130 replies to this topic

[mr_ryano]

The MOD 70's were overshadowed in Newport, but they'll be the stars in New York. Fleet is a few hours from the finish. Speed trials in NYC on the 5th, Transat start on the 7th.

Race tracker here

Attached is a pic of Spindrift sending it at the start. More photos at www.aqua-images.net and photos from onboard Oman Sail here

Attached Files

•  _DSC0822.jpg   524.8K   54 downloads

[robalex117]

Does anybody know the schedule for July 5th in NYC. I understand there will be speed trails. Does anybody know when they start.

The MOD 70's were overshadowed in Newport, but they'll be the stars in New York. Fleet is a few hours from the finish. Speed trials in NYC on the 5th, Transat start on the 7th.

Race tracker here

Attached is a pic of Spindrift sending it at the start. More photos at www.aqua-images.net and photos from onboard Oman Sail here

[mr_ryano]

Thursday 5th July
NEW YORK SPEED MATCH races 3 to 5 PM – New York
Saturday 7th July
KRYS OCEAN RACE start 11 AM – New York

Boats will be at North Cove Marina. Speed trials likely to be in the Hudson near North Cove, or out by Statue of Liberty, depending on wind direction. Would plan for it being out in the harbor

[mr_ryano]

NEWS FLASH • 3 July 2012
Race For Water wins
the KRYS OCEAN RACE prologue
Steve Ravussin and crew of the MOD70 Race for Water won the 'race to New York’, KRYS OCEAN RACE prologue from Newport to New York when they passed Groupe Edmond de Rothschild in the final half mile to the finish line.


Ravussin, one of the founders of the MOD70 class, could not contain his delight as he hugged his crew, which included class President Marco Simeoni.

In very light winds, Ravussin and his team looked to have slowed badly on the Coney Island shore, snared in a big calm zone. But when they extracted themselves they were able to sail a more direct course, accelerating past the race leader to steal a morale boosting first gun, just ahead of Seb Josse's team which lead out of Newport last night.

Race For Water completed the course in 12 hours, 53 minutes and 20 seconds, just 2 minutes and 30 seconds ahead of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. Spindrift racing skippered by Yann Guichard closed in on 3rd with FONCIA right behind. Musandam-Oman Sail brings to a conclusion the prologue from Newport to New York after sixteen hours of racing.

The fleet completes the race with a parade sail up the Hudson River to their base at North Cove Marina in on the South of Manhattan, where the trimarans will be based until the start of the KRYS OCEAN RACE on Saturday 7th July.

KRYS OCEAN RACE provisional results
1) Race For Water ( Stève Ravussin) finised at 12h53’20’’ (CET)
2) Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse) finished at 12h55’50’’ (CET)
3) Spindrift racing (Yann Guichard) finished at 13h35’08’’ (CET)
4) FONCIA (Michel Desjoyeaux) finished at 13h38’44’’ (CET)
5) Musandam-Oman Sail (Sidney Gavignet) finised at 14h04’01’’ (CET)

[TimFordi550#87]

Great shots and thanks for the coverage, Ryan

[Potter]

Of course, according to Juan K this is just a marketing exercise and those legendary French sailors are not really in a Grand Prix event

Actually, it is still a very French class, would be bice to see more nationalities involved. In fact one boat has the most nationalities. Oman Sail has the 2 Omanis, plus Ryan Breimeier and Brian THompson

[Across the Pond]

Of course, according to Juan K this is just a marketing exercise and those legendary French sailors are not really in a Grand Prix event

Actually, it is still a very French class, would be bice to see more nationalities involved. In fact one boat has the most nationalities. Oman Sail has the 2 Omanis, plus Ryan Breimeier and Brian THompson

Damian Foxall wrote in the Irish Times today that he is going to be sailing on an MOD 70 as his next project. Didn't say which one but wouldn't surprise me if it was Paprec - Virbac.

[victor t]

Webcam of the north cove marina here

I understand from MichDesj interview that it was not easy to get in, it should be intersesting to watch them with the maneuvers on their way out for the speed match races

[Koukel]

Spindrift sending it at the start.

Pretty.

Koukel

[MR.CLEAN]

Of course, according to Juan K this is just a marketing exercise and those legendary French sailors are not really in a Grand Prix event

Ha!

But there are very real problems at MOD right now. What last year looked like a certain 9-boat commitment now looks more like 5. Veolia, which was the most well set-up of all of the "one-design" boats, was for sale for months at a good price, with no takers at all. MOD bought her back two weeks ago, and we're not sure why other than the bad PR from having a brand new MOD for sale for so long. Shame, because we love the concept and the boat.

But this was always one of the big dangers of having something be too Franco-centric: As goes France, so goes the MOD circuit.

[Ivan33]

KRYS OCEAN RACE prologue is finished...Saturday, the Krys Ocean Race will start !
I will take part in official virtual race on LiveSkipper. I hope weather will be good

A lot of prizes to win

[Kevin]

I will take part in official virtual race on LiveSkipper. I hope weather will be good

A lot of prizes to win

I was going to register for that as well... then saw that the App to play the game is $4.99. Seriously?

[jb5]

Webcam of the north cove marina here

I understand from MichDesj interview that it was not easy to get in, it should be intersesting to watch them with the maneuvers on their way out for the speed match races

I was at North Cove yesterday (July 4) and watched Oman go out with some very lucky guests on board without any real issues. Its tight but okay. Oman looked fantastic under sail just tacking around the end of the Hudson. Very impressive to see the 5 boats. They look amazing. Tillers right out at the extreme sides of the cockpit look very cool if somewhat exposed. Lots of very cool little details. OD or not these are great race boats. Compared to Sodeb'O, IDEC or especially GA3 they are much smaller but look truly fast. Will go watch the in-port today. The trans-Atlantic will be great fun to follow may try to catch the start on the water.

[Rail Meat]

one of the other Class 40 skippers was one of those lucky guys who was on Oman yesterday. He said it was a pretty amazing ride.

[Ivan33]

I was going to register for that as well... then saw that the App to play the game is $4.99. Seriously?

You can play on the website LiveSkipper...it's free ^^

[Rail Meat]

Went down to the docks last night to check out the boats.


Remarkable machines. I was surprised at how straight forward the rigging layout was. The chord in the wing mast is amazing - I am betting you can get some serious speed even without the main up.

[MR.CLEAN]

Quick is an understatement. Remember this one from November? 37.7 knots in 14...

[dumper]

Quick is an understatement. Remember this one from November? 37.7 knots in 14...

14 knots of wind!!! Holy shit

[mad]

Quick is an understatement. Remember this one from November? 37.7 knots in 14...

Pretty fast for a marketing exercise.

[rmb]

we are leaving tomorrow at 11:00, if there is some wind it should be a spectacular start, it will be just south of manhattan Island just to the north of the statue of liberty.

Railmeat, what class 40 skipper was out for a sail?

Quick is an understatement. Remember this one from November? 37.7 knots in 14...

Pretty fast for a marketing exercise.

this was actually the first day of the Krys Match last year, the puffs were more like 25, but impressive nonetheless.

we delivered the boat to newport from lorient, did 3300 miles in 8 days, which is 420 miles a day average. our best day though was 25knots average, so right around 600 miles. (and we weren't pushing that hard on delivery. The routings for the race are showing between 5.5 and 6.5 days with good southwesterlies blowing..

[Rail Meat]

we are leaving tomorrow at 11:00, if there is some wind it should be a spectacular start, it will be just south of manhattan Island just to the north of the statue of liberty.

Railmeat, what class 40 skipper was out for a sail?

Quick is an understatement. Remember this one from November? 37.7 knots in 14...

Pretty fast for a marketing exercise.

this was actually the first day of the Krys Match last year, the puffs were more like 25, but impressive nonetheless.

we delivered the boat to newport from lorient, did 3300 miles in 8 days, which is 420 miles a day average. our best day though was 25knots average, so right around 600 miles. (and we weren't pushing that hard on delivery. The routings for the race are showing between 5.5 and 6.5 days with good southwesterlies blowing..

Eric LeCoq.

[Par Avion]

Damn these boats are impressive.

[richie]

..was it really 37.7 knots in 14...knots of wind??!!...just asking

[richie]

...and they are OFF !!!...lets follow this one now...

[Lexpat]

...and they are OFF !!!...lets follow this one now...

Video ( in French) . Depart NY start

http://www.krys-oceanrace.com/fr/

Same video YouTube

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=6EvJ78j5XNM

[MR.CLEAN]

..was it really 37.7 knots in 14...knots of wind??!!...just asking

If you put it on HD you can actually see the wind speed in the instrument pod. I think the biggest puff on the instruments (and I don't know how accurate they were) was 15 and a half knots of TWS. Astounding shit, and Ryan's nonchalant 800 NM day on delivery is good evidence of how specially quick they are.

[Chilli Eater]

Any news on why RFW is so far behind on the tracker

[Donjoman]

Daggerboard damage for Race for Water
At around 0515hrs UTC this morning, during the first night of the KRYS OCEAN RACE, whilst leading the fleet Stève Ravussin’s Race for Water reported that they had hit a container in the water and badly damaged their daggerboard. Three of the crew, lead by composite specialist Yvan Ravussin, are undertaking a repair. A full check of the MOD70 was made and no other damage was reported. Race for Water has been sailing without the daggerboard making speeds of around 4-5 knots less than their rivals.

[Chilli Eater]

Daggerboard damage for Race for Water
At around 0515hrs UTC this morning, during the first night of the KRYS OCEAN RACE, whilst leading the fleet Stève Ravussin's Race for Water reported that they had hit a container in the water and badly damaged their daggerboard. Three of the crew, lead by composite specialist Yvan Ravussin, are undertaking a repair. A full check of the MOD70 was made and no other damage was reported. Race for Water has been sailing without the daggerboard making speeds of around 4-5 knots less than their rivals.

