Back to act 4 who started Sunday, April 14th at 5 pm under the shining sun.
There were many, last Friday, April 19, to attend the Normandy Channel Race prize-giving ceremony, followed by a friendly BBQ to conclude this 2013 edition. Back to act 4 who started Sunday, April 14th at 5 pm under the shining sun.
24h after the start, many boats had to withdraw due to various technical issues (auto pilot, overheating engine, forestay problem…). The following day, looking at the bad weather expected, the Race Direction announced to the 11 boats still racing a shortened course. They all arrived safely in Ouistreham.
After a withdrawal in 2012, he took his revenge in the most beautiful ways! Jörg Riechers, for his third participation, won with co-skipper Pierre Brasseur after 3 days 7 hours 57 minutes and 30 seconds of racing. Yet it was a bad start for Mare Racing Team, as explained by the German skipper “It’s great to win especially after dismasting just before the race. It’s a really hard, technical race. Sailing in the Celtic Sea was chaotic. We never let up, despite a tough passage at Barfleur on the outward leg”. With a perfectly optimized Mach40 and an experimented tandem, the two sailors took the lead of the race for the third night then perform faultlessly. “We gradually moved up through the fleet through our speed and sheer determination”. Crossing the finish line Thursday April 18 at 0:57, the current Class40 champion can add an extra victory on his prize list.
They created the biggest surprise of this edition. Without too much ambitions except to cross the finish line, the team Made in Normandy, familiar with the Tour de France à la Voile and the Solitaire du Figaro, never raced together before. They were competing in their first Normandy Channel Race and it was their first experience on a Class40 yacht. “We’re happy with our performance in this Normandy Channel Race, which was a first for us. We’ve got a better idea of what a Class40 is like. Over a short race like this, we spent a lot of time making sail changes so it’s incredibly physical” explains Alexandre Toulorge. Nevertheless, they were the leaders of this edition taking the lead from the first night before letting go to the duo from Germany and France’s Picardy region. “Mare was going faster on close reach and the crew escaped at Raz Blanchard. We were working on the weather for the first part of the race and that worked well for us” tells Nicolas Jossier. By crossing the finish line at 1:53, Norman sailors get a well-deserved second place after the big scare to see Campagne de France back on them as fast as an arrow to cross the line 1 minute 3 seconds later.
Campagne de France finally climbs on the third step of the podium. Rather positioned in the middle of the Class40 fleet throughout the course, the duo Halvard Mabire / Miranda Merron made a spectacular comeback on the final day, which leaves some dazed. “We came back from nowhere. It’s a fine third place. A few more miles and we’d have secured second place. We took a minute too long” says Halvard once arrived on the docks.
In Ouistreham, over the night between Wednesday and Thursday, the intense rhythm of the arrivals did not stop. They crossed the line one after another: Geodis, Akilaria RC2 skippered by Fabrice Amedeo and Armel Tripon in fourth place (at 3:06), followed by Al Bucq brand new Akilaria RC3 of Brieuc Maisonneuve and coskipper Ned Collier-Wakefield (at 3:09). Red, Rodgers Class40 of German skippers Mathias Blumencron and Boris Herrmann (at 3:18), Jean-Christophe Caso and Aymeric Chappellier on Pogo 40 S² Groupe Picoty (at 3:27).
Finally, Red will lose one place because of a 14-minute penalty (seal of a water jerrican missing and broken seal on the anchoring equipment). The decision of the Jury will benefit Groupe Picoty who takes the 6th place of the overall result.
Half an hour later, the last two boats of the nigh arrived : Dan Dytch and Emma Creighton on board Akilaria RC2 Momentum Ocean Racing (at 4:00), and Phoenix Europe - Carac with Louis Duc and Stephanie Alran (at 4:07) on board the Akilaria MkII proto recently bought. Arrivals very close one from another that shows the increasing homogeneity of the Class40 fleet.
The only 100% female team, Phillippa Hutton-Squire and Pip Hare on board Phesheya Racing, finished in 10th place in the morning, followed by Olivier Roussey and Philippe Burger on Obportus 3, to close this 2013 edition the following night (at 1:22) after 4 days 8 hours 22 minutes and 22 seconds of navigation and a lot of perseverance. They can tick the box of the Transat Jacques Vabre qualification!
Normandy Channel Race: A tough kick-off of the season!
By Maxime FALCONE - Class40 Association
Translation by Muriel ROBIN - Class40 Association
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