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02.09.2012
Charge!
They’re off. The fifteen Class 40s competing in the third edition of the Normandy Channel Race took the start at 1700 hours local time today in perfect weather conditions: a 10-knot NW’ly wind and sunshine. It was “Concise 2” skippered by the young British pairing Sam Goodchild and Ned Collier Wakefield, who quickly took control of the race following a five-mile course between Luc-sur-Mer and Ouistreham. The thirty sailors are currently making their way along the landing beaches as they head for the Saint Marcouf Islands, which they’re set to reach shortly before midnight UTC.
The young Britons leading the way
The Race Committee for the third edition of the Normandy Channel Race set the racers on their way at 1700 hours on the dot in a good light breeze. It was the Class 40s skippered by Yannick Bestaven and Julien Pulvé, Jean Galfione and Eric Péron, Sébastien Rogues and Dominic Vittet who got the best start. Close-hauled the NCR yachts, assisted by the current, quickly made it to the Luc-sur-Mer mark with Phoenix Europe Express first to round, followed by Talanta and Jasmine Flyer. Further down the track it was the Britons, Sam Goodchild and Ned Collier Wakefield, who were the first to hoist their spinnaker and thanks to some good boat speed they took the lead ahead of Jean Galfione and Eric Péron, who manoeuvred superbly as they rounded the Ouistreham mark. Bound for the final course mark before the Saint Marcouf Islands, situated on the start line offshore of Hermanville, there were no real position changes to note. At the first position report Concise 2 (Goodchild – Collier-Wakefield), Talanta (Galfione – Péron), Jasmine Flyer (Cavanough – Reinhart) were leading hostilities. The fleet then made their way along the famous landing beaches close-hauled. The wind is set to ease over the coming hours and the boats will be punching the tide from 1900 hours, which should see an upset in the ranking for this Normandy Channel Race 2012.
Big crowds at the start
This morning on the pontoons of Bassin Saint-Pierre in Caen, the 30 sailors competing in the Normandy Channel Race 2012 were busy with their last minute preparations before the start of this Calvados event. On the programme was victualing for one week’s navigation, a final check of the sail wardrobes and obviously some careful scrutiny of the grib files so as to hone this evening’s strategy on the race zone… The faces were etched with tension because for a number of sailors the Normandy Channel Race is an important moment in this racing season as the event gathers together all the key protagonists from the Class 40. At noon, the boats left Caen in a parade up to Ouistreham in the sunshine, led by the French Navy ship, Vulcain, with the Belem bringing up the rear. The spectators were massed along the banks of the Canal to bid the fleet fair winds after enjoying watching the build-up to the race in the village over the past few days. The boats passed through the lock gates at 1400 hours and by 1500 hours local time the fifteen duos were finally out at sea where they had a couple of hours to get their heads together before the start of the Normandy Channel Race.
Quotes from the Boats before the off:
Sam Goodchild, skipper of the Class 40 Concise 2: “We’re happy to be taking the start of the Normandy Channel Race. Ned and I make a good duo and we’re used to sailing together. Added to that, we’re very familiar with certain navigation zones in this race as I was born in Southampton! The first few hours of the race will be important. In the light airs and with the tidal coefficients announced, we’d obviously prefer to be at the head of the fleet”.
Stéphane Le Diraison, skipper of Class 40 Masai: “It’s going to tense with a huge amount of strategy and tactics involved. If we’re ahead, it’ll never be a position which is set in stone. If we’re behind, it’ll never be game over. I’m dreading the fishing pots as we approach the Saint Marcouf Islands tonight. We can control a lot of parameters aboard our boat but lumps of wood or fishing pots aren’t among them. We’re going to need to keep an eye open”.
Dominic Vittet, co-skipper of Class 40 Eole Génération GDF SUEZ: “You have to wonder if we’re going to need our foulies as there isn’t going to be a lot of breeze and the weather is going to be nice. Conditions are really going to be light with little wind until the middle of the week. In Ireland the wind is barely going to make its presence felt until Wednesday”.
Julien Pulvé, co-skipper of Class 40 Phoenix Europe Express: “I’m ultra-motivated. It’s my first major race in the Class 40. I’m replacing Stéphanie Alran. The Normandy Channel Race 2012 will be nerve-racking”.