Catching up is going to be hard now

[Icedtea]

Saw they were slow earlier and wondered what the problem was.
Sucks to be them right now

[Corley]

Just wondering if anyone has a good diagram of how the sheets for the gennaker are arranged? It looks like a good system that spreads the load while allowing good control of sail shape. It has a block for purchase that goes through the sheet block and down to the slide then back to a winch which is straightforward. But there are also two lines that head off to the float one looks to adjust the port/starboard positioning of the sail and the other the vertical positioning?

[nkb]

Musandam going slow (22knots) since last night compared to the other boats at 30 knots..... something's up.....

[mr_ryano]

Musandam going slow (22knots) since last night compared to the other boats at 30 knots..... something's up.....

Broke foil. They say they didn't think they hit anything.Major bummer

Musandam-Oman Sail, the Omani Multi One Design 70, was lying in fourth place in the Krys Ocean Race fleet alongside Michel Desjoyeaux’ Foncia and Sebastian Josse’ Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, 1,000 miles into the race from New York to Brest when shortly before midnight (UTC) on Sunday July 8th, the port foil, which adds extra speed by lifting the hull out of the water, failed.
“We were going between 30 and 32 knots in about 25 knots of breeze when we noticed the boat had slowed down and the bow was digging in deeper than usual,” explained skipper Sidney Gavignet.
It is not clear why the equipment failed but it was removed and put down below. Further investigations will take place when the boat gets to land.
“We didn’t feel anything and couldn’t see any reason why it did happen. It is not good news - we are now sailing at 70% of our potential – the other boats are going at 30 knots but we are at around 25 which is disappointing but there is nothing we can do until we get the boat to Brest and have a look. Until then, we will just keep going.”
The crew are all safe, Gavignet added though naturally they were all disappointed after making a good start to the race where they were leading in the first 24 hours.

[MR.CLEAN]

Gitana with a 640 NM 24 hour run. That's faster than any monohull has ever gone in a day...and this is on their first real outing. Now if they can just get their heads out of their asses and run this more like the Volvo and less like the Route Du Rhum, we could actually see an amazing and successful international event. 'Cause at the moment, it seems like just another underfunded French event with some amazing stars - the boats.

[mr_ryano]

Gitana with a 640 NM 24 hour run. That's faster than any monohull has ever gone in a day...and this is on their first real outing. Now if they can just get their heads out of their asses and run this more like the Volvo and less like the Route Du Rhum, we could actually see an amazing and successful international event. 'Cause at the moment, it seems like just another underfunded French event with some amazing stars - the boats.

Oman Sail averaged 29.97 for 24hrs, over 700 miles before things went sideways. Commentary is spot on. The boats have media stations, and pretty kick ass camera mounted in the antenna pod. They need MCM's who aren't the sailing crew and a better content delivery system. There are plenty of people stars, if the marketing and storytelling is done right

[MR.CLEAN]

There are plenty of people stars, if the marketing and storytelling is done right

Absolutely.

The MOD org is pretty damned weak out of the blocks.

[mr_ryano]

There are plenty of people stars, if the marketing and storytelling is done right

Absolutely.

The MOD org is pretty damned weak out of the blocks.

Paying the Race for Water bills is draining the budget........... Guest racers from NPT to NYC was a good start. I would have raced to France for free as a MCM. Just saying........

[MR.CLEAN]

Race For Water PLUS the old Veolia

They clearly don't mind spending money, but they seemingly forgot that, to succeed in a commercial event, you have to actually promote and share it with the people that spend money on potential sponsors' products. Oops.

[moody frog]

Race For Water PLUS the old Veolia

They clearly don't mind spending money, but they seemingly forgot that, to succeed in a commercial event, you have to actually promote and share it with the people that spend money on potential sponsors' products. Oops.

Actually just one boat "Foncia" is "commercially" sponsored !!

For the general french public, race-sponsor Krys gets exposure through a sponsored 5mn report on 3rd TV Channel.

[nkb]

Ryan O I totally agree that MCM's are a great thing but can you honestly say there's a room for another guy onboard? You've sailed on the boat.... below is not big as you know and with only two bunks and six guys hard at work...

On Musandam Brian Thompson has been nominated to do all the communication, videos photos etc.

I think to have one guy dedicated to the job and have a brief before they leave of what they should send back per day is sufficient. As long as they do do it!

Clean. Agree ENTIRELY that they need to make MUCH more of a push in communicating in English and not Engrish

[Joan Pons Semelis]

Nevertheless those boats are proof that OD can be state of the art (from the site) :

Spindrift racing claims the greatest distance covered with 711.9 miles, followed by FONCIA at 710.7 miles and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild with 708.6 miles.



And gitana has clocked 40.7 knots.
Surfing a wave, I pressume, but still ....

[MR.CLEAN]

Race For Water PLUS the old Veolia

They clearly don't mind spending money, but they seemingly forgot that, to succeed in a commercial event, you have to actually promote and share it with the people that spend money on potential sponsors' products. Oops.

Actually just one boat "Foncia" is "commercially" sponsored !!

For the general french public, race-sponsor Krys gets exposure through a sponsored 5mn report on 3rd TV Channel.

Pretty sure Musandam is funded by some maritime-tourism-seeking sultanate. What's it called again?

[MR.CLEAN]

Nevertheless those boats are proof that OD can be state of the art (from the site) :
Spindrift racing claims the greatest distance covered with 711.9 miles, followed by FONCIA at 710.7 miles and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild with 708.6 miles.


And gitana has clocked 40.7 knots.
Surfing a wave, I pressume, but still ....

As posted above, they can easily hit 37 in flat water and no doubt more. In big waves, it's more like careening than surfing.

[desi1]

As a matter of fact the last VOR raised the bar very very high in terms of PR...me i was glued to my laptop, it was really amazing to watch.

Were previous editions that good?? were there already mediamen on board??

All the other race organisations will have to raise their game from now on...starting with the Krys. The difference is pretty stark indeed. And yes they have to change the guy making the comments in english..."Ze Krys ocean race will start frrrom Nou York...ze boats arre so spectaculerrr.." come on...
and also more boats please...from different countries...Nicholson??( he hinted during the VOR he was interested by trimarans)

but i'm pretty optimistic, the concept is really promising...

[DickDastardly]

Nevertheless those boats are proof that OD can be state of the art (from the site) :

Spindrift racing claims the greatest distance covered with 711.9 miles, followed by FONCIA at 710.7 miles and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild with 708.6 miles.



And gitana has clocked 40.7 knots.
Surfing a wave, I pressume, but still ....

And they've proved that 1D need not be sn obstacle to compelling ocean racing.

[mr_ryano]

Ryan O I totally agree that MCM's are a great thing but can you honestly say there's a room for another guy onboard? You've sailed on the boat.... below is not big as you know and with only two bunks and six guys hard at work...

On Musandam Brian Thompson has been nominated to do all the communication, videos photos etc.

I think to have one guy dedicated to the job and have a brief before they leave of what they should send back per day is sufficient. As long as they do do it!

Clean. Agree ENTIRELY that they need to make MUCH more of a push in communicating in English and not Engrish

That's my pont. When it's all on and windy, that's the action we want to experience. The world's fastest man is going to be prioritizing making the boat go fast and not flipping over, not sending cool video and pics. a 3rd pipe cot could be installed. It's not going to be comfortable, but when you can bang out 650 mile days, who cares?

The standard for offshore media is the VOR these days. While interesting, this doesn't quite cut it yet.

[Tom O'Keefe]

They don't need an MCM. They can have a few remotely controlled cameras and that "Oh Shit" button by the helm that will save the last ten minutes of digital feed. When the data is looking good back at the base have one or two really strong commentators and a few techs put together the clips and get them out on the website. They are doing it on the AC45's. There should be no reason they can't do it on the MOD70's.

[Vincent]

Speaking of media organisation, what do you guys think of how the news reports are written in English? I looked at these just out of curiosity, wondering how the race was reported in English, and found them a bit heavy in terms of writing style. Is it the case or should I go practice my english a bit more before landing stupid critics?

[Carboninit]

It's taken Volvo how many years to get where they are today ? MOD is bloody brilliant, and it will get better. How many knots and miles in a day? Brilliant . It makes the Volvo look ridiculous.

[moody frog]

Race For Water PLUS the old Veolia

They clearly don't mind spending money, but they seemingly forgot that, to succeed in a commercial event, you have to actually promote and share it with the people that spend money on potential sponsors' products. Oops.

Actually just one boat "Foncia" is "commercially" sponsored !!

For the general french public, race-sponsor Krys gets exposure through a sponsored 5mn report on 3rd TV Channel.

Pretty sure Musandam is funded by some maritime-tourism-seeking sultanate. What's it called again?

Oman, yes ! but out of the larger Oman sail government funded Offshor-Challenge run program besides ESS, Lasers and Tour de France à la Voile.
So it's the cheik (ruler)signing the check on a long term goal, just as Baron Rothschild is signing checks on a status minded goal, not exactly the same attitude as a company's marketing manager.
Or..so I believe.

[mr_ryano]

Race For Water PLUS the old Veolia

They clearly don't mind spending money, but they seemingly forgot that, to succeed in a commercial event, you have to actually promote and share it with the people that spend money on potential sponsors' products. Oops.

Actually just one boat "Foncia" is "commercially" sponsored !!

For the general french public, race-sponsor Krys gets exposure through a sponsored 5mn report on 3rd TV Channel.

Pretty sure Musandam is funded by some maritime-tourism-seeking sultanate. What's it called again?

Oman, yes ! but out of the larger Oman sail government funded Offshor-Challenge run program besides ESS, Lasers and Tour de France à la Voile.
So it's the cheik (ruler)signing the check on a long term goal, just as Baron Rothschild is signing checks on a status minded goal, not exactly the same attitude as a company's marketing manager.
Or..so I believe.

