The finishes of the first leg of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre took place in Lorient. First over the finish line were Ambrogio Beccaria and Nicolas Andrieu aboard their Musa 40 Alla Grande Pirelli. They were 1h15 ahead of the Pogo S4 Groupe SNEF, itself 5 minutes ahead of the Max 40 Inter Invest.
In the Sharp class, Jules Bonnier and Robin Follin (Nestenn - Entrepreneurs for the Planet) came in first, followed by Matthieu Foulquier-Gazagnes and Michel Milanese (Sotraplant TRS) and Kieran Le Borgne and Basile Buisson (Google Chrome).
The faces were tired and the eyes reddened on the pontoons in Lorient last night, for the arrival of this first and unexpected 'leg' of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre. As everyone said, the aim here was not so much to win this leg as not to lose the Transat.
Ambrogio Beccaria: "We weren't ready. Fortunately, we'd done a very similar race not so long ago, in which we sailed very well. We said to ourselves that it wasn't the ideal race to prepare for the Transat Jacques Vabre, and in the end it wasn't so bad. We didn't have any problems aboard the boat, apart from a few tiny problems with the sails... and a knee and two legs that took a bit of a beating at one point. When you went to the front, it was a bit wild."
Nicolas Andrieu: "The start was incredible in 35 knots on the reach, with all the boats in full ball, at 18 or 20 knots. It was quite moving to be on the line with everyone like that. The first night, the conditions were pretty rough and I had a hard time getting used to them. The boat gave us a bit of a rough time, but we're really pleased to have succeeded. This gap is all and nothing, but it's better to have 1 hour one way than the other. If this ever changes anything in Martinique, we'll be happy! It's amazing to see Ambrogio handle his boat. He helped design it and knows it like the back of his hand.
Xavier Macaire: "It was a great race. It was tough, committed on all levels and physically hard after a strong start. A lot happened in just over 24 hours. We didn't get much sleep and we were pushed to the limit. There were squalls with changes in wind direction, squalls, gusts and so on. It all worked out well. We took a great option in Northern Brittany. We had some good phases, and others that weren't so good in terms of speed. In the end, we managed to smooth out the ups and downs with some good tacks and good manoeuvres, to finish in second place in this first leg of the transatlantic race."
Pierre Leboucher: "It was a bumpy ride. After the Raz Blanchard, it was really tough, and unfortunately we learned that Ian (Lipinski on Crédit Mutuel) had dismasted. The whole set of sails went. We had to pick up 27 knots off Groix. But we finished well, and that's great because there were a lot of traps. We're ready for the real leg, but we don't know when.
Matthieu Perraut: "The aim of the race was not to lose the race. Above all, we didn't want to break the boat and take a wagon from the others. The two of us had a great time again, and once again, when we crossed the line, we said to ourselves that it's so cool to be sailing together. We had a great time. The start is still a good memory.
Kevin Bloch: "It was a great start. I think everyone was scared of it. There was a lot of wind and a complicated manoeuvre at the mark with a lot of boats. But it was great to do. We didn't really think of it as the Transat Jacques Vabre. We took it as a race like any other, and didn't spare ourselves too much.
Jules Bonnier and Robin Follin: "The start of the race was sporty. We didn't get off to a very good start and didn't have the speed we needed on the first tack. On the first night, we made some good choices and sailed cleanly. This morning's option to go further offshore didn't pay off, but we were in the middle of the scows, where we belonged. We agreed straight away that not everything was going to be decided on this leg. We wanted to be as sure as we could and not make any crucial mistakes, so we fulfilled our contract and that's what counts. We didn't break anything, apart from a few tiny things, and we're ahead of the frontrunners! When you look at the number of incidents we've had on this leg, we're happy to be in the dock with a boat that's almost ready to go again.
The objective is to get to Martinique, not Lorient. It was a training session, intense with all the possible conditions we encountered, but a training session nonetheless. We're happy to be here, but now we can't wait to find out when we'll be able to set sail again!
Amélie Grassi: "We set out in a fairly conservative frame of mind, saying to ourselves that we had to do things right to be close to everyone else in time. Above all, we didn't want to get carried away so as not to damage the boat. So we took a fairly cautious start. Our start to the race was also mixed, but from the Raz Blanchard onwards we worked really well. The conditions were really unpleasant. The boats are very hard in those conditions, so there was a lot of banging. From the moment we left the Four, we did a lot of great things and came back well. Unfortunately our medium spinnaker blew on the last tack to Lorient and we lost quite a few places. We weren't really rewarded for our efforts and commitment, which is a shame. Now it's time to rest and get back on the attack for the next leg!
Anne-Claire Le Berre: "We spent 36 hours soaking wet and doing a lot of upwind sailing. The conditions were particularly difficult. In fact, we caught quite a storm at the Raz Blanchard. We didn't sleep much, maybe 1h30 each, it never stopped in fact. We really had a blast. It was quite violent on board. We're going to make the most of the few days ashore to rest and take care of the boat.
