Yann Guichard and his 5 men crew of Spindrift racing closed yesterday in style the american chapter of their MOD70’s short existence. Following a positive prologue between Newport and New York, the Speed matches organised on the Hudson river between Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty ended up in an almost complete shut out for Guichard who secured 5 wins out of 6 races. Speed, team work and Guichard’s yachting expertise were keys to the team’s first success. The Krys Ocean Race starts tomorrow saturday July 7th at 11AM US Eastern Time. A totally new ball game according to Yann who expects right from the start good and strong winds that will set the boats on a record breaking pace.
« Winning the speed matches on this spectacular nautical stadium under the Manhattan skyline has been a thrilling experience » declares a jubilant Yann Guichard. Spindrift racing has therefore fulfilled its objective prior to tomorrow’s major event, building its confidence to an all time High, and pushing its state of preparation to the max. The team newcomer, Kevin Escoffier, filling in as sixth man for Billy Besson is no stranger to multihull sailing. Along with Jean-Baptiste Levaillant, he was among the round the world record breaker maxi trimaran Banque Populaire V last winter. « He’s blent in just fine » says Guichard who appreciates Escoffier’s polyvalence onboard.
The MOD70 monotypes trimarans have tomorrow at 11.00 AM their first historical rendez vous with off shore racing. The clash promises to be of a greater scale and magnitude than any other previous ocean races. « All the boats are absolutely similar in shape, configurations and… performance » confirms Guichard. The men, their ability to keep up with the pace without breaking anything will be the decisive factors in who wins or lose. This is what is so exciting about the MOD70. « At the gun shot, nobody has an edge over anyone » says Guichard. « We’ll all be pushing hard in a good southwesterly wind. These boats are rather simple to handle. The hard part is to figure out when and where to release the pressure without breaking anything. »
New York and America have been good to Spindrift racing. Guichard and his men will set sails tomorrow with only one goal in mind, victory, and nothing less.