Slight hijack here, but I actually think Oman Sail's mission is worth mentioning and quite admirable

Oman Sail is a national initiative established in 2008 to contribute to the development of Oman and Omanis through the sport of sailing. The equal opportunity project runs sailing programmes for thousands of young Omani men and women, inspiring a new generation to discover sailing. It encompasses a national sailing squad and high achieving inshore and offshore racing teams, all of which benefit from world-class coaching and whose ultimate objective is to win an Olympic medal for Oman. The programme has pledged to teach 30,000 Omani children to sail by 2015 at seven sailing schools to be built along the coast. The goal is to rekindle Oman’s maritime heritage while raising the country’s regional and international profile as a high-end tourist and foreign investment destination, through competitive sailing at home and abroad. Oman Sail seeks to instil confidence and to teach valuable, transferable life skills to a generation of Omanis.

Having had the shane to sail with a few of the Omanis brought through the program, they are quite bright, don't complain, and do their job with pride. based on this morning's FP rant, it seems that's in short supply!

[MR.CLEAN]

They don't need an MCM. They can have a few remotely controlled cameras and that "Oh Shit" button by the helm that will save the last ten minutes of digital feed. When the data is looking good back at the base have one or two really strong commentators and a few techs put together the clips and get them out on the website. They are doing it on the AC45's. There should be no reason they can't do it on the MOD70's.

No they can't. Remote cameras never cut it. It works on AC45s because they are so small, with everyone stuck together. A MOD is 70' by 60'...

[MR.CLEAN]

Oman, yes ! but out of the larger Oman sail government funded Offshor-Challenge run program besides ESS, Lasers and Tour de France à la Voile.
So it's the cheik (ruler)signing the check on a long term goal, just as Baron Rothschild is signing checks on a status minded goal, not exactly the same attitude as a company's marketing manager.
Or..so I believe.

Oman's Ministry of Tourism is a very real commercial sponsor, they are demanding and very aggressively using sailing to get the word out about the great sailing and fishing in Oman's waters.

Exactly the opposite of the Gitana program.

[moody frog]

Oman, yes ! but out of the larger Oman sail government funded Offshor-Challenge run program besides ESS, Lasers and Tour de France à la Voile.
So it's the cheik (ruler)signing the check on a long term goal, just as Baron Rothschild is signing checks on a status minded goal, not exactly the same attitude as a company's marketing manager.
Or..so I believe.

Oman's Ministry of Tourism is a very real commercial sponsor, they are demanding and very aggressively using sailing to get the word out about the great sailing and fishing in Oman's waters.

Exactly the opposite of the Gitana program.

Thanks for the heads-up, was a misperception on my side.

[Carboninit]

Ive been caught out Foncia and Rothschild are in Ghost mode . I was worried there for a bit.

[Joan Pons Semelis]

They don't need an MCM. They can have a few remotely controlled cameras and that "Oh Shit" button by the helm that will save the last ten minutes of digital feed. When the data is looking good back at the base have one or two really strong commentators and a few techs put together the clips and get them out on the website. They are doing it on the AC45's. There should be no reason they can't do it on the MOD70's.

No they can't. Remote cameras never cut it. It works on AC45s because they are so small, with everyone stuck together. A MOD is 70' by 60'...

Another problem would be who controls the remote 1000 miles off-shore. The MCM ?
As pointed by Volvo when discussing live stream for the last leg, satellite video streaming is very expensive, remote controled cameras via satellite to have the MCM at land does not seem a viable option.
They are doing it on the AC45's, but not using satelites.
A few strategically positioned cameras and an "Oh Shit" button seems nice, but I wonder if anyone will remember or find the time to press it in an "Oh Shit" situation.
But it will produce some more video and would be interesting if the cameras survive the experience. The MOD70 doesn't seem to be less wet than the VO70, and are going faster.

[Tom O'Keefe]

I thought INMAR was moving toward a new satelite system that would allow for near continuous video feed on demand for the next addition of the Volvo. I understand that it would prohibitively expensive today. But, the technology is available and will become more affordable.

As for the "Oh Shit" button, if the cameras are continuously caputuring video and storing it to RAM that gets rewritten over in say 20 minute loops, then anyone on the crew could push the button within 10 minutes after the event and still get the event stored to the hard drive or up linked.

Clean actually the action areas on a trimaran are smaller than on a VO70. Most of the crew are in the cockpit. With roller furling for all the head sails the crew don't go forward nearly as often as on a VO70. And, the driver is the only one out near the amas at the driving stations. So, with four permanantly mounted cameras with panning capability and a hand held that any member of the crew can use when the time is available, there's no reason you couldn't get some real great footage.

[Joan Pons Semelis]

Almost finished for the first: Spindrift.
A race too fast to follow, or media releases not up to the pace ?

[mr_ryano]

I get 1 Press Release per day. Here is this morning's

PRESS RELEASE • 12 July 2012
Scilly gains?
Gains by the chasing duo Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and FONCIA which were revealed when the leading MOD70 Spindrift racing reappeared last night from undercover ‘ghost mode’ may continue through the first part of today but Spindrift’s
Pascal Bidégorry seemed confident that their crew have enough in hand in an improving forecast to cross first at the Petit Minou finish line this afternoon.


But the finish of the first KRYS OCEAN RACE will be closer than it was anticipated yesterday.

Before disappearing into ghost mode yesterday Spindrift racing had 69.2 miles of a lead over the second placed Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, but this morning that had been cut to just 35.9 miles.

As all three MOD70 teams passed the longitude of Fastnet Rock, off the southern tip of Ireland in the small hours of the this morning - sailing roughly the same track - Yann Guichard and the Spindrift Racing crew had a lead of 1 hour and 25 min ahead of Seb Josse’s Groupe Edmond de Rothschild with Michel Desjoyeaux in third with his FONCIA crew at only 30 minutes behind them.

Bidégorry, racing in the lightest wind since leaving New York Sunday, 12kts, said
“ Once we round the Scilly Isles, we should pick up the southwest breeze that will come in stronger and be more stable for the approach to Ushant. Now we are just ahead of the low and had to get over a small ridge, which means the others have managed to catch up on us. For now we should be pretty much on a direct route from now on though.”

The leaders were around 50 miles from the Scilly Isles gate at 0630hrs UTC, after which they have around 120 miles to sail to the finish line.

This morning Spindrift Racing had temporarily outrun the leading edge of the front which has propelled them at high speeds all the way across the Atlantic, and so were in much lighter breezes when Bidégorry spoke to the early morning radio call with KRYS OCEAN RACE. But after squeezing through a small light airs ridge, they should be caught again by the stronger winds for a high speed finale, close reaching to the finish.

After finishing the MOD70’s will remain offshore before making a grand entrance into the Tonnerres de Brest festival tomorrow afternoon.

Pascal Bidégorry, Spindrift racing:
“The wind has dropped down to 12 knots over night. Once we round the Scilly Isles, we should pick up the southwest breeze that will come in stronger and be more stable for the approach to Ushant. Now we are just ahead of the low andhad to get over a small ridge, which means the others have managed to catch up on us. For now we should be pretty much on a direct route from now on though.

I look at the weather too with Yann as well as being at the helm, this is still a boat and we have to sail it! Sometimes you are at the helm on a one and a half hour watch and the last fifteen minutes can be really tough. It is not easy keeping your eyes open with the bucket loads of water constantly spaying in your face. My eyes are knackered!

There are not that many boats this size that can cross the Atlantic in so few days.
It is really nice to get the feeling of the old 60 footers, I think we had all forgotten just how wet it is on board and that we live en up living like dogs on board, there are not comforts. Now we are a bit drier, we all had to get changed after two days because it started to smell. It was like a mouldy smell, not just from the foul weather kit but also from the boat itself. Not very nice!

We should get to the finish this afternoon, hard to put a time on it because it is not until we get passed the Scilly Isles that we will know for sure, but anytime from 2pm onwards to say four in the afternoon. There should be a wind rotation and then there are a few rocks to deal with too…

It is dawn and not all that much to eat on board…we have really rummaged around and can’t find anything. But then we just get on with the sailing and grab whatever is going.”

Latest from Oman Sail:

Musandam-Oman Sail is 400 miles from the finish of the 2012 KRYS OCEAN RACE at the Tonnerres de Brest having reached speeds overnight of around of 40 knots.
Sidney Gavignet’s crew are approaching the end of their 2950nm roller coaster ride across the Atlantic from New York to Brest and are counting their blessings for the conditions they have encountered following the foil failure early on in the race.
“We are going along at 33 knots but we were doing 40 knots last night which was much too quick for me,” said Gavignet who was in high spirits.
“Fahad was driving and I think he was a little surprised. We were all a bit surprised I think. It is very wet – we are soaked to the skin – but it is amazing. The weather has been kind to us because it is very rare that you do almost everything on the same tack for this time and since our problem with the foil on Sunday we have been lucky. We could be doing around 26 knots when we get to Brest. I have really enjoyed the race very much – I feel fortunate and very proud.”
Among the Omani crew of Fahad al Hasni and Mohsin al Busaidi, the breathtaking speeds took some getting used to in their first race across the Atlantic.
“It has been very exciting and sometimes a little scary,” admitted Mohsin al Busaidi.
“When you are going at those speeds, you have to react very quickly and always you are very wet. But it is exciting and sometimes, it is as if you are waiting for something to happen. I have really enjoyed the trip but am looking forward to getting to Brest.”
Musandam-Oman Sail is expected to pass the Scilly Isles at 17.30 UTC with an estimated arrival time in Brest of midnight tonight. The leading boats are expected in early this afternoon following a close contest for line honours.
The official arrival into the Tonnerres de Brest will take place on 13 July.
---
Quote from the race boat:
Good morning,
Another great dark night is behind us. Great speeds, although a bit scary sometimes to hit 34 knots in the pitch black. After my job at the helm, I offered Fahad to have a go. I could feel he wasn’t too confident but he accepted it. No problem, he was doing the job great, I was standing by the roof, watching his first miles at high speed in the night. Suddenly we hit something with the main rudder, it came up… Luckily, we already had had this adventure twice during the delivery towards the US. Things went smoothly. Furling the 2 jibs, changing the broken rod for a new one, going head to wind in 30 knots of breeze, dropping the repaired rudder …
Just another small adventure along the way and a good experience for all of us, especially Fahad.
We should be at 17.30 at the Scilly Island.
Ciao. Sid
---
For the latest videos off the boat, please go to:

http://gomusandam.com/en/media/video-gallery

[MR.CLEAN]

I thought INMAR was moving toward a new satelite system that would allow for near continuous video feed on demand for the next addition of the Volvo. I understand that it would prohibitively expensive today. But, the technology is available and will become more affordable.

