CALAIS ROUND BRITAIN RACE 2003

CALAIS ROUND BRITAIN RACE : Definitive Ranking: 1.PRB (V. Riou) 2.Sill (R. Jourdain) 3.Ecover (M.Golding) PRB, winner Sill and Ecover complete the podium, Bobst Group Armor Lux is 4th Review of arrivals at 0300 hours BST on Wednesday 23 July: 1st : PRB ( arrival Tuesday 22 July at 23 hours 18 minutes and 51 seconds BST. Racing time: 9 days 9 hours 48 minutes and 51 seconds at an average speed of 8.19 knots) 2nd : Sill ( arrival Wednesday 23 July at 0100 hours 01 minutes and 41 seconds. Racing time: 9 days 11 hours and 31 minutes and 41 seconds at an average speed of 8.13 knots.) 3rd: Ecover ( arrival Wednesday 23 July at 01 hours 49 minutes and 23 seconds. Racing time: 9 days 12 hours 19 minutes and 23 seconds at an average speed of 8.10 knots.) 4th: Bobst Group Armor Lux ( arrival Wednesday 23 July at 02 hours 48 minutes and 18 seconds at an average speed of 8.07 knots) It was at 23 hours 18 minutes and 51 seconds precisely that Vincent Riou crossed the finish line of this first edition of the Calais Round Britain Race at the helm of PRB. It was under indexsail and solent as it passed the finish line and covered 1850 miles in 9 days 09 hours 48 minutes and 51 seconds at an average speed of 8.19 knots. The winning crew skippered by Vincent Riou, successor to Michel Desjoyeaux at the helm of this very boat PRB, the 60 foot monohull that won the Vendée Globe : Jérémie Beyou, Nicolas de Castro, Jean-Marc Failler and François Laurent. PRB was followed at 01 hours 01 minute and 41 seconds later by Roland Jourdain on Sill. He crossed the finish line in second place in 9 days 10 hours 31 minutes and 41 seconds at an average speed of 8.16 knots. The crew comprised: Roland Jourdain (skipper), Jean Le Cam, Gaël Le Cléac’h, Bruno Béhuret and François Sheek. Ecover, the 60 foot monohull of Mike Golding, finished third in this Calais Round Britain Race. They crossed the finish line at 01 hours 49 minutes and 23 seconds BST covering the course in 9 days 12 hours 19 minutes and 23 seconds at an average speed of 8.10 knots. The team comprised Mike Golding (skipper), Brian Thompson, Miranda Merron, Graham Tourell et Bruno Dubois. Finally Bobst Group Armor Lux was the last arrival for tonight sailing into Calais under gennaker. Bernard Stamm and his crew arrived in 4th position at 02 hours, 48 minutes and 18 seconds completing the course around the British Isles in 9 days and 13 hours 18 minutes and 18 seconds at an average speed of 8.07 knots. Five boats are still racing at 0400 BST this morning : Team 888 who is 43.2miles from Calais, VMI is 54.4 miles from the finish and the final trio of Arcelor Dunkerque, Garnier and Objectif 3 should pass the line later today. On 13 July at 15h43’09’’, 75 minutes after the start of the race, the passage of the Approche de Boulogne mark proved auspicious: PRB was in the lead and reindexed there until the morning of the 16. After sailing downwind out of the Channel, the rounding of the Scilly Isles and the climb up towards Ireland saw the start of a long stretch of tacking, very well negotiated by Bernard Stamm on Bobst Group Armor Lux. PRB held on, but on the night of 15 July, the crew had to stop for three quarters of an hour to repair its staysail stay. The next day, Stamm was in the lead, Riou fourth. At the midway point on the evening of 17, they took the lead again, making use of the easterly wind shift and the long tack with cracked sheets towards Saint Kilda. Until the 19 July, they had to fight hard to conserve their position as the battle was particularly fierce between the first five crews. Behind PRB, in fact, Bobst Group Armor Lux, Sill, Ecover and early on VMI, were grouped together into a handful of miles, constantly chopping and changing position. The 19 July marked the delicate passage of the Shetlands, the highest point of the Calais Round Britain Race. The wind was evanescent and still on the nose forcing the leaders to tack close to shore, at times enveloped in mist. At midday, Sill came within 0.1 miles of PRB, before passing into the lead at the noon rankings. It was the red boat of Roland Jourdain who lead down the home straight : a descent of 600 miles in the North Sea along the English coast. Until 20 July at 1900 BST, Bilou and his crew lead the ball, with PRB sticking to them like glue. The fragile solent of Sill which ripped for a second time, greatly assisted the comeback of Vincent Riou.

PRB-Crew jubelt über Sieg Die friedlichen Shetlands Traumwetter am nördlichsten Punkt Bernhard Stamm-Around Alone-Gewinner vorn Mike Golding gewinnt den Start Tolles Feuerwerk am Abend Geschäftiges Treiben vor dem Start