Historic Normandy
The Normandy Channel Race, which set sail today from Ouistreham on a 1,000-mile course across the English Channel and the Irish Sea, will also give the 15 crews and their 40-foot monohulls the chance to revisit part of the immense heritage of Normandy. Indeed the compulsory passage from the mouth of the Orne to the Saint Marcouf Islands will force the duos to make their way along the famous Normandy landing beaches used by the Allies on 6 June 1944. From Ouistreham the boats will traverse the sector dedicated to the British and bearing the codename Sword, as far as Lion sur Mer. From there they’ll enter into the Canadian sector and Juno Beach beside Saint Aubin and Bernières-sur-Mer. Next comes another British sector in the form of Gold Beach between La Rivière and Arromanches. From there the sailor will enter the American sector with the sadly renowned Omaha Beach, where at least a thousand young Americans lost their lives in the early hours of the attack on the morning of 6 June 1944. At that point the skippers will be able to make out the Pointe du Hoc and its steep cliffs, which were attacked by a handful of US Rangers. Along the Cotentin peninsula and prior to making Saint Marcouf, the boats will pass offshore of Utah Beach, the last of 5 sectors of attack on which, on the evening of 6 June, nearly 150,000 allied forces and all their gear were landed… The Battle of Normandy had only just begun however as it wasn’t until 25 August 1944, over two and a half months after the Landing, that German troops in Normandy were defeated.
One day, one crew
Americans Dave Rearick and Matt Sharl will be participating in their first Normandy Channel Race aboard the Kiwi FC 40 Bodacious Dream designed by Farr Yacht Design.
Impressions:
David Rearick: “The Transat Quebec Saint Malo was our first major race. The final result wasn’t what we were hoping for but we learnt a lot and we were delighted by the experience. For my co-skipper Matt Scharl and I, the English Channel and the Irish Sea are unknown territory. We’re very excited at the prospect of sailing there and discovering some legendary places like the Solent, Wolf Rock and the Fastnet. We hope to be able to see all these places with our own eyes rather than through magazine images. Unfortunately the grib files are suggesting that it’ll be pretty murky. It’s an impressive fleet here in Caen. We only know 4 or 5 of these boats. As such we’re making a lot of new friends. We hope to finish with an honourable place. The French do things completely differently than in the United States. We’re trying to understand the French offshore racing philosophy. We sail for pleasure and to enjoy ourselves, which is a bit different to the highly professional approach of the French”.
Matt Scharl: “I’ve been sailing with Dave for about fifteen years. The Transat Quebec Saint Malo was our longest experience at sea together. Our background is day racing, but it was a fantastic experience. We’re continuing to learn about the boat and improve it. The NCR will be our third big race aboard the boat and we’re making progress each time we go out on the water”.
Position report following the bay course:
1 : Concise 2
2 : Talanta
3 : Jasmine Flyer
4 : Phoenix Europe Express
5 : Mare Magazines & Books
6 : Eärwen
7 : Solo
8 : Bodacious Dream
9 : Campagne de France
10 : Eole Génération
11 : Masaï
12 : Avis Immobilier
13 : Les Conquérants-Caen La Mer
14 : Obportus
15 : Lupi
Points to recall about the Normandy Channel Race:
>> 15 Class 40s, two sailors per boat, such as the duos Rogues – Vittet, Mabire – Merron, Riechers – Boidevezi…
>> Start and finish in Caen
>> 1,000 miles via the Saint-Marcouf Islands, the Isle of Wight, Tuskar Rock and Fastnet, Guernsey
>> 10 nationalities
>> Thomas Ruyant and Tanguy Leglatin, Tanguy de Lamotte and Sébastien Audigane won the last editions
Press information:
>> Track progress in the Normandy Channel Race at www.normandy-race.com
>> Become a friend on the Normandy channel race Facebook page
>> twitter@normandyrace2012
>> Rights free photos for the press and web
>> Press room with Wifi at the Pavillon de Normandie from Wednesday 29 August
>> Embarkation possible for the press on request during the start and finish of the Normandy Channel Race
>> Radio link-ups with the sailors open to the public everyday during racing from 1200 to 1400 hours at the Pavillon de Normandie
Reminder of the programme:
- Race start off Hermanville at 1700 hours local time, harbour course.
- Offshore race from Sunday 2 to Friday 7 / Saturday 8 September according to the weather forecast
- The boats head upriver to Caen where they will join in with the PRESQU’ILE EN FETE celebrations, prize-giving on Sunday 9 at 1800 hours.
Partners to the Normandy Channel Race: the city of Caen, the Lower Normandy regional council, the departmental council for the Calvados region, the Caen La Mer conglomeration and the Caen Normandie Chamber of Commerce.
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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