News Around the World
FRANCE Uruguay and Italy on top! The big favourite in the Proto division, Federico Waksman, did not let us down in the 24th La Boulangère Mini Transat. Sailing no1019 Shipping Uruguay, he crossed the finish line during the evening of Friday 10 November, completing the 2,700nm of the second stage with a lead of more than 80nm over runner-up, Carlos Manera Pascual (1081 – Xucla). His lead was enough to make up for his 4h14m deficit at the end of the first leg and take the final victory. It is the second consecutive win of this David Raison design, the boat with which Pierre Le Roy won the 2021 edition. The Uruguayan sailor, who finished 21st in the last edition in the
Series division, becomes the first representative of his country, actually the first South American, and the seventh ‘foreigner’ to achieve such a performance! Upon arrival, Frederico declared, ‘It’s amazing. As for all competitors, this project took several years. It has been an enormous investment and with many sacrifices. ‘Taking part in the Mini Transat is so much more than just steering
a boat. During my first participation in 2021 I learned many lessons, technically, about weather and in a multitude of other areas. I progressed and improved and started with a clear goal of winning. Now it is done and I could not hope for better. ‘The pace of the Atlantic crossing was crazy. For my part, I arrive
exhausted. I gave everything so I wouldn’t have any regrets on arrival. I obviously had my share of small technical problems. I broke my bowsprit. Then my small, heavy spinnaker fell in the water and got stuck on the daggerboard, breaking off part of the fin. I managed to fix the bowsprit but now I had no choice but to sail with my biggest kite which, in the end, may have helped me to be so fast!’ The Spaniard Manuera finished second in the transatlantic leg
on a Manuard design and second overall. Third to Guadeloupe was a Frenchwoman, Marie Gendron, on a Raison design, but she slipped to fourth on aggregate time (just 29 minutes) behind Julien Letissier on another Raison design! In the Series division Italian Luca Rosetti arrived first with a
substantial lead over the Swiss skipper Felix Oberle, followed close on his heels by Hugues de Prémare. Their boats are all Maxi 6.50
20 SEAHORSE
Scows designed by Raison (of course!) and built by IDB Marine in Brittany. Rosetti became the second Italian to achieve such a feat after Ambrogio Beccaria (2019) who is now a Class40 champion.
317.25nm in 24 hours on a Mini! On the morning of 2 November de Prémare, pushed by sustained trade winds after a slow start from the Canary Islands, established a new 24-hour distance record in a Series Mini 6.50. The skipper of the Maxi 6.50 Technip Energies covered 296.26nm (an average of 12.34kt), improving the distance achieved by Florian Quenot in 2019 by 4.79nm… A few hours later Hugues improved his own new record, this time also breaking Pierre le Roy’s Proto record of 308nm set two years ago! Hugues sailed 317.25nm at an average speed of 13.22kt! On a 6.50m monohull it is simply extraordinary.
The crowded oceans At the time of writing, on 12 November, I spend a good part of the day scanning Yellow Brick on my computer. The boats of the Transat Jacques Vabre come up first. In the Ultims the two leaders have done some extraordinary
match racing. One (Banque Populaire XI) is better at reaching and running, the other (SVR Lazartigue) is better upwind, the difference probably in the foils and ‘skate wing’ beneath the centre hull. Unfor- tunately for François Gabart and his friend Tom Laperche on SVR the last segment of the route to Martinique is a 2,500nm run… The speed of these flying boats is staggering. Their averages
over 24 hours oscillate around 25kt, sometimes close to 35kt. BP XI has averaged 26.75kt to date. Sébastien Josse, on BP XI, says they are consciously trying to keep below 40kt offshore… To go so fast in waves makes the boats vulnerable and it is now only two months before the start of the big solo world tour. In the other three divisions the race was only in its infancy as
the starts were delayed (read further). In Ocean Fifty three of the six boats did not survive the horrendous weather in the Bay of Biscay, and the current leader, Solidaires en Peloton, looks safe to hold her lead. But… with these light 50ft tris it is necessary to remain cautious in your predictions as accidents happen very fast.
VINCENT OLIVAUD
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