As for the "Oh Shit" button, if the cameras are continuously caputuring video and storing it to RAM that gets rewritten over in say 20 minute loops, then anyone on the crew could push the button within 10 minutes after the event and still get the event stored to the hard drive or up linked.

Clean actually the action areas on a trimaran are smaller than on a VO70. Most of the crew are in the cockpit. With roller furling for all the head sails the crew don't go forward nearly as often as on a VO70. And, the driver is the only one out near the amas at the driving stations. So, with four permanantly mounted cameras with panning capability and a hand held that any member of the crew can use when the time is available, there's no reason you couldn't get some real great footage.

I'm not saying you couldn't get some great footage. What I'm saying is that someone needs to either hold, or otherwise direct, the cameras. And if the mainsail needs reefing in a 30 knot squall, that dude is going to be too busy to shoot. Anyone who's spent any time trying to capture footage as a member of a race crew will agree...hence the existence of the MCM program. I predict that the MOD (especially after this joke of a race coverage) will go to more dedicated media people for the next event.

[mr_ryano]

Really impressive. These boats are FAST!


NEWS FLASH • 12 July 2012
Spindrift racing win the KRYS OCEAN RACE,
New York to Brest in under 5 days
Yann Guichard and his crew of five crossed the finish line on Thursday July 12 at 12hrs 08m 37s UTC (14hrs 08m 37s) to take overall victory in the inaugural KRYS OCEAN RACE transatlantic race in an elapsed time four days 21 hours 08 minutes 37s, an average of 25.03 kts on this 2950 miles race course.


In this first ocean race for the new MOD70 one design multihull class, Spindrift racing finished about an hour and a half ahead of Sébastien Josse’s Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and FONCIA, who were about a quarter of an hour behind second, after a great race across the Atlantic from New York to Brest in winds which is rarely dropped below twenty knots ...

This is the first great ocean racing victory for Yann Guichard.
At 38, this former Olympic Tornado catamaran sailor, who finished fourth in the Sydney Olympics in 2000, has amassed considerable multihull experience offshore with Marc Guillemot, Bruno Peyron and Franck Cammas, racing solo across the Atlantic in 2010, but also on the Swiss lakes in the D35 and M-2 multihulls.
He has also raced inshore as helm in the America’s Cup World Series and the Extreme 40 series.

Launched in January this year, Spindrift racing is MOD70 hull number 5, and has been taken on by his crew, which includes Pascal Bidégorry, Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant, Jacques Guichard, Leo Lucet and Kevin Escoffier.

Bidégorry, Escoffier and Le Vaillant are among those who set the existing outright Atlantic record in 2009.

Spindrift racing sailed an actual 3284 miles on the water at an average of 28.04 knots.

Programme:

Thursday 12th July at 16hrs local time (14h UTC) in the village of the KRYS OCEAN RACE with the first three crews to have finished.
Audio and video files will be uploaded and available for download from the media section: http://www.krys-ocea...ess-centre.html

Friday 13th July at 1400h, the MOD70 fleet arrive into Brest harbour taking centre stage in the Tonnerres de Brest maritime festival.


Check latest position reports at:
http://www.krys-ocea.../race-data.html

Latest photos:
http://www.krys-ocea...n/pictures.html

Latest videos:
http://www.krys-ocea.../en/videos.html

Latest audio files:
http://www.krys-ocea...m/en/audio.html

[richie]

My Impression is...FAST !!!...and looks like a mini BPV...looks really small even coparing with VOR 70......I want one

[mr_ryano]

My Impression is...FAST !!!...and looks like a mini BPV...looks really small even coparing with VOR 70......I want one

You can stretch out your arms and touch both walls in the main hull.....

[popo]

I still miss the old INSANE ORMA 60'.
Those boats where such a "grab your balls" way of sailing

[moody frog]

Marketing exercize, Juan K said !

And fully right he was: after crossing the finish line, the boats were sent to a hidden mooring spot far away, with some ferrying ashore I understand.

Brest-town funded part of the race, with taxpayers money, as an added attraction to the sea-festival they organize this week-end; problem the boats were too fast or organizers planned wrong: so the "official" arrival at the port shall be this afternoon (24 hours -20% of the actual racing time! - after the finish)

Ridiculous.

[nkb]

Not ridiculous in my opinion. Its only fair to the town, and festival organizers to have the official arrival of the boats today, first day of the show. It would have also been a logistical and media nightmare....

No big deal to the teams, at least not what I have heard or seen.

At least they let the boats stop rather than extend the course to make them only cross the line today.


They had exceptional conditions and its the first time these boats have ever raced across the atlantic, give the organizers a break.

The race village is superb. The boats will be joining in the parades on the 15th and 19th and doing inshore racing on the 16th morning and afternoon, should be good to watch.

It just needs to stop raining

[moody frog]

Not ridiculous in my opinion. Its only fair to the town, and festival organizers to have the official arrival of the boats today, first day of the show. It would have also been a logistical and media nightmare....

No big deal to the teams, at least not what I have heard or seen.

At least they let the boats stop rather than extend the course to make them only cross the line today.


They had exceptional conditions and its the first time these boats have ever raced across the atlantic, give the organizers a break.

The race village is superb. The boats will be joining in the parades on the 15th and 19th and doing inshore racing on the 16th morning and afternoon, should be good to watch.

It just needs to stop raining

I take a number of your points, although I don't see the media nightmare as there are already full results and reports in today's dailies.
I also think that the start could have been one day later, and/or am not at all against a 500 miles further loop.

Not being bitter here, but I can't resist thinking that this reduces sailing to an other merry-go-round in the center of Disneyland.

Imagine this forum's reaction, had Lorient done the same thing when boats out-sped the program and popped into port in working-hours of a week-day. They gallantly took the challenge and it worked.

[mr_ryano]

Good news for the MOD 70 world today:

Virbac Paprec, loyal sponsors in the sailing world launch the 7th MOD70 and move from the CDK Technologies yard in Lorient today to another yard for the winter. Skipper, Jean Pierre Dick will leave the boat to winter whilst he continues his IMOCA 60 commitments that conclude in the upcoming 2012 Vendee Globe race. Jean Pierre Dick, originally from Nice, will join the MOD70 sailors next season for the MOD70 European and Ocean World Tour.

[Christian]

Good news for the MOD 70 world today:

Virbac Paprec, loyal sponsors in the sailing world launch the 7th MOD70 and move from the CDK Technologies yard in Lorient today to another yard for the winter. Skipper, Jean Pierre Dick will leave the boat to winter whilst he continues his IMOCA 60 commitments that conclude in the upcoming 2012 Vendee Globe race. Jean Pierre Dick, originally from Nice, will join the MOD70 sailors next season for the MOD70 European and Ocean World Tour.

Hey Ryan - did you get my text?

[Mash]

Then bad news today: Foncia abandon ship...

http://www.lequipe.f...tot-fini/306598

Short story: Foncia to stop sponsoring MichDej at the end of the year, instead of 2014 as previously considered. After Jourdain / Veolia, that another quite significant blow to the offshore / MOD70 scene.

M - and that sucks, big time

[Icedtea]

That could be disastrous for the class, if they don't manage to get sponsors back onboard quickly the class could find the others bailing

[Corley]

The European Tour is underway. Foncia won the points in the in port racing in Kiel and is now having a close race with Spindrift for first position on the Kiel - Dublin Ocean Race. The European tour website and tracker are located here:


http://www.mod70-europeantour.com/en/

[DtM]

I hope this idea stays afloat.

Great boats and the cream of French multihullers.

[corkob]

Would never have had much interest in multis before. However, These machines are something else

[Icedtea]

Can't wait to get up to Dublin for the weekend to see them

[Cyrille Hydrogene]

Yann Guichard is as fast on his MOD70 as he is on an AC45! He is still leading the fleet and Mich Desj can't seem to make up any ground... But a split is starting to expand in the neck of the Channel, let's see how this will play out.

[mr_ryano]

The talent in the fleet is amazing. Franck Cammas is on Race For Water, but they are running out of room to catch Spindrift. Dublin anarchists, the boats should be in around 10-midnight tonight. Good excuse for a craic at the national

[victor t]

The talent in the fleet is amazing.

It is indeed !!!

Race For Water : Stève Ravussin (SUI), Yvan Ravussin (SUI), Franck Cammas (FRA), Thomas Coville (FRA), François Morvan (FRA), Loïc Forestier (SUI), Tanguy Cariou (FRA), Nicolas Heintz (FRA), Gurvan Bontemps (FRA), Benoît Lequin (FRA)

FONCIA : Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA), Antoine Carraz (FRA), Thierry Chabagny (FRA), Charles Caudrelier (FRA), Emmanuel Leborgne (FRA), Xavier Revil (FRA), Sébastien Col (FRA), Alban Rosselin (FRA), Nicolas Texier (FRA), Julien Falxa (FRA)

Groupe Edmond de Rothschild : Sébastien Josse (FRA), David Boileau (FRA), Florent Chastel (FRA), Cyril Dardashti (FRA), Olivier Douillard (FRA), Christophe Espagnon (FRA), Antoine Koch (FRA), Thomas Rouxel (FRA)

Spindrift racing : Yann Guichard (FRA), Léo Lucet (FRA), Pascal Bidégorry (FRA), Jacques Guichard (FRA), Jean-Baptiste Levaillant (FRA),Yann Eliès (FRA), Kevin Escoffier (FRA), Devan Le Bihan (FRA)

Musandam-Oman Sail : Sidney Gavignet (FRA), Fahad Al Hasni (OMA) Moshin Al Busaidi (OMA) Khamis Al Amburi (OMA) Brian Thompson (GBR) Jean-François Cuzon (FRA) Thomas Le Breton (FRA) Michi Mueller (GER)

[Corley]

Foncia have crept into the lead (just) over Spindrift Racing. The top three boats are within 1nm of each other. 5.3nm to go now Foncia is .3nm in the lead and Edmond De Rothschild have closed up a little on the top two MOD's

Attached Files

•  MOD 70's approaching Dublin.jpg   108.68K   8 downloads

[Corley]

Final winning margin of Foncia 32 seconds over Spindrift! 77 seconds between first and third.

http://www.mod70-eur...t-the-wire.html

Foncia wins at the wire

From an incredibly close finish which saw all three top teams arrive at the Dun Laoghaire, Dublin line within 77 seconds of each other, it was Michel Desjoyeaux and his crew of FONCIA which stole victory on the MOD70 European Tour first leg of the from Kiel to Dublin.

