Tuesday 25th May
The Normandy Channel Race establishes itself
The final curtain fell over the very first running of the Normandy Channel
Race at around 1830 GMT last night, with the arrival of the 8th and last
Class40 on the water, "Groupe Partouche" skippered by Christophe Coatnan and
Pierre-Yves Lautrou. It was a radiant duo that crossed the finish, as was
the case for the 7 pairs who had preceded their return to the Bassin Saint
Pierre in Caen from Sunday morning onwards. One and all were delighted by
the great appeal of the event and the enjoyment experienced throughout the
theoretical 1,000 mile course.
Event organisers, Manfred Ramspacher and Sirius Evénements cannot conceal
their satisfaction. The local authorities and partners supporting the event
also much appreciated the very high level of the competition at the event,
demonstrated by the original 10 protagonists in the race. There was a
massive public following too, with locals and overseas visitors flocking to
the pre-start race village in their droves, and drinking in the information
distilled by the official race site with assiduity, to the sum of 200,000
pages read during the course of the week. With the 2011 edition of the event
already in his mind, Manfred Ramspacher has a few points he would like to
highlight:
"Our key objective at the start of this first edition was to validate the
sports concept behind the event through a conclusive experience. On the
agenda was a 1,000 mile sprint, within sight of the coasts of Normandy,
England and Ireland, prior to returning via the Anglo-Norman islands. The
epic route was given further emphasis by names with legendary resonances
familiar to racers right across the globe; Solent, Lizard, Tuskar, Fastnet,
Blanchard.... This double-handed race aboard an upcoming Class of 40 foot
monohulls created exactly the right appeal; providing racers with some
varied sailing conditions, coloured by a multitude of tricky sections, which
fortunately proved both unfavourable and favourable right the way along the
course, enabling losses and gains throughout. Other than the two unfortunate
retirements due to power problems, the event went very smoothly, giving
spectators following the event via the internet and the press, a chance to
relish the action-packed racing, which culminated in two of the boats
finishing within a few boat lengths of each other after 7 days of racing.
The desire expressed by each of the competitors to take part in this event
again testifies to their sense of enjoyment in sailing across the English
Channel and the Irish Sea over this past week. We’re still thinking of even
more ways to ensure crews thoroughly relish their experience and it’s clear
that Normandy has a wealth of assets to guarantee that the Normandy Channel
Race becomes a firm fixture in the racing calendar for many years to
come..."
Performance times:
1 - Destination Dunkerque 6d 18h 52m 25s, at a theoretical average speed
over 1,000 miles of 5.85 knots, with 1,124.1 actual miles sailed, making an
average of 6.9 knots.
2- 40 Degrees 6d 19h 12m 35s (theoretical 5.84) 1067.9m = 6.5 kts actual
3- Appart city 7d 3h 32m 26s (theoretical 5.55) 1116.0m = 6.5 kts
4- Moonpalace 7d 4h 4m 37s (theoretical 5.54) 1108.9m = 6.4 kts actual
5- Marie Toit - Caen La mer 7d 11h 57m 53s (theoretical 5.30) 1148.0m = 6.4
kts actual
6-Phesheya-Racing 8d 3h 0m 30s (theoretical 4.89) 1148.9 = 5.9 kts actual
7- Novedia - Initiatives 8d 3h 27m 54s (theoretical 4.88) 1170.7 = 6.0 kts
actual
8- Partouche 8d 5h 13m 25s (theoretical 4.83) actual distance covered 1165.1
Spliff: Retired
Groupe Picoty: Retired
Rights free photos of the Normandy Channel Race
http://www.normandy-race.com/ for the press and web are by Jean-Marie Liot
www.jmliot.com
User name: media@ncr2010.com
Password: ncr2010
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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