News Around the World
Four GC32s enjoyed great sailing and good exposure at Key West 2015. This fleet is attracting interest from both big boat owners plus the odd Melges 32 refugee including world champion Jason Carroll and Argo. Former maxi-owner Alex Jackson was another to give the class a go… aided by Cameron Appleton. The class was won overall by Switzerland’s champion Star sailor Flavio Marazzi
FRANCE Bernard and Jean – the ultimate pairing
Swiss Bernard Stamm and Frenchman Jean Le Cam together form the most experienced crew in the current Barcelona World Race. They are sailing an Imoca 60 bearing Cheminées Poujoulat colours, proud sponsors of Bernard since 2003. However, this is the first time that these two ocean-sailing heavyweights have raced together, counting between them no fewer than six Vendée Globes, nine circumnavigations and 60 transatlantic crossings. In short, their solo global racing experience is unmatched. Jean, named King Jean since his third victory in the Figaro Race, has competed in three Vendée Globes. On his first experience in 2004-2005 he was beaten to the line – just – by Vincent Riou’s PRB. Four years later Jean was again right at the front when his boat lost its bulb and capsized just before rounding Cape Horn. Jean was saved by Vincent Riou, who was then forced to retire after breaking his mast on the way to the Horn. In 2012-13 Jean was back on track, albeit now with quite an old boat – SynerCiel– on which he finished an honourable fifth. Similarly, Bernard is an old Cape Horner with five passages of his own. He won both the two Velux/Around Alone events that he sailed but unfortunately has never been classified in the three Vendée Globes he has entered. He was forced to retire in both 2000 and 2008 and was disqualified in the 2012 race for having received outside help – without his agreement. This is Bernard’s first entry in the double-handed round-the-world challenge, while Jean is returning following a retirement during the previous edition with a dismasting on President (ex-Ecover), with co-skipper Bruno García, while passing the Cape Verde islands. It was back in spring 2014 that the two ‘veterans’ (total age 106 years) agreed to take part in the Barcelona World Race on Jörg Riechers’ former Mare(a heavily modified Farr design), after Bernard lost his previous Juan K design in a storm in December 2013. On 11 February 2015, after 41 days at sea, race leaders Bernard and Jean passed the theoretical midpoint of the race. They were 11,720 miles from the start and the finish, crossing the longitude of New Zealand’s South Island averaging 19kt. In fact, that same day Cheminées Poujoulathad her best 24-hour run of 482.5nm… Meanwhile, longtime rival Neutrogena (Guillermo Altadill and
12 SEAHORSE
José Munoz) was forced to divert for a pitstop in the south of New Zealand to repair their engine starter motor. As they were unable to put power in their batteries using their primary charging source, the prudent decision was taken to head for a pitstop to replace the faulty part. The Neutrogena team were planning to take full advantage of the technical stop, for a mandatory minimum of 24 hours, to ensure their Imoca 60 left 100 per cent ready to complete the passage through the Southern Ocean. On a satellite call Altadill explained: ‘In the beginning I was thinking of stopping at one of the islands, Campbell Island maybe, but the islands are uninhabited with nothing there. So the best place to go is South Island, New Zealand. ‘We don’t have the battery system charging at all and so now we are trying to use the hydrogenerators to try to maintain some minimal current, to make water and keep the electronics going. But the problem is that the conditions are getting worse and worse, with a big sea state and more wind… now we cannot use the hydros. So we have to really economise for the next 40 hours, hand- steering and not using any electronics. Luckily we have made just about enough water to get us to New Zealand’. Altadill estimated the pitstop at Bluff would cost Neutrogena an additional 40 hours or 350-400 miles of extra distance. On the day the decision was made Neutrogenawas about 250nm behind race leader Cheminées Poujoulat.
When she restarted following her pitstop on 14 February Neutrogena was still in second place but now 830nm behind Cheminées,en route for the next mark which was Cape Horn still a mere 3,300nm to the east – quite a way because for the first time in the history of a round-the-world race the BWR organisation decided to set an Exclusion Zone all the way around Antarctica, lengthening the course.
By the next day, 15 February, the deficit to Cheminées had stretched to 1,000nm. The lead of our two veterans was looking enormous on paper but a full-potential Neutrogenacould still get back into the race, especially if the weather turns against the race leader on the way back up the Atlantic. Wait and see! Meanwhile, the distance between leader Cheminée Poujoulatand the last boat in the fleet, Spirit of Hungary, was out to 4,000nm… Patrice Carpentier
INGRID ABERY
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