet empty into the Atlanticand make a hard right towards Newfoundlandand the archipelago of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon.

Two 50 foot multihulls will sadly not be taking the start of the Québec Saint Malo, through not having complied with all the formalities of inscription. Those concerned are Anne Caseneuve (Atlantic Nature) and Philippe Bousquet (Aquaera).
The organisers of the Québec Saint Malo, Voile Internationale Québec, have nonetheless authorised the two crews to cross the start line one hour after all the participants, but their participation will be unofficial.

For its sixth edition, the transat Quebec Saint Malo is bringing together an exceptional line-up, not simply by the twelve particularly sharp Orma multihulls, but also by the formidable crews, since a number of skippers have called upon the services of some of the world’s top ocean-racing specialists.

Accordingly Quebec Saint Malo 2004 will be an occasion to see the Loïck Peyron and Laurent Bourgnon tandem on the water, a duo that really excelled during the transats of the 90’s. The ex-skipper of Fujicolor II, who established the reference time of the race of 7 days, 20 hours 24 minutes, is present this time alongside Thomas Coville on Sodebo, as well as Jacques Vincent, the right arm of Bruno Peyron for years; Martial Salvan, the former crew of Laurent Bourgnon during the Québec-Saint Malo 1996 (Primagaz), Stefan Fodor from various crewed round the world races and the American Cam Lewis...among others. As for the former skipper of Primagaz, he is shouldering his ex-crew, Swiss sailor Stève Ravussin aboard Banque Covefi with Yvan Ravussin, Nicolas Pichelin, Thierry Douillard and Georges Wagner.

The ocean racing specialists are all there such as Hervé Jan (Round the Worlds with Olivier de Kersauson, Grant Dalton and Bruno Peyron) on Michel Dejoyeaux’ trimaran Géant as well as Vincent Riou, in preparation for the Vendée Globe. Similarly there is Franck Proffit and Jan Dekker with Franck Cammas (Groupama), Philippe Péché on Foncia, Luc Poupon, Olivier Wroczynski, Nicolas Raynaud and Thierry Duprey on Gitana X, Damian Foxall, Ronan Le Goff, the Brit Brian Thompson and the only crew along with Mike Birch to have participated in all the editions of the Québec-Saint Malo, Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant on Sergio Tacchini; Lionel Lemonchois, Jacques Delorme, Thierry Brault with Philippe Monnet…

In addition to these are some Figaro specialists such as the winner of the last Solitaire and the last Transat Ag2r, Armel Le Cléac'h, alongside Alain Gautier, and Sidney Gavignet on Banque Populaire. There are also specialists from the Mini Transat like the winner of the 2001 edition, Yannick Bestaven, with Yves Parlier. There are numerous sailors who have been or will be involved in the Olympics and the Tornado in particular like Fred Le Peutrec and Yann Guichard (Gitana 11), Thierry Douillard (Banque Covefi), Daniel Souben (Groupama) as well as the Star like Jean-Philippe Saliou (Géant)… Thrown in for good measure are some stars from the America’s Cup like Pierre Mas (Banque Populaire), Julien Cressant (Foncia), Fred Brousse (Gitana 11), Benoît Briand (Groupama)…

To resume, the cast for this transat come from all the various horizons in sailing and the crews have been selected for their skills in keeping up the rhythm across the Atlantic in less than ten days, with the essence of their game plan being to reindex in contact during the descent of the Saint Laurent, and then take on the Channel. Tactical precision, strategic anticipation, weather analysis, rapidity of manœuvres, helming skills, physical condition… this transat Québec-Saint Malo is sure to call upon all the specialities and specificities of sailing.

Pre-race Quotes :
Alain Gautier - Foncia - : « Things look to be shaping up well. FONCIA is a boat which is progressing constantly, its crew is highly motivated. We have what it takes to win and we’ll be going all out to do just that. I like the Québec Saint Malo a lot. It is the only transat that is raced from west to east, in downwind in principal, which enables us to really push the machines. It is also the only real crewed transat. A crew of five is the best choice for me. One man is 150 to 200 Kg more weight on board including the food and equipment. With the light conditions forecast for the first 48 hours of racing, that reduction in weight could make all the difference. »

Laurent Bourgnon - Banque Covefi - : « It’s a very rich race...both in human and sporting terms. We are lucky to be setting off and finishing from places where you really know how the words human kindness and conviviality mean! As regards the race, on water, the Saint-Laurent is capricious, with its sandbanks, its currents, the whales and the tree trunks! In fact, if it rains a lot, the river level rises considerably and all the tree trunks along the river banks start drifting. In 1996, there were some huge storms and there were trunks everywhere. We spent the day slaloming but we couldn’t see them at night time, we’d had enough after touching just 2 or 3 little things but you have to permanently be on the look-out as that can really put your race in the balance… it was the same thing then for the islands of Madeleine, Saint-Pierre et Miquelon… and then it’s often a great match right to the finish and ultimate victory! Now everything depends on the various configurations and how the race goes but it is always a very interesting race from beginning to end! »

Hervé Jan - Géant - : « Like all the interior stretches of water the St Laurentriver is complicated. There is the tide to play with, the current, the possible flooding, all the various types of obstacles, tree trunks and whales, and the complication of the effects of the land in certain places. A lead of tens of miles can be made in such conditions which can prove decisive in catching an Atlantic depression at the right point and streaking ahead of the rest of the fleet».

Translation Kate Jennings

List of participants :
Multi 60 Orma
1 Cammas Franck Groupama FRA
2 Coville Thomas Sodebo FRA
3 Desjoyaux Michel Géant FRA
4 Fauconnier Karine Sergio Tacchini FRA
5 Frédéric Le PeutrecGitana 11 FRA
6 Gautier Alain Foncia FRA
7 Guillemot Marc Gitana X FRA
8 Monnet Philippe Sopra Group FRA
9 Parlier Yves Médiatis-Région Aquitaine FRA
10 Ravussin Stève Banque Covefi SUI
11 Roucayrol Lalou Banque Populaire FRA
12 Soldini Giovanni TIM Progetto Italia ITA

Multi 50
1 Birch Mike Nootka CAN
2 Demachy Dominique GIFI FRA
3Escoffier Franck-Yves Crêpes Whaou! FRA
4 Quintin Pascal Jean Stalaven FRA

Mono 50
1 Luc Coquelin Marina Fort Louis Saint Martin FRA
2 Langevin Roger Branec III FRA
3 Leblanc Georges Ciment St-Laurent CAN