Desjoyeaux and his crew of FONCIA which stole victory on the MOD70 European Tour first leg of the from Kiel to Dublin.

In a heart stopping race to the line in very gentle breezes the winners were no more than 200 metres ahead of second placed Yann Guichard and crew on Spindrift racing with Sebastien Josse and the crew of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild no more than 300 metres behind.

The 1238 miles leg which started Sunday afternoon in Kiel was decided almost on the finish line.

FONCIA finally seized the lead with less than 15 miles to the finish, overhauling Guichard’s Spindrift racing which had lead consistently since last Monday morning when they passed Desjoyeaux’s crew on the NW Danish coast. In the final hours the two leaders were only 3-500 metres apart, with FONCIA only just holding on to win.

Finish times Dun Laoghaire
1-Michel Desjoyeaux (FONCIA) 23h 19m 09s Wed 5th September
2-Yann Guichard (Spindrift racing) 23h 19m 41s Wed 5th September
3-Sébastien Josse (Groupe Edmond de Rothschild) 23h 20m 26s 5th September

__________________

[mr_ryano]

Great racing. It's inexcusable to see the lack of coverage on the FP here and most anyplace else. The crews are as good as the Volvo, and the fleet is so evenly split that any leg is anyone's game. I really wish they'd hire some media people (hint hint)

Anyone who loves Ocean Racing ought to be glued to this

[Icedtea]

Will be drunk out of my tree in DL this time tomorrow night. Anyone up to help me rob spindrift?

[mr_ryano]

Will be drunk out of my tree in DL this time tomorrow night. Anyone up to help me rob spindrift?

Why? Ask nicely and you can get a tour or a ride. These guys are much more accessible than the VOR. Everyone should go down and say hello

[SailRacer]

Great racing. It's inexcusable to see the lack of coverage on the FP here and most anyplace else. The crews are as good as the Volvo, and the fleet is so evenly split that any leg is anyone's game. I really wish they'd hire some media people (hint hint)

Anyone who loves Ocean Racing ought to be glued to this

+10

[nkb]

Will be drunk out of my tree in DL this time tomorrow night. Anyone up to help me rob spindrift?

[Speedwatch]

I am lucky that I had the chance to sail with Mich Des and Yann Guichard on FONICA and Spindrift at Kiel during the City race. For sure www.sailinganarchy.de helped a lot but I can confirm that the MOD70 Org is really open for the club sailor like me too.

I never did 20 kns boatspeed at 3Bft before and I doubt I will match that speed on a sailingboat again in similar conditions. Great boats, even great guys on the boat and even if they show that fuckup happens to them too it was very impressive to see how the professionals managed to solve the problems until the next leg of the city races.

[Corley]

They are underway again on the next ocean leg Dublin to Cascais, Foncia currently leading the pack.

http://www.mod70-europeantour.com/en/

[mr_ryano]

Everyone's around Fastnet Rock, now on to Cascais. Here's the latest Press Release

Leg 2 : Dun Laoghaire - Cascais PRESS RELEASE • 10 September 2012 Ups and downs, lows and highs en route to Cascais
Since leading around the famous Fastnet Rock at around 0730hrs UTC this morning, Yann Guichard and the crew of Spindrift racing profited from an initial gain but as they passed the latitude of the Scillies and then Ushant – the NW tip of France – they had their four MOD70 European Tour rivals astern abreast in a line, all in equally hot pursuit.
Spindrift racing, which lead for 90 per cent of Leg 1 from Kiel to Dun Laoghaire and then won the City Races series on Dublin Bay, had eked out some 10 miles of advantage on the chasing pack as they continue a southerly course for Cascais, Portugal where they are expected Wednesday.

Their initial gain was on the two tacks out to the rock last night but through today they have held a steady lead. Though most had expected to be through a slow moving cold front earlier, and so into faster, reaching conditions that was not expected until the afternoon. Indeed the front has been moving at much the same speed as the MOD70’s
Trimmer-helm Yann Eliès, the winner of the Solitaire du Figaro this summer, reported early this Monday afternoon from Spindrift racing:
“The front has still not passed us and we are about 60 degrees to the wind and in the middle of the afternoon it should switch to the NW, we can set the gennaker and make better speed in more comfortable conditions than we have had in the last 24 hours which have been a bit rock’n’roll. The seas have begun to calm down a bit but we can sense the approach of the trough, the wind has dropped a bit.”
“What we had along the Irish coast was bouncy and we slammed a lot. But the boats are going very well and the sun will get stronger.”
In the very close and exacting racing small problems have cost miles, or even fractions of a mile. Stève Ravussin’s Spindrift racing had been leading and in close contention last night until they had to slow to replace the puller, which controls the main halyard hook. Losing an hour while they hoisted their bowman up the mast to fix it. But this afternoon they are in contention, though now 16 miles behind the leader.
Michel Desjoyeaux and the team on FONCIA lie second but spent some time replacing the rudder fuse and downhaul after the main rudder struck an object. They lie second, virtually even with Musandam-Oman Sail who have remained in the top three since before Tuskar Rock last night and were pacing the European Tour leaders well this afternoon.
Speeds had picked up late afternoon, to over 20kts, indicating that the chance to set gennakers progressively has arrived and faster, easier southbound progress is on the cards.
At the moment the direct route south is the most logical with the fleet lined up side by side. But there will be a tendency to slide west as a second front approaches, but ahead there is a big high pressure ridge which is centred over Portugal which will bring a more N’ly regime, fresh at first but dropping as they descend the Iberian peninsula. And so the fleet is likely to compact again before Cascais.

Standings 10th September at 1630hrs UTC
1- Spindrift racing(Yann Guichard) at 834,8 miles to finish
2- FONCIA (Michel Desjoyeaux) at 11.2 miles to the leader
3- Musandam-Oman Sail(Sidney Gavignet) at 11.2 miles to the leader
4- Groupe Edmond deRothschild (Sébastien Josse) at 14 miles to the leader
5- Race for Water(Stève Ravussin) at 19.6 miles to the leader

Michel Desjoyeaux, FRA skipper FONCIA FRA:
“This afternoon we struck something with the main rudder and the fuse did its job and the rudder came up. We tried several times to get it back but it was slowing us down and as we had Gitana on our case after three unsuccessful attempts with the rudder refusing to go down and lock in place we set off without it. In a reasonably big sea and with 25kts of wind in fact the float rudder did its job well enough. When the wind died down we found out what the problem was with the downhaul rope on the rudder which was displaced and not letting the rudder down. We were forced to cut it and then suspend someone above the water, in the harness, doing some 20kts above the waves.
We sorted the rope into the right place and are back on course.”
Yann Eliès FRA, trimmer-helm Spindrift racing (EUR):
“We passed the Fastnet in the early morning upwind and since then we have been on the wind on the other tack. We have cracked the sheets a little now and are making 20kts. The front has still not passed us and we are about 60 degrees to the wind and in the middle of the afternoon it should switch to the NW, we can set the gennaker and make better speed in more comfortable conditions than we have had in the last 24 hours which have been a bit rock’n’roll. The seas have begun to calm down a bit but, we can sense the approaching of the trough, the wind has dropped a bit. What we had along the Irish coast was bouncy and we slammed a lot. But the boats are going very well and the sun will get stronger. We saw the silhouette of a boat against the grey sky this morning. I took off my foulies this afternoon and we can get some rest and get more into the watch system.”
Brian Thompson, GBR, watch-captain Musandam-Oman Sail OMA:
“It is 1330hrs UTC in the afternoon and we are having a very close sail in 22-25kts of wind, going south from Fastnet Rock with FONCIA about a mile away, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild about another mile away and Race for Water behind. So we are battling it out for second at the moment with Spindrift racing just a few miles ahead of us. We had a great sail out of Dun Laoghaire, which was a great stop, we had a great stop there. We had a beautiful beat down the east coast of Ireland with the fantastic scenery. During the night we were on the south coast of Ireland, passing Cork and Kinsale. And then just after dawn at the Fastnet was spectacular, for Mohsin it was his first rounding of that famous lighthouse. From there we were going upwind, just slightly cracked off now. We are almost level with NW France, soon be level with La Rochelle, across the Bay of Biscay and it will get warmer and soon we’ll be off Cape Finisterre. Tonight we will be getting into lighter airs as we get into the high pressure and we will have to gybe and then coming out on port gybe ion NE’ly winds instead of the SW’lies we have just now, we will be on the bottom side of the high and with a good heading.”
Latest Ranking
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[mr_ryano]

4 of the 5 boats within 3 miles of each other. Ocean racing doesn't get much better. Maybe a one design VOR won't be so bad if racing is like this!

