|
|
2010/05/22-18h08
Express return ...
|
| Transmanche, Aber Wrac'h on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd May 2010 |
| After setting out from Aber Wrach yesterday evening, bound for the Plymouth breakwater and then straight on to Wolf Rock,
Groupama 70 crossed the Transmanche finish line off this Breton paradise at 1445 GMT this Saturday.
|
 "We constantly had a little more wind than that forecast on the grib files. Those one or two extra knots of breeze have
a big influence on the average speed" explained Charles Caudrelier on his arrival in Aber Wrach. Indeed, having covered
280 miles in around twenty hours, that amounts to an average speed of 14 knots. Not a bad start...
"We set
off at the same time as Brit Air, which we quite quickly lost sight of as it was making a good knot less boatspeed than us
and, in addition to that, the visibility wasn't very good" added Charles, before going on to say: "I have great
respect for the behaviour of the international bowmen aboard Groupama 70. They're not really scared of anything. Performing
manoeuvres with your head under the water doesn't unsettle them at all. In France, with our culture for solo sailing, it's
the kind of thing you just don't do, because the emphasis is on looking after yourself. For them though, they're constantly
on top of the action".
The guest journalist aboard Groupama 70, Didier Ravon, was also extremely enthusiastic
on his return from this Transmanche: "It was more than great, it was fantastic. These VOR 70s are superb boats and very
quick too. As far as the crew were concerned, it was impressive to watch. It's very physical too. Thank you to Franck for
having allowed me to come aboard". Doubtless we'll be able to find out more about his experience in the next issue
of Voiles & Voiliers magazine...
For the rest of the crew, the Groupama 70 team are making the most of their return
to land to have a debriefing, before taking to the sea again at around 1000 hrs on Sunday, bound for Lorient, the Team's home
port.
|
|
|
|
|
