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06.09.2012
So British!
Campagne de France skippered by Halvard Mabire / Miranda Merron and Concise 2 helmed by Sam Goodchild / Ned Collier-Wakefield have extended away from the rest of the fleet over the past 24 hours and boast a 16-mile lead over Phoenix Europe Express in third place. The competitors in the Normandy Channel Race benefited from a medium wind of 10 knots early on in the day, but are now stalling as they try to make for the Channel Islands. The winners are now expected to reach Ouistreham on Sunday morning. Bringing up the rear of the fleet, Obportus skippered by the Roussez / Quenot duo, finally rounded Tuskar Rock this morning at 1034 UTC. The leaders have been making an average of 6.32 knots since Sunday’s start.
Match Racing Atmosphere
Aside from Halvard Mabire, a native of Cherbourg, three of her Majesty’s subjects are leading the third edition of the Normandy Channel Race. They comprise Miranda Merron, first of all, a talented sailor with an impeccable French accent, then Sam Goodchild, 22 years of age, 15 of which have been spent on a boat, and Ned Collier-Wakefield, a Londoner aged 24… It surely cannot mere coincidence that these three sailors are very familiar with the English and Irish race zone. Indeed you only have to look at the precision of their navigation in the Solent and then the Celtic Sea, particularly over the course of Wednesday night as they rounded Tuskar Rock with just 20 minutes separating them – 1840 UTC for Campagne de France, 1900 UTC for Concise 2. Since that time, and after a breezy upwind sail yesterday for the whole fleet, the white and green Pogo S2 and the white Akilaria RC2, decorated in the British flag, have been involved in some real match racing and, in so doing, have opened up a sizeable lead over their pursuers. Under gennaker initially, then upwind with the wind shift from the NE to the SE, the recent winners of the Transat Quebec – Saint Malo had gained the edge at the 1500 UTC position report. However, there is still a long way to go, with light airs and numerous obstacles like the Raz Blanchard on the menu.
A frosty reception
Astern of these two boats, the battle is raging and a number of them aren’t admitting defeat… and rightly so. Yannick Bestaven and Julien Pulvé on Phoenix Europe Express came back into the fight last night in Saint Georges Channel. On a beat, the sailors from La Rochelle put in some solid tacks. They are guaranteed to play the opportunist card and we can count on the experience of the winner of the Transat 6.50 2001 to put up a good fight. Eric Péron and Jean Galfione on Talanta have proven to be less consistent in their tactical coups, though they’ve been managing to get back into the game since the start of the Normandy Channel Race. Eole Génération GDF Suez piloted by Seb Rogues and Dominic Vittet, along with Les Conquérants – Caen La Mer, still have a strategic card to play in the zone of calms generated by a tenacious ridge of high pressure lounging across the fleet’s course. However, the road to victory will be a lot more difficult for the Class 40 pairings on Earwen, Masai and Jasmine Flyer, who really stalled in Irish waters, even though they’re managing to make better headway this evening thanks to more pressure from the South-West.
Quotes from the boats:
Dominic Vittet, skipper of the Class 40 Eole Génération – GDF Suez: “We’re having a great time and a good laugh. It’s a complicated situation. It’s the Normandy Channel Race! The climb up to Tuskar was a real mountain stage. The sunset was superb yesterday evening. We got back with the top players. We crossed tacks with Halvard Mabire as he was coming down from Tuskar and we were heading up. He was just 150 metres away”.
Halvard Mabire, skipper of the Class 40 Campagne de France: “There’s still everything to play for. When you’re in the English Channel in light airs, it’s never easy. We’ve got barely 5 knots. Yesterday evening, we were happy to see Tuskar, in contrast to two years ago in the same race. It was hugely different with good visibility. Just before Tuskar, Miranda and I envisaged that the wind would switch round to the East thanks to a light thermal breeze. We then crossed ahead of Concise 2, so our analysis was good. It’s a match racing atmosphere with the English. They’re better than us on certain tacks, though we’re faster in certain conditions”.
Samantha Evans, co-skipper of the Class 40 Avis Immobilier: “The climb up to Tuskar wasn’t a bed of roses. Things are better now though. We’re not sleeping much in the light airs. The Normandy Channel Race is really difficult with a number of tricky stages. Anything’s still feasible though”.
Jean Galfione, skipper of the Class 40 Talanta: “We’ve been going well since yesterday. However the wind’s dropped and we’re becalmed now. We’re gently making our way back down to England, without making too many mistakes, though we weren’t well positioned yesterday as we headed up to Tuskar. We found it hard to reposition ourselves as we’d slid over to the left. There’s still everything to play for I reckon. We’re making the most of the conditions to get some good sleep and recover ourselves as tonight will be tough. We’ll need to keep an eye on every minor detail. Yesterday we saw dolphins and a whale, as well as the MOD 70s”.
Yannick Bestaven, skipper of the Class 40 Phoenix Europe Express: “We had some pressure in our sails as far as Tuskar. We weren’t far behind ‘Campagne de France’ and ‘Concise 2’. It’s going to be a long drop down the English Channel as we’re going to have light wind. We’ve already been had by a zone of calm dropping down from the North, whilst those in front have made good headway. We’re hoping the current will block the frontrunners so we can catch them up. This noon we have 13 knots of breeze, flat seas and sunshine.”
One day, one crew
This pair are enlightened amateurs in the Normandy Channel Race. Olivier Roussey and Gérard Quenot have a wealth of experience of offshore sailing however. Indeed, despite not being professional sailors, they have participated in the Transquadra and the legendary Spi Ouest France in southern Brittany. The former is a chartered accountant, whilst the second is an engineer. These two enthusiasts have just bought a JPK 40 and are participating in their first major race in the series.
Yacht Race Organiser
The Sirius Evénements Company, managed by Manfred Ramspacher, organises a host of sailing events. For the past three years, it has been the driver behind the Normandy Channel Race. It is also responsible for Normandy Sailing Week in Le Havre, a competition gathering together IRCs, M34s and Sportsboats. In 2013, it will run the J80 World Championship, which will be held in Marseille in July, with no less than 150 one-designs expected to race.
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:
>> View the position reports for the Normandy Channel Race on the race cartography every three hours: http://www.normandy-race.com/index/carto
>> 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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