Leg 2 : Dun Laoghaire - Cascais PRESS RELEASE • 11 September 2012 Cascais Casino? Another close finish expected!
One final hurdle, a zone of very light winds that is more than 60 miles wide, is blocking the finishing straight for Leg 2 of the MOD70 European Tour. With less than three miles separating first from fourth places whichever crew can crawl through it this evening and overnight, and break into the forecasted NE’lies on the other side is very likely to win the stage which started on Sunday afternoon from Dun Laoghaire, Ireland.
The fleet is now expected to cross the finish line during Wednesday morning, but the calm zone, caused by a ridge of high pressure is very difficult for the navigators and decision-makers on board to decipher accurately.
Conventional thinking may be to stick tight to the Portuguese coast where the new NE’ly is expected to arrive from, but the question is how close? A small lateral split in the fleet developed during Tuesday and was opening more by afternoon. Sidney Gavignet’s crew on Musandam-Oman Sail are furthest offshore and lead through much of the day.
As they raced in near perfect conditions, 16-18kts, making between 22 and 26kts of boat speed, it was with full awareness that they are about to hit the buffers, the big light wind zone. By 1530hrs UTC speeds had already fallen to 12-15kts as the light breezes took hold. “It is going to completely shut down.” Warned Musandam-Oman Sail’s watch leader Brian Thompson, “Everyone is doing the same thing just now. You could have gone inshore earlier, but we are only 15 miles apart laterally and so we are very much in the same corridor, but there will be a great amount of lottery attached to who gets out first, but whoever gets out first will win the race, into more breeze. So that will be decided this evening and tonight.”
Passing the latitude of Porto this Tuesday afternoon at around 1500hrs UTC, it is apparent there are three schools of thought. Musandam-Oman Sail and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild second, are furthest offshore and mid afternoon were diverging more SW. Furthest to the east, some 35 miles inshore are Race for Water, which has Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper Franck Cammas as navigator. They look increasingly like they will try and find the thermal breezes closest to the coast. Race for Water have bounced back several times already on this leg, to stay in contention. Most recently they twice struck large fish and had to stop or back up, losing miles.
Spindrift racing Yann Guichard suggested: “Some think that the thermal breeze will come in first from the shore… The dice are rolled and there will be differences at the end of this leg. There's the night breeze in shore that runs across a strip between 10 and 20 miles offshore. The question is whether it will set in or not! I hope that the fleet will be regroup because if it implodes, it will be impossible to control our rivals.”
And taking more of the middle route are the MOD70 European Tour’s top two teams Spindrift racing and FONCIA who are playing a more conservative game, staying close together. Knowing there are only three points between them, perhaps neither is prepared to push the risk/reward equation too hard at this stage and are sticking with the option to change sides if the choice arises. Spindrift racing was credited with a small lead of just 1.3 miles this mid afternoon at 1530hrs UTC.
Recognising that the breezes are going to be light overnight, Race Direction for the MOD70 European Tour, confirmed this afternoon that the leg will be stopped as the fleet reach Cascais rather than making them run the full course which was originally around Cabo Saint Vincent to Lagos and back.
That makes this stage, Leg 2, around 975 miles and once again it might be minutes, or even seconds in it. Only 14 miles separated first from fifth, north to south - in fact only three miles from first to fourth with less than 160 miles to sail.
Estimated finish time is early morning Wednesday.
Standings of 11 September at 1530hrs UTC
1- Spindrift racing (Yann Guichard) at 150 miles to finish
2- Musandam-Oman Sail (Sidney Gavignet) at 1,3 miles to leader
3- FONCIA (MichelDesjoyeaux) at 1,5 miles to leader
4- Groupe Edmond deRothschild (Sébastien Josse) at 2,5 milles to leader
5- Race for Water(Stève Ravussin) at14,2 miles to leader
Quotes :

Michel Desjoyeaux, skipper (FONCIA):
"We have less easterly wind for now and since about an hour ago we have had a band of cloud cover, but the sun is just coming out again. The sea is flatter and it is no longer the 30 knots boat speed we had this afternoon. The wind is due to drop quite a bit this afternoon…we will have to see how we extract ourselves from this! We are just going to have to sit it out until the midnight or so when the wind is due to build up to some ten knots from the North. We just have to cross this transition zone as soon as possible. Lateral differences can have a big influence on how to route through this calm area. The first out will make the most gains; it is like Russian roulette! In these kind of conditions there is always a difference between what the forecasts promise and what you end up getting, We should get some wind for the finish. As the sea state has eased we are going to try and get some rest.”
Brian Thompson, watch-leader Musandam-Oman Sail:
“It is really good on board just now, just great sailing conditions. We are about 70 miles offshore off Cape Finisterre with a really flat sea and just charging along, making 20-22kts in 16,17,18 knots of breeze and we are just smoking along. We never really drop below 20 knots and it is getting warmer and we have been in the lead and so it can’t really get better than that, can it?”
“It is going to completely shut down. We have this transition zone about 50 miles wide and then we will get some NE’lies on the other side. So I think everyone is going to bunch up again, just looking to do whatever we can to get out through the other side.”
“Everyone is doing the same thing just now. You could have gone inshore earlier, but we are only 15 miles apart laterally and so we are very much in the same corridor, but there will be a great deal of lottery attached to who gets out first, but whoever gets out first will win the race, into more breeze. So that will be decided this evening and tonight.”
“Everything is good on board, all happy and we are only 200 miles to the finish but that is going to be a long 200 miles. So everyone is pushing hard, we have been in our watches and getting good sleep so we are ready for the final push.”
Yann Guichard (Spindrift racing):
"Anything could happen on this race! We were told that in the South, it would be sunny. The wind has dropped and we move along slowly in the calm. As the weather files show a large transition zone of sixty miles wide, each of the navigators has his own idea about how to cross it. Race for Water seems to have gone further inshore, Musandam Oman Sail and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild further offshore and FONCIA and ourselves have chosen the middle. It is not really clear for now what is best and we will have to wait for about midnight for the breeze to come in from the North. Some think that the thermal breeze will come in first from the shore… The dice are rolled and there will be differences at the end of this leg. There's the night breeze in shore that runs across a strip between 10 and 20 miles offshore. The question is whether it will set in or not! I hope that the fleet will be regroup because if it implodes, it will be impossible to control our competitors. We need to find the little gap to get through and right now just two or three knots of breeze this afternoon will not give us much to play with. We are really working the crew and the boat because from dawn we had the full main and genoa or gennaker and made good headway. Tonight we are going to have to do loads of manoeuvres so have to make the most now to get some rest.”
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[Corley]

The MOD70's are approaching Cascais with about 115nm to go in quite unfavourable conditions.

tracker is here:

http://www.mod70-eur.../positions.html

[Winged]

© Chris Schmid /Spindrift racing

SPINDRIFT TAKE CASAIS
http://acworldseries...ndrift-win.html

[mr_ryano]

Here are the details:

Leg 2 : Dun Laoghaire - Cascais PRESS RELEASE • 12 September 2012 Spindrift racing beat the dawn patrol in Cascais
Breaking the finish line off Cascais at 05hours 37minutes 36seconds GMT/UTC (06hrs 37mins 36secs local) this Wednesday morning Yann Guichard and the crew of Spindrift racing won the 975 miles second leg of the MOD70 European Tour from Dun Laoghaire, by Dublin, Ireland to Cascais by Lisbon in Portugal.
After finishing a close second in last week’s finish to Leg 1 into Dun Laoghaire when they arrived from Kiel, Germany and also winning the City Race series on Dublin Bay, their Leg 2 victory ensures that Spindrift racing seize the overall lead of the MOD70 European Tour, by one single point over FONCIA.
It proved another close finish in painfully light zephyrs, just as the sun was rising over Cascais. All four top finishers crossed the finish line within one hour. FONCIA, second, Musandam-Oman Sail, third, and Groupe Edmond de Rothshchild, fourth were each separated by 400 metres as they glided gracefully across the line. Frustratingly Musandam-Oman Sail conceded second in the final mile.
After leaving Dun Laoghaire on Sunday afternoon, Spindrift racing lead around the mythical Fastnet Rock on Monday morning but lost out temporarily yesterday when Sidney Gavignet’s Musandam Oman Sail, further offshore, took the lead off Cape Finisterre.
The leg to Portugal from Ireland delivered a great variety of conditions, with tough upwind sailing to Tuskar rock and then Fastnet, fast gennaker reaching south in bumpy seas until yesterday afternoon when a high pressure ridge imposed key tactical choices on the fleet. But, after the breeze collapsed progressively yesterday afternoon and evening they had to deal with a transition zone of light winds for more than seven hours.
Guichard’s crew were back on top again early this morning. A key gybe at around 0300hrs this morning found them the best of a strong new NE’ly breeze first, and Spindrift racing moved clear of FONCIA. Then in brisk northerly winds boat speeds through the final hours of the race climbed spectacularly, regularly averaging over 30kts.
But as dawn arrived over Cascais once again the finish was nail-biting to the end. A foreboding sense of déjà vu prevailed on board Guichard’s MOD70 with the seeming threat of a repetition of Dublin Bay’s finish when Spindrift racing lost out to FONCIA in the final miles.
“It was really nerve racking because there you are doing thirty knots and drop suddenly to 2knots. We just looked at each other and said it is going to be like the first leg!” grinned a relieved Guichard on the dock.
Of how the intensity of the offshore racing is playing out, with the fleet always in visual contact with at least one or two boats over the entire passage he comments:
“It is just so stressful because we are in contact all the time, you see each other. It’s certainly not like on the ORMA 60s where there was just such a difference in terms of boat speed you pretty much knew what the ranking would be before the race.”
From more than 30 knots Guichard’s leading MOD70 slowed to less than four in the millpond conditions for the final five miles off the Cascais coast. FONCIA and Musandam-Oman Sail proved an ever increasing threat, still closing at more than 30kts when the leader was making only four or five knots.
Finally only four miles separated the top four MOD70’s, and Spindrift racing’s margin was cut to less than one mile. In fact Spindrift racing enjoyed a tiny breeze to the line whilst their pursuers arrived on a glassy lake. FONCIA, Musandam-Oman Sail and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, just equidistant from each other, slid under gennaker along the marina breakwater.
Stève Ravussin’s Race for Water finished less than a mile behind them in fifth. After leading from Ireland Ravussin’s crew lost a few hours repairing a small problem with their mainsail halyard hook.
Leg 2 finish Cascais (UTC time)
1-Spindrift racing EUR (Yann Guichard, FRA) September 12 at 5h 37 '36: 2d 15h 37' 36 to 15.5 knots average
2 - FONCIA FRA (Michel Desjoyeaux FRA) at 6h 26 '49: 2d 16h 26' 49 (+49mins 13secs)
3 – Musandam- Oman Sail OMA (Sidney Gavignet FRA) at 6h 33 '22: 2d 16h 33' 22 (+55mins 46secs)
4 - Groupe Edmond de Rothschild FRA (Sébastien Josse FRA) 6h 37 '36: 2d 16h 37' 36 (1 hour)
5 - Race for Water SUI (Steve Ravussin SUI) 06:53:30 2d 16h 53m 30s
+1hour 15m 54s
Full race results online:
Ranking MOD70 European Tour
(Kiel City Race Stage 1 + with + bonus + Dun Laoghaire City Race Stage 2 with bonus)
1 - Spindrift racing (Yann Guichard) 11 +47 +12 +52 = 122 Points
2 - FONCIA (Michel Desjoyeaux) 12 +53 +10 +46 = 121 Points
3-Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse) 10 +44 +11 +41 = 106 Points
4 - Musandam, Oman Sail (Sidney Gavignet) 9 +34 +8 +42 = 93 Points
5 - Race for Water (Steve Ravussin) 8 +38 +9 +35 = 90 Points
Yann Guichard FRA, skipper Spindrift racing: “Another really very close finish! We all compressed again some 50 miles from the finish and then we managed to get away from the leading bunch to be able to win this leg. The first leg was tough, but this one too. We really did not sleep much and worked hard and are really happy to win this leg. The crew are really shattered, not quite but almost like a Route du Rhum. It is just so stressful because we are in contact all the time and you see each other. Not like on the ORMA 60s where there was just such a difference in terms of boat speed you pretty much knew what the ranking would be before the race.
It was really nerve wracking because there you are doing thirty knots and drop down to 2 and we just looked at each other and said it is going to be like the first leg!”
Michel Desjoyeaux, skipper FONCIA: “It was another very tight finish, one we could have done without as we had been speeding along at 30 knots along the Portuguese coastline and just about to change the sails to round the headland at Cascais to head in for the final finish line marks and the wind completely died down. The little wind that was there shifted and we just did not know what to do. There was complete calm over a few hours, lots of current and those behind us caught up and passed us. We did manage to get past them again in the bay, really fighting it out in the shifty breeze on the Bay.”
Sydney Gavignet, skipper Musandam-Oman Sail: “I feel a bit so so, but overall it was a good leg. What is important is the overall and from that point of view we did a good job, we learned a lot, about boat speed especially. We were in the match. We are satisfied. Learning is important for all of the boats, but especially us. We are a bit disappointed because we could have finished second, but only a little bit because it could have been fifth as well. I think it has been very good work. I think FONCIA were a little easier in the light winds, they sailed with the gennaker a little higher in the light winds than everyone else.”
Sébastien Josse, skipper Groupe Edmond de Rothschild: “We are not really happy, finishing fourth into Cascais. Two miles from the finish line we were close but that is racing, sometimes it happens like that. So it is fourth this time. It was a good race, windy to the Fastnet, good weather systems to manage, very close all the time. Always you are seeing one or two other competitors and that makes it intense.
It was good to be in the west, normally that would have been good, but then there was an option to manage when there was no wind, and we had to be west or east and unfortunately the east won out. Otherwise everything is good, we just need to keep working hard and continue to gel.”
Steve Ravussin SUI, skipper Race for Water: “We do not really have enough Swiss rigor on board, which is what I would like to have at times. We lost an hour with a stupid technical issue, which is something you can’t do on a MOD70 where the boats are the same and the crews are so good. We did manage to make up so ground though and were right behind FONCIA at one point. When you are in the front you make some decisions and then behind you make others.”
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[Y-Bar]

Dont know if this has been posted before but a bit of a run down on the class I spotted on Mainsail recently.

http://edition.cnn.c...catamaran-a.cnn

[mr_ryano]

Well done to friends on Musandam Oman Sail today in Cascais

Cascais, Portugal PRESS RELEASE • 14 September 2012 Musandam-Oman Sail staying cool
and in command in Cascais
After three City Race series heats off Cascais it is the quiet consistency of Sidney Gavignet’s hard working Musandam-Oman Sail team that prevail. As a light sea-breeze gave way to a very slightly stronger N’ly wind, the Omani team added their first race win this season to a pair of third places to lead the overall standings in Portugal by one single point.
“It is nice to get a pay off for our hard work.” Smiled Gavignet on the dock at the Marina de Cascais, “ We re-grouped a bit after the second race, because I heard a little shouting on board, so we just cooled things down a little, and so now we are all doing our own work, each doing their job.”
“ And, again, for us it always important to keep a good atmosphere on board. That is key. I said that before the MOD70 European Tour, today that is the key, and that is the key for the future for a round the world race. So we are happy, we stay relaxed.”
The light conditions placed a greater emphasis on starting, though there were opportunities to make gains and losses around the Cascais City Race tracks.
After Groupe Edmond de Rothschild won the first race and Race for Water triumphed in the second, it looked as if the MOD70 European Tour leader Spindrift racing was on course to lead thanks to their two second places.
But on the third start of the day Yann Guichard’s team were judged to have jumped the start gun. Race for Water were closed out on the start line and then had to take a penalty. So Spindrift racing had to wait midway along the first short reaching leg until Race for Water had exonerated themselves, Spindrift racing allowed by the rules to tuck behind the last boat at the first mark rather than re-cross the start.
It was a tough day for FONCIA. They rescued a second from that scrappy third race start but their first two starts left them on the back foot, resulting in two fifth places. Indeed it looked like Michel Desjoyeaux’s team had shed a few unnecessary points in their overall duel with Spindrift racing until Guichard jumped the start.
The first race was to have been a race downwind to Lisbon in a SW’ly breeze of about 8kts but the race committee decided that there was insufficient wind in the Tagus river to ensure fair, meaningful racing and so brought the fleet back upwind to Cascais. Sébastien Josse and the crew of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild took command early and was able to win this first race ahead of Spindrift racing and Musandam-Sail Oman.
Thereafter it was two typical triangle courses. Stève Ravussin’s team nailed the start in the second raced, flying off the line with their gennaker set on Race for Water to build an immediate lead which they held to the finish line.

A well timed start to the third race, leaving the line with good speed, meant Musandam-Oman Sail were able to capitalise from the first mark all the way around the course, leading Michel Desjoyeaux's FONCIA across the finish lie by a comfortable margin.
It was a messy start though as Race for Water were closed out at the committee boat end of the start line. Steve Ravussin's crew then had to take a penalty after they started. And so when Spindrift racing jumped the start gun, as the rule requires them not to restart but to follow the last boat around the first mark, they were therefore forced to stop and wait for Race for Water to exonerate themselves.
FONCIA and Musandam-Oman Sail stayed clear of trouble and ran away with first and second. The race was sailed in NE'ly wind 9-12 kts.

Cascais City Race series after three races.
1- Musandam-Oman Sail (Sidney Gavignet) : 10+10+12 = 32 points
2- Spindrift racing (Yann Guichard) : 11+11+9 = 31 points
3- Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse) : 12+9+10 = 31 points
4- Race for Water (Stève Ravussin) : 9+12+8 = 29 points
5- FONCIA (Michel Desjoyeaux) : 8+8+11 = 27 points
Quote:
Sidney Gavignet, skipper-helm Musandam-Oman Sail:
“It is nice to get a pay off for our hard work. I am usually a very bad starter but we are getting better and have been working on it since Kiel. The secret is to have a plan, a very simple plan. We have the feeling to always be doing the same and so we have been working on that. We have good communication on board now.”
“ We re-grouped a bit after the second race, because I heard a little shouting on board, so we just cooled things down a little, and so now we are all doing our own work, each doing their job. I did some very bad steering in the second race. But me focussing only on my job is giving some space to the others. And that is good for me because I am always disturbed by looking at the trim and the boards. And, again, for us it always important to keep a good atmosphere on board. That is key. I said that before the MOD70 European Tour, today that is the key, and that is the key for the future for a round the world race. So we are happy, we stay relaxed.”
“ It is nice to win of course, but so too it is nice to come ashore knowing we did good work. Now we stay relaxed, no stress. That is the way for the team to make progress. We want positive vibrations coming off everybody, that is important. I am using my Volvo experience here, it is not as long as a Volvo. But the mood in the team is very important, it is a long campaign and then there is another year beyond this. That is what I learned last winter. The atmosphere on board is very important.”
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[mr_ryano]

A tale of three cities - Musandam-Oman Sail
win in Cascais
Musandam-Oman Sail, skippered by Sidney Gavignet with his international crew became the third different team to win City Race series in successive stops of the MOD70 European Tour when they triumphed in the sixth race in Cascais, Portugal.
Musandam-Oman Sail won three of the six races sailed over three days, almost all in light breeze, which proved somewhat contrary to Cascais reputation for reliable strong winds. Smarting after losing second place to FONCIA in the final half mile to the finish of the offshore stage from Dun Laoghaire at dawn in very light airs early on Wednesday morning, Gavignet and his crew realised then they had a small deficit in speed to Michel Desjoyeaux’s crew. They made changes accordingly and, aligned to steady starting and some strong tactics from Jean Francois Cuzon, have remained very consistent, complementing their three wins with two thirds and a fifth to win ahead of Yann Guichard’s Spindrift racing.
Musandam-Oman Sail collect 12 precious points in the chase for the MOD70 European Tour while second place for Spindrift racing ensures they increase their overall lead in the general classification.
Race 5
From a race which was contested in only a very light and patchy SW'ly breeze that never topped more than 6kts and faded to almost nothing in areas, Yann Guichard's crew on Spindrift racing took the winning gun for Race 5 of the City Race series. With Musandam-Oman Sail finishing fifth, Spindrift racing temporarily had the overall series lead by a single point. Although it was Sébastien Josse’s team on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild who made the best start and lead to the first offset mark, on the upwind leg, they ran out of wind pressure in the middle right of the leg.
Spindrift racing and FONCIA chose to stay closer to the Cascais shore where they found some localised acceleration of the wind and were able to round the top mark in first and second.
With the breeze fading and developing big holes, although the MOD70's moved with impressive efficiency in the light winds, Race Direction chose to halt the race after one round of the triangle course. This time the triangle course was upwind-downwind as opposed to the downwind-upwind format of yesterday and Friday.
Race 6
It was in Race 6, the final inshore contest of Cascais, that cemented the overall Cascais City Race series for Musandam-Oman Sail, winning by two points ahead of Spindrift racing.
Three boats were called over the start line early, FONCIA, Race for Water and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.
Musandam-Oman Sail emerged from with the lead and were able to stay ahead around the two lap course.
Race for Water restarted smartly and made a smart good recovery at the top end of the first windward leg. In the end they were able to push Musandam-Oman Sail hard at the finish line.
Results after six City Races
1- Musandam-Oman Sail (Sidney Gavignet) : 10+10+12+12+8+12 = 64 points
2- Spindrift racing (Yann Guichard) : 11+11+9+10+12+9 = 62 points
3- Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse) : 12+9+10+9+9+10 = 59 points
4- Race for Water (Stève Ravussin) : 9+12+8+8+10+11 = 58 points
5- FONCIA (Michel Desjoyeaux) : 8+8+11+11+11+8 = 57 points
MOD70 European Tour Standings. After two offshore stages and three City Race series.
1- Spindrift racing (Yann Guichard) 11+47+12+52+11 = 133 points
2- FONCIA (Michel Desjoyeaux) 12+53+10+46+8 = 129 points
3-Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse) 10+44+11+41+10 = 116 points
4- Musandam-Oman Sail (Sidney Gavignet) 9+34+8+42+12 = 105 points
5- Race for Water (Stève Ravussin) 8+38+9+35+9 = 99 points
Sidney Gavignet, FRA skipper Musandam-Oman Sail (OMA): “ We are happy, we won three races from six which is pretty good. It is great, just great. What is good is that we just work on making progress and we did not need to make big progress, but to just keeping making progress step by step all the time wherever you start from and we started pretty low. We lost crew on the first race in Kiel. We broke the daggerboard in Dublin, so we were starting from quite low, and had some problems. But we kept working. We kept the positive spirit and little by little we get more cards to play the game with. What we learned here, if we had those two cards on the way in, we would have been second from Dublin. One is easy we could not pass the battens across in the light winds and the other is speed with the gennaker. So for sure we are making progress and growing in confidence and that affects the others who lose in confidence, we need to keep progressing.
We have a contract with ourselves, we said our goal was to finish mid fleet, so a podium, and it is start. The points for winning here are not much compared to winning offshore, but it’s a step in the right direction. So we are kind of into our stride. We are better organised.
Jean Francois Cuzon is the tactician and does it all. I am just the helmsman. We are still not at 100% confidence and sometimes we are just looking at the others to see how to go fast. I think one thing we have done well is if you want the tactician-strategist to do the job well you have to leave them the space to do it well. For the Omani’s I am sometimes a bit hard on them, over their shoulders, and that is not good because I am not doing my job so well. And I am putting pressure on them, So on the first day we regrouped a little, and each one is doing their job well. Now I let everyone do their job. »
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[mr_ryano]

Gybing duels to Sines, FONCIA leads
As the fleet of MOD70s on the European tour close on the turning mark off Sines, some 25 miles downwind of the leaders at 0500hrs UTC, the battle for the leadership on Leg 3 – the Portugal offshore stage from Cascais – remains delicately poised.
After more than 120 miles of the 213 miles course which started from Cascais yesterday afternoon, FONCIA and Race for Water are trading gybes downwind, in close contact, with all the intensity of a tight, inshore regatta rather than an offshore stage.
Although Michel Desjoyeaux’s FONCIA had a clear lead around the northernmost turn at the Berlingas island archipelago last night around 2200hrs UTC, with some six miles of advantage over Stève Ravussin’s Race for Water team, during the small hours of the morning Ravussin’s Swiss flagged team caught up when the wind increased and changed on the downwind leg. Race for Water, with Franck Cammas as navigator, was able to sail a more direct fast course towards the mark while FONCIA had to make two gybes, coming from an inshore line in lighter breeze to try and protect their lead.
Making more than 20knots downwind Race for Water consistently sailed a more direct course reducing the deficit to just two miles as the leading pair again gybed offshore. After passing some five miles offshore of Cascais again at around 0200hrs UTC, as the two leaders sailed on opposite gybes Race for Water picked up more breeze offshore and ate still more into the lead of FONCIA, catching to less than one mile. Then at one point Race for Water was credited with the lead but FONCIA rallied, perhaps gaining on one puff of breeze and had was back in front at 0500hrs UTC.
FONCIA had nearly nine miles of distance on the chasing pack of Musandam-Oman Sail, Spindrift racing and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. At the current speed averages the fleet should finish back in Cascais in the early afternoon, after a windward leg from the Sines mark. But considering the compression effect likely at the buoy, the probability of the breeze dropping at changing at sunrise and knowing what we have seen at each of the offshore finishes so far, anything can happen.
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[Marvin]

Foncia wins Offshore Leg 3 Cascais to Cascais!

Back on top of the leaderboard for Michel Desjoyeaux...

[mr_ryano]

Well done for Foncia. I really hope they re-consieder 2013 funding!

FONCIA win Offshore Leg 3, Cascais to Casais, and returns to top of MOD70 European Tour Leaderboard
They lead out of Cascais yesterday at the very start of the 213 miles Leg 3 of the MOD70 European Tour and this afternoon finished first across the Cascais finish line at 16hrs 07mins 44secs local time (UTC/GMT+1) this afternoon. In so doing Michel Desjoyeaux and his crew of FONCIA collected the maximum points on offer for the third stage, 3 bonus points for the start prologue and 12 points for winning the third of the five offshore stages of this MOD70 European Tour.
Race for Water took second at 16hrs 13mins 34 second, five minutes and 50 seconds behind. With Yann Guichard’s Spindrift racing finishing in third place, behind Stève Ravussin’s Race for Water, the FONCIA team return to the top of the MOD70 European Tour leaderboard, now with a 6 point lead on Spindrift racing.
At the start of this offshore race, which was contested mostly in light N’ly breezes and which saw the MOD70’s speeds range from 1 knot to 25 knots, Spindrift racing lead by four points: 133pts for Guichard to 129 points for Desjoyeaux.
This was the first light airs offshore contest yet, taking the five MOD70’s upwind to the Berlingas islands off Peniche, and downwind to a mark at Sines. It proved who is quickest in the gentle breezes, perhaps a preview of the next stage, the leg from Cascais to Marseille – into the Mediterranean –, which starts on Thursday.
For the third successive time there was some compression at the finish and the last miles were some of the more difficult. The biggest separation between the two leaders and the chasing pack occurred around dawn this morning as FONCIA and Race for Water led around the Sines mark, gaining to be some 16 miles ahead of the chasing trio who were going less than half their speed. But that gain was eroded during late morning and early afternoon, with Spindrift racing reducing the delta to four miles.
This time FONCIA held out to win by 5 minutes and 50 seconds from Race for Water. For Stève Ravussin’s crew, with Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper Franck Cammas navigating, this is their best offshore result yet and a clear sign they are on the ascendancy.
Complementing their victory in the Cascais City Race series, which concluded Sunday, Sidney Gavignet’s Musandam-Oman Sail team finished fourth and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild fifth.
Finish Race Around Portugal (local time)
1- FONCIA (Michel Desjoyeaux) Tuesday 18th September, 16:07:44 - 1d 1h 47m 44s
2- Race for Water (Stève Ravussin) at 16:13:34 – 5m 50s behind the winner
3- Spindrift racing (Yann Guichard) at 16:33:56 – 26m 17s behind the winner
4- Musandam-Oman Sail (Sidney Gavignet) à 16:42:50 – 35m 06s behind the winner
5- Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse) at 16:53:25 – 45m 41s behind the winner
Ranking MOD70 European Tour –
(Kiel City Race Stage 1 + with + bonus + Dun Laoghaire City Race Stage 2 with bonus + Race + Cascais City 3rd stage with bonus)
1- FONCIA (Michel Desjoyeaux) 12+53+10+46+8+53 = 182 points
2- Spindrift racing (Yann Guichard) 11+47+12+52+11+43 = 176 points
3- Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse) 10+44+11+41+10+36 = 152 points
4- Race for Water (Stève Ravussin) 8+38+9+35+9+46 = 145 points
5- Musandam-Oman Sail (Sidney Gavignet) 9+34+8+42+12+38 = 143 points

Michel Desjoyeaux, skipper FONCIA: “It is a very valuable win, we gain some valuable points in just 24 hours of racing and the bonus ones at the start of the leg. So it was a good 24 hours, a good day for us. It was very hard because the wind was very light. We knew that before the start. And because we knew that, we followed the strategy very accurately and it was very close to what happened in reality. So we were very lucky in the right perception of where to go at what time. Even if at some times other boats were faster elsewhere on the water, we kept cool on our boat and confident in what we did. And that was enough to save our lead on the fleet. We did a bit of match racing against Race for Water when they came back during the night with a good gybe. Then we had to protect our lead against them.
Stève Ravussin, skipper Race for Water: “It is good. We worked one long day for our best result yet, finishing second. We fought hard for a long time with FONCIA, it is always the same when you have five identical boats, it is very hard to get past them. But it is a good result for us and we are only in the middle of the European Tour and we are getting better. Franck was very good on the strategy. We lost a little time when we caught on a net at the last buoy, we were just ten metres back behind them at the buoy. That’s life, though. We are happy.”

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[Thoma s]

The race is proving as exciting as the Volvo Ocean Race.
For anyone missing the great suspense from the vor, you may want to follow this now.

Sounds like the next leg to Marseille is going to be tight.

Mich Dej is still in the lead but only just only followed by Spindrift.

Franck Cammas is on