Update
is not easy, far from it, to sail day after day at average speeds of 20kt while at the same time managing daily problems onboard. One of the heroes of the Retour à la Base was the British Sam
Goodchild. Pushing hard from the start he, again, got a podium (his fifth!) on his very competitive boat, For the Planet, the old Verdier design of Thomas Ruyant but continually developed (especially her sails) by Ruyant’s team since the last Vendée. Sam kept up the pressure on eventual runner-up Jérémie Beyou
(Charal) at every moment until the last hours of the race, before arriving third in Lorient less than two hours astern of his rival who was sailing the latest Sam Manuard design. ‘I think Jérémie was happy that I pushed him hard from about
20nm behind, I accelerated, he accelerated… He played with me, made me feel like I had a chance!’ joked the British sailor who left the fourth-place finisher, the German Boris Herrmann who also likes the burly conditions, half a day behind. Sam’s remarkable consistency also secures him the title of Imoca
Champion 2023. This title rewards a year in which he raced about 32,000nm, first on Holcim-PRB, where he won three of the four stages he raced in The Ocean Race. He also competed in the Guyader Bermudes 1000 Race in May, the Rolex Fastnet Race in July, the Défi Azimut in September and the Transat Jacques Vabre in November. He sailed with designer/racer Antoine Koch in the two- handed races, with the exception of the Défi Azimut where he was with Thomas Ruyant, and he finished third in each of these races. There were officially 32 starters for the Retour à la Base, a race
in which some singlehanded sailors had to participate to score points to qualify for the Vendée Globe. The last two competitors left late: Tanguy Le Turquais (due to damage suffered during the TJV), who passed many of the tailenders; or, very late, for Jean Le Cam aboard his new non-foiling daggerboard Imoca designed by David Raison, who was 3,000 miles behind Richomme when he crossed the finish line… We remember that, contrary to popular belief, it is faster to sail
the return trip Antilles-Brittany than the one Brittany to Antilles. You simply have to escort a low heading at the right speed and in the right direction. The dream of all our friends sailing in the deep south around our small world!
q SNAPSHOTS Brought to you in association with
Even before he stepped aboard his first Imoca last July then immediately finished second in the Fastnet within a fortnight of launch, those in the know already pegged Yoann Richomme as an early favourite for the 2024 Vendée Globe… if the innovative Imocas designed for him and Thomas Ruyant by Finot-Koch were fast. Ruyant then beat Richomme in the TJV, exploiting his lead in sail development before Richomme returned the favour in the Retour à la Base… There is no longer any question about the pace of the Finot-Koch designs and Richomme is a two-time Route du Rhum winner whose skills in strategy and routeing are acknowledged by many of his competitors as second to none…
18 SEAHORSE
l Triste… the Jubilee Sailing Trust is in receivership l Since 1978… the trust has got 56,728 disabled and disadvantaged people of all ages involved in its activities... l 2,687… wheelchair users on extended voyages to sea… l And… more than 6,500 disabled enthusiasts in total l Tenacious… designed by Tony Castro and built by JST volunteers, is the largest modern ship to be built in timber… l Well… not just ‘timber’. The 68m barque is the largest object ever built using the West Epoxy system l Proactive… with the class now saturated with boats the Minis are bringing in a design freeze in the Series Class in 2024 while also limiting production to 25 boats per year l 80!!!… new Minis have launched in the last two years l No fewer than… 27 Olympic medallists and America’s Cup sailors took part in the SSL Gold Cup in Grand Canaria l The… 23-day 64-race marathon series was won by the Hungarian crew led by skipper and tactician Zsombor Berecz l Spend those dollars… Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey and the most brilliant driver the team never had, Fernando Alonso, both have new cruising yachts on order l For once... Newey plays safe with a customised Oyster 885 l While... fearless 42-year-old (sic) Fernando takes delivery of an innovative 60ft eco-power cat from Sunreef Yachts l Obvs!!! World Sailing Yachtsman of the Year: Tom Slingsby l Three-time… World Sailing Yachtsman of the Year: Slingsby l Tough number to beat… 5.7million people visited the Valencia Cup village during the 2007 America’s Cup l Worst kept secret… if Emirates Team new Zealand defend successfully Saudi will be on the list of possible venues l Barcelona… won’t go down without a fight l Different world… the boys hopped onboard Ultim SVR Lazartique after she finished the TJV and were back home in Lorient five days later (conservative average... 28kt+) l Gabart, Coville… if anyone else has got a modern Ultim around the world solo we have overlooked them... l So the Arkéa Ultim Challenge… will be a race wrapped up inside a dangerous, challenging and high-speed adventure l Green… is good… l But… is it fast enough? l Kaori Concept… will soon begin construction of a Gildas Plessin Class40 using a birch ply/basalt fibre sandwich… l Super experiment... yet the boat is expected to be at least 400kg over class minimum so the point is what exactly? l Apologies… to brilliant photographer Jean-Louis Carli who took several wrongly credited images in the last issue (including the cover – sorreeee) l Apologies also to… Saskia Clark (née Clark), Saskia Tidey (née Tidey), both great Olympic sailors… l Saskia… has an Olympic gold and silver to her name l Saskia… is going to her second Olympics this summer... l Something’s up… lovely California Yacht Club is the latest of several prominent clubs to be destroyed by fire recently l It’s now $2million… if you win the SailGP final but for Season 5 there will also be a few more shekles for the rest l Well qualified… Mini Transat racer Joe Lacey joins the movers-and-shakers as RORC rear commodore l While…two-handed champs Richard Palmer and Deb Fish (11 Fastnets) are vice commodore and commodore l Marcus ‘just a great guy’… Blackmore has launched his latest Hooligan, a Botín/Pure Engineering TP52 l ‘We’ve launched… the fastest, lightest, strongest TP52 in the world,’ says Blackmore… (Admiral’s Cup anyone?) l Bump… the 140m Alibaba slid faster than planned as it punched through the 40m steel doors of Lürssen’s dry dock l Bravo bravo… to the (still) brilliant sailing talent that is sanguine, dry, Olympic silver medallist Alan Warren… l Who with grandson… Will Carroll is Merlin Rocket champion at the legendary (ed) Shoreham Sailing Club l Alan… is 88 l Finally… find your Superyacht at
RaceboatsOnly.com l Never raced or rallied?… check at
EurosailNews.com
NICOLAS PEHE/DPPI
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