Aurélien Ducroz and Vincent Riou: "This first leg really took its toll on us. Violent, even. The reason? Extremely tough wind and sea conditions, particularly over the first third of the course. We set foot ashore in Lorient last night, at 2.07 am, after 36 hours of racing, in 15th position. At this stage of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie - Le Havre, it's the gap to the frontrunners that matters more than the position. In this case, for us, it's 2h21, which is little or nothing on the scale of the Atlantic. With Vincent, we're completely in the game. We made a strategic error which got us into trouble just before the Raz Blanchard, at the north-western tip of the Cotentin peninsula, where the most powerful tidal currents in Europe are rife. In spite of everything, we made it back quite well during the night and then again yesterday morning, just before rounding the tip of Brittany, where I had to rack my brains to try and find the best passage. To finish, we're really happy to have arrived. We're finishing quite tired and we're going to make sure we're well rested before the next stage. We still don't have all the details yet.
This difficult weather has allowed the duos to test themselves once again and, good news, it looks like they'll be setting off together again!
The aim now is to secure the boats to allow the storm Ciaran to pass and to repair any damage to the boats and their crew. They have at least until Sunday to do this, as the Race Direction announced this morning to the competitors that there would be no start before Saturday 4 November inclusive.
1- ALLA GRANDE PIRELLI Ambriogio BECCARIA / Nicolas ANDRIEU
2- GROUPE SNEF Xavier MACAIRE / Pierre LEBOUCHER
3- INTER INVEST Matthieu PERRAUT / Kevin BLOCH
4- LEGALLAIS Fabien DELAHAYE / Corentin DOUGUET
5- AMARRIS Achille NEBOUT / Gildas MAHE
6- PROJECT RESCUE OCEAN Axel TREHIN / Gwenael RIOU
7- EVERIAL Erwan LE DRAOULEC / Tanguy LEGLATIN
8- IBSA Alberto BONA / Pablo SANTURDE DEL ARCO
9- VOGUE AVEC UN CROHN Pierre-Louis ATTWELL / Maxime BENSA
10- LA BOULANGERE BIO Amelie GRASSI / Anne-Claire LE BERRE
11- INFLUENCE2 Andrea FORNARO / Benoit HANTZPERG
12- CENTRAKOR Mikael MERGUI / Ludovic MECHIN
13- CURIUM LIFE FORWARD Marc LEPESQUEUX / Renaud DEHARENG
14- EDENRED Emmanuel LE ROCH / Basile BOURGNON
15- CROSSCALL Aurelien DUCROZ / Vincent RIOU
16- WASABIII Stephane BODIN / Swann HAYEWSKI
17- TQUILA Alister RICHARDSON / Brian THOMPSON
18- CAFE JOYEUX Nicolas D'ESTAIS / Debiesse LEO
19- TEAM ZEISS-WEEECYCLING Thimote POLET / Pierrick LETOUZE
20- ACROBATICA Alberto RIVA / Jean MARRE
21- NESTENN - ENTREPRENEURS POUR LA PLANETE Jules BONNIER / Robin FOLLIN
22- ALTERNATIVE SAILING-CONSTRUCTIONS DU BELON Estelle GRECK / Mathieu JONES
23- SIGN FOR COM Lennart BURKE / Melwin FINK
24- LA MANCHE #EVIDENCE NAUTIQUE Nicolas JOSSIER / Alexis LOISON
25- THE SEA CLEANERS - UNIVERRE - ENSM Renaud COURBON / François CHAMPION
26- CAPTAIN ALTERNANCE Keni PIPEROL / Thomas JOURDREN
27- ENGIE - DFDS - BRITTANY FERRIES Pamela LEE / Tiphaine RAGUENEAU
28- P - SOTRAPLANT-TRS Matthieu FOULQUIER-GAZAGNES / Xavier BROERS
29- GOOGLE CHROME Kieran LE BORGNE / Basile BUISSON
30- P - LE BLEUET DE France Charlotte CORMOULS / Claire-Victoire DE FLEURIAN
31- P - EDEN PARK - LES PAPILLONS DU CIEL Nicolas BOMBRUN / Paul BRANDEL
32- AMIPI - TOMBELAINE COQUILLAGES Baptiste HULIN / Christophe BACHMANN
33- P - LABEL EMMAUS Jerome LESIEUR / Damien JENNER
34- VOGUE LE MONDE Benoit LEQUIN / Stephane HUNOT
35- P - MUSSULO 40 Jose Guilherme CALDAS / Gustavo PEIXOTO
36- L’ENVOL-KERMARREC PROMOTION Anatole FACON / Alice VALIERGUE
37- P - TRIMCONTROL Alexandre LE GALLAIS / Carlo VROON
38- QWANZA Goulven MARIE / Nicolas BATTESTI
39- P - MARTINIQUE TCHALIAN Hervé JEAN-MARIE / Jean-Yves AGLAE
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