Is that really a cigar… The Judel-Vrolijk 72 Bella Mente had a reasonably easy time of it at Key West, only dropping the ball when they hit a wreck in race 5. But after a two-race sojourn in the Caribbean the real work starts when the boat heads to Europe where the Maxi 72 fleet dwarfs the three-boat turnout in Florida. Among the competition this summer is a brand new Rán 2 sistership from Persico
that you have a lot of Figaro experience onboard. How significant is that? CC: Oh yes, very significant. To give you an example, in France we have two singlehanded races for when you are young. We have the Mini Transat which is not one-design. The guys make their own boats and there are big differences. And very often the guy who wins the Mini Transat says he’ll do the Figaro and he can’t even finish in the top 20. I think maybe Laurent Bourgnon is the only guy who has won both races, a long time ago. When you have a different boat, a faster boat, it’s easy and you can relax a bit. When you are in the same boat you have to fight for every point, every mile. You learn so much. Pascal and I have both won the Figaro. That was my strategy, to choose this kind of guy. We needed guys who could do everything because we didn’t know what the Chinese guys would be able to do. My last experience in the Volvo Ocean Race [winning with Groupama] is that the guys who come from the Figaro know not only how to drive the boat but also everything else, and they are a good link between driver and trimmers. For the inshore races it is less important, but offshore with just four on deck it’s very important to be able to drive and trim the sails at the same time. SH: What are the similarities and the differences between you and your navigator Pascal Bidégorry? CC: We have a very similar story… Pascal was actually my teacher for a while. I learned from two guys, Franck Cammas when I was young – we learned a bit together. Then Pascal – I was a rookie when he won the Figaro and he taught me a lot. The next year I won the Figaro. If I hadn’t sailed with him the year before I don’t think I would have won. When I won I was really fast because we had worked together a lot on the sails. SH: So why is Pascal so special? CC: Pascal is very sensitive and he knows how the boat works. He is really good for that. He is not an engineer. He is different from Franck Cammas because I compare them sometimes. But he is very sensitive. The thing that is funny about these two is that they are both good piano players. Very good. I think they
both listen a lot to the sound of the boat and listen for the feeling, and I am sure the piano playing is significant. I know a few guys who are both good sailors and very good musicians and I don’t know exactly what the link is between the two skills. But Franck and Pascal – sometimes they can hear things on the boat that you and I don’t hear. SH: What is your musical talent… CC: No, I am not good at that! I am more scientific. I am more like Franck, more scientific while Pascal is really sensitive. He is not looking so closely at the numbers but he can still understand how the boat works. He has a great feeling for the boat… and that is incredibly useful to have onboard. Charles Caudrelier was talking to Andy Rice
THINGS THAT GO HUMP (IN THE DAY) – Terry Hutchinson
The last month has been one of extremes in size and numbers. Quantum Key West Race Week aboard Hap Fauth’s Judel-Vrolijk 72 Bella Mente and then on to Alessandro Rombelli’s Melges 20 Stig… interestingly enough, a lot of the same challenges. Quantum Key West Race Week was in a word awesome! Full Tourist Board conditions, now a bit of a stuck record, greeted the competitors for a spectacular five days of yachting. On the division 1 racecourse we also had a new class in the GC32 foiling catamarans. Quite cool to see the performance of the boats and equally impressed with the racing. They were in and among the big boats and onboard Bella Mente we went along quite nicely at 18kt as we watched the 32s slide by. For Bella Mente there are a lot of new pieces, new rig, new sail programme and new trimming core. Owner Hap Fauth has been very clear to me on his expectations for the season so there is absolutely no time to waste. Unlike the Melges 20, Bella Mente has about a million moving parts, from people to gear to logistics; getting the boat off the dock is very similar to AC world. Onboard we have a great team that includes boat captain Pete Henderson, project manager Rob Oulette, Ian Moore navigating, Mike Sanderson
SEAHORSE 9
INGRID ABERY
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