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2008/06/24 - 10h46
A night on the hunt
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TROPHY SNSM
From Saint-Nazaire to St Malo, from 20th to 25th June 2008 |
| After being outdistanced at the passage of the island of Ushant on the climb up towards Saint Malo, the crew of Groupama 2
had no other alternative than to battle to get back in touch with Banque Populaire.
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This morning it looks like a done deal as, after a day and a half's racing, the two trimarans are virtually neck and neck
as they were rounding Ushant.
Opting for a series of tacks further inshore in a dying wind, Franck Cammas is continuing
his comeback. Unable to contact them by telephone, we can well imagine that the crew, crouched in the back of the cockpit,
are on the alert for the slightest variations in the strength of the wind or the angle of the boat in relation to this same
wind.
Hunched over at his helming station, the helmsman's sole aim is to maintain the speed and therefore the apparent
wind, enabling the boat to make headway whilst all around, the sea is hopelessly flat and smooth, even though it is tinged
by the yellow light synonymous with the sunrise.
The eyes wrinkled, the skin darkened and the hair tousled, the crew
have just a single image in their minds: to overtake the boat ahead of them. That boat has only one objective, to maintain
its lead in the race.
With nearly 180 miles still to go to get to Saint Nazaire, everyone is entitled to their wishes.
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The crew of Groupama 2• Franck Cammas - skipper
• Stève Ravussin - navigator
• Loïc Le Mignon - trimmer
• Alberto
Barovier - No.1 (bow), trimming
• Bruno Laurent - pitman
• Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant - mainsail
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