40 Malouine LAMOTTE : Corentin Douguet wins the 24h

"A very nice race to prepare for the Rhum".
"It was really super intense. The conditions were very unstable and the tacks were quite short. So we were constantly adjusting and as it was windy, the manoeuvres were hard. The sea wasn't very clean and the waves were very annoying, especially downwind. It took a lot of work. I made a lot of mistakes but as I have a boat that goes really fast, I managed to make up for it", commented the skipper of Paprec Arkea, who in fact managed to steal second place from Ian Lipinski in the last fifteen miles, with the wind on the beam. "To finish with three boats in three minutes is quite exceptional! Class40 racing is getting tighter and tighter and that's really great. This off-shore race was clearly a good preparation for the Rhum. I was able to see a lot of things and I have a lot of details to improve on today that I would never have seen if I had stayed on my own," said the reigning winner of the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe. Ian Lipinski had the same feeling, despite a touch of disappointment. "What's positive is that I was in the lead at one point and that I was able to do well on a course where we had a lot of reaching, a point of sail where I'm in a bit more difficulty compared to Corentin and Yoann because their boats go a bit faster. Each machine has its little pluses. This time, the advantage was for them. I fought all the way to the end. When I had to tack, I was rather inspired, which allowed me to stay in the game. My objective in the race was to get back into the swing of things after the August break. This 24-hour race has put me back into the racing mindset. It gives me the fangs. The contract has been fulfilled", commented the two-time winner of the Mini Transat, who has scored his third podium finish this year and has also confirmed his status as a favourite for the famous transatlantic race to come. What's next on the programme? After a well-deserved break, the 31 sailors in the running will meet again tomorrow from 10am for coastal races with a crew off the coast of the Corsair city as part of the LODI GROUP Trophy. "We're going to change modes with fast manoeuvres and a bit of crew synchronisation. We're going to have a lot of fun", promises Yoann Richomme.

They said:
Axel Tréhin (Project Rescue Ocean), 4th: "It was intense. There were a lot of good boats with good skippers, all with legitimate ambitions. To get through, we had to fight, that's for sure. We had to go fast. If you're stuck in the stadium, even if you're on the right tack, it's complicated. There were a few things to do on the upwind leg to get to the first waypoint. That's what allowed me to come back after a bad start. What I saw was really encouraging for the future. I've discovered some new ways of working with the boat. Technically, we've got it right. There were no problems, we're ready. It's the first Class40 race where I've had so little involvement in the boat. I don't think I've spent more than an hour inside the boat, that's how intense the race was!

Luke Berry (Lamotte - Module Création), 5th: "It's been pretty intense. There were a lot of sail changes, and not the kind of changes where you take your time, with what we call peelings and which we normally do with a crew. It was gennaker - big spinnaker, big spinnaker - gennaker without stopping, with a lot of chop and very variable wind. One moment there were 8 knots and the next 18. It wasn't easy to manage. We were always adjusting or at the helm. In the end, there was only one tactical option, which I missed. I was overtaken by a few people at that point. Afterwards, on the reaching leg, it was nice to slalom between the wind turbines. On the short downwind finish, I managed to catch Antoine (Carpentier) - more because he had a problem - to finish 5th. We knew at the start that it was going to be a close call between the top five and that proved to be the case. It was a constant battle, especially as we were never in a situation where we were coming from behind. The finish in Saint-Malo was a bit hot. We all had a few close calls. In the end, it was basically a 24-hour speed test. I could see that I still had a bit of work to do but it's good timing, the coach (Tanguy Leglatin) is coming to sail with me tomorrow in the crewed races!

Antoine Carpentier (Redman), 6th: "It was well fought. Ian and Corentin sailed a bit ahead of the others but behind them, it was a good battle. During the climb upwind to the first virtual point, the wind was very unstable, both in strength and direction. It required a lot of attention to make the boat work well. We couldn't put the pilot on and then go to bed. After that, it was downwind under spinnaker where the wind picked up quite a bit in the end. The wind was 4-5 knots more than what was predicted by the files, but we sailed as planned, with the big spinnaker, whereas we would have been better off with the A3 I think. The same goes for the reaching: we were supposed to have 18 knots and we had 25. I made the wrong sail choices and the others were better. Otherwise, it was quite hard work. The reaching was played out on the gates, easing the sail in the gusts and then reefing it in the light airs. We didn't have much time to sleep either. During the last tack, I would say that the mass was a little bit said because the first three were a bit far ahead. I finished in the battle with Luke and Axel but I had a little problem with the spinnaker. That's how it is. Tomorrow we'll switch to crew mode. That should be fun too."

General Ranking : La 40 Malouine LAMOTTE - Class40

Source : SNBSM