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Tuesday 16 August – 0100 GMT
A conclusive Fastnet for Gitana 11
After setting off from Cowes at noon on Sunday, Gitana 11 crossed the Rolex
Fastnet Race finish line in Plymouth Sound, on Monday 15 August at
21h44’36’’, less than an hour after the brand new event record holder and
around twenty minutes prior to the two competing MOD 70s. The maxi-trimaran
fitted out by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild covered the 608 theoretical miles
of the course in 33 hours 44 minutes and 36 seconds. Thanks to this
efficiently conducted sprint, Sébastien Josse and his six crew take second
place in the 2011 edition, which comes as great satisfaction for the Gitana
Team. As far as the corrected standing is concerned, taking into account the
‘handicap*’ imposed by the race organisers, we’ll have to wait until the
whole multihull fleet have crossed the finish for that particular verdict.
Measuring 23 metres in length, Gitana 11 managed to stand up to the
challenge of the largest racing trimaran in the world, Banque Populaire V.
Benefiting from 40 metres at the waterline, it was on the cards that the
maxi-multihull, with her new helm Loïck Peyron, would be out on her own at
the front of the legendary Fastnet Race. However, Sébastien Josse and his
six crew sailed in contact with the thirteen strong crew on the other boat
for over 350 miles; a rather improbable scenario at the start as the skipper
of Gitana 11 highlighted: “We had already raced against them during the SNSM
record but they quickly got away from us after the start. In this race, it’s
pretty incredible as we sailed more than half the race in contact and even
within sight of each other at times, especially during the passage around
the famous Irish lighthouse. Gitana 11 is powerful but also very versatile,
which enabled her to keep up a good speed and meant she was at ease in the
light airs. She’s a fine boat as has been proven once again.”
Galvanised into action by this proximity, the men from Gitana Team weren’t
sparing of their efforts in keeping pace. They also made the most of this
rare moment of on-the-water battling to check the veracity and effectiveness
of the training sessions over recent months: “It’s extremely motivating to
be in contact as it forces you to apply yourself. In contrast to our
previous races of the season, where we haven’t really had any rivals of our
scale, the Rolex Fastnet Race was our first confrontation with yachts that
have a similar potential to that of Gitana 11. It’s a lot easier to quantify
the boat and crew’s performance in this configuration. During this race, we
knew how to exploit the potential of Gitana 11 fully. Our apprenticeship is
on the right track…” smiled Sébastien Josse.
In contrast to its vicious reputation, gained during the terrible 1979
edition, the Fastnet 2011 was kind to the hundreds of crews competing, or at
least those at the front of the multihull fleet. This is a sentiment backed
up by Sébastien Josse’s description of the weather in this 2011 edition: “We
had some very manageable conditions throughout the race. The exit from the
Solent, as well as our entire climb up towards the Fastnet Rock, was
essentially raced in upwind conditions (sailing into the wind) with about
fifteen knots of breeze and relatively flat seas. The only exception was our
first passage to the West of the Scilly Isles where there were a few, not
very comfortable hours in heavy seas. However, for the descent between the
southern tip of Ireland and the western tip of England, there was a rotation
in the wind and we were able to open our sails a little with a spell of
close reaching (wind on the beam). Banque Populaire made the most of these
conditions to make her additional 20 metres speak for themselves and
lengthened her stride. After that, the end of the race along the southern
coast of England was marked by the boat’s ability to slip along under
gennaker in the easing winds. However, not all the leading boats suffered
the same fate as the wind filled in offshore and all of a sudden our
pursuers were able to make the most of this opportunity to make up some
ground on us over the final miles. Fortunately though, we were also able to
make up a few miles on Banque Populaire at the end.”
This Rolex Fastnet Race has also provided Gitana Team with a chance to carry
out some observation from their steed, which will very soon be going in the
shed at Baron Benjamin de Rothschild’s offshore racing stable: “While
sailing, I always managed to keep an eye on the course adopted by the two
MOD 70s. On paper, the MODs and Gitana 11 are fairly similar in terms of
performance. It’s satisfying to see that the boats can keep pace. It’s also
pretty great to see the crews finishing within four minutes of each other
after a race spanning more than 600 miles. It really bodes well for some
great battles, where the crew will be the elements which make a difference…
I can’t wait for it but, for the time being, we’re lucky to be able to have
this position as an observer prior to becoming one of the protagonists in
this new class of boats”, admitted Sébastien Josse. Indeed, the Gitana Team
has placed an order for the one design trimaran No.4, the delivery of which
is scheduled for the end of this coming October.
And so the minute they crossed the finish line, Gitana 11 once again headed
offshore, bound for her port of registry, La Trinité-sur-Mer, south-west
Brittany, where she’s set to arrive at the end of the day on Tuesday.
*In the Rolex Fastnet Race, as with numerous other IRC races, those yachts
who are participating are awarded a handicap by the organisers. This amounts
to a factor which is calculated according to the size and category of boat,
and its aim is to preserve a certain amount of fairness on the water. In
this way, the largest craft to take part or the first competitor to cross
the finish line, isn’t necessarily the race winner. The RORC (Royal Ocean
Racing Club) draws up one ranking in elapsed time and one ranking according
to everyone’s handicaps.
The crew of Gitana 11 in the Rolex Fastnet Race
Sébastien Josse – skipper
Cyril Dardashti - Olivier Douillard – Antoine Koch – Sébastien Thétiot –
Christophe Espagnon – Eric Cochet
Find all the latest news from the Gitana Team at www.gitana-team.com
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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