There are race nights like those of our dreams, when the wind is like music to your ears, the moon high in the sky, and the skippers have time to get into the race while savouring the moment of being alone at sea… And others which are more brutal. It was the second type that awaited the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe skippers last night. And the IMOCA Class also came under the challenging law of the sea.
With no premature drop outs nor collisions bad enough to stop short any hope of getting to Guadeloupe, the tough weather conditions in the English Channel did not prevent the IMOCA fleet from making the Bay of Biscay without too much damage. But the Bay of Biscay, true to its reputation lays down the law : An abandonment for Bertrand de Broc due to an injury (Votre Nom autour du Monde), rudder damage after a UFO collision for Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives Coeur) suffered some damage to his rudder from a UFO collision forcing him to make a technical stop, more serious damage for Vincent Riou (PRB) after a major mainsail rip, and Jérémie Beyou (Maître Coq) had some trouble with his rudder fixings but seemed to be able to fix them. The IMOCA skippers had some good reasons to be wary of those first few hours in the Channel. But in comparison to the damage suffered by some of the other classes, the IMOCA Ocean Masters fleet demonstrated the full extent of its reliability. This is not the first time the Bay of Biscay hits hard on a fleet in such a transatlantic race.
(Photo Thierry Martinez )
The first night – what they said before they left:
Armel Tripon (For Humble Heroes): “The first night is a relief above all. All this week we’ve had a full-on programme, among the crowds, and we need to get away. Once we’re past the Cap Fréhel, it’ll be great to be alone.”
Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives Cœur): “The first night is a mix of everything. We’re happy to be out at sea alone, but sad to leave our dear ones and team. The first night is critical in general – you can’t mess up. It’s easy not to sleep, but it’s a trap because you can lose your lucidity. I love the first night, it gets you into the rhythm of the race, tactically it’s crucial, it’s full of all sorts of things.”
Vincent Riou (PRB): “We’ll be able to breathe a bit once we’ve left the crowd at the start. It’ll be quite stressful because we’ll be navigating through intense maritime traffic in the English Channel. We’ll be sailing close to the coast so we know we won’t sleep much. We won’t get a real rest until we get past Ouessant. After that it should be a bit less stressful.”
Alessandro di Benedetto (Team Plastique): “A bit stressed as always. We’re going to be on the lookout constantly, between the coast which is close by, the cargo boats, fishing boats… There’s a real risk of collision.”
(Photo Thierry Martinez)
Bertrand de Broc (Votre Nom autour du Monde): “ You have to be on top form on the first night. We’ll be navigating tricky areas to the north of Brittany. It’ll be stressful with all the trawlers and cargo ships shifting from rail to sea. There are only 10 IMOCAs so the risk of collision between competitors is low. Overall I’ll be having more fun than stress.”
Marc Guillemot (Safran): “The first night on the Route du Rhum is always complicated. You have to manage the traffic, anticipate the Ouessant passage and there are rocks all over the place off the coast so you have to be very careful. And the first tactical options are taken leaving the English Channel. So we know we won’t be sleeping much.”
Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée): “ It’s going to be tense. The playing field between the cargo ships to the north and the coast to the south is very narrow, with some significant local effects out there. Once we’re out of the Channel we should have some great reaching angles. Then we’ll have some real fun. »
François Gabart (MACIF): “Fun and stress – the two are linked. It’s the start of the race and you really have to concentrate, to find your bearings. On top of that the Channel is always complicated. But I must admit I love these first nights. Navigating at night is something really magic.”
Jérémie Béyou (Maître CoQ): “I try to think of it as just another day of the race. The main thing is not to make any mistakes, to get into the race from the start. The sense of deliverance comes into play once you start to lose the other boats around. Looking at the conditions expected, we’ll have to wait till we’re out of the Channel.”
(Photo Thierry Martinez)
Race status
There’s no surprise as to who has taken the lead, with all the favourites in pole position with a superb battle playing out between François Gabart and Vincent Riou, before he suffered with some damage. Jérémie Beyou and Marc Guillemot were running about 20 miles behind them. Much has been expected from PRB’s performance against the competition, being the only boat to have passed to the new rule. This fight has stopped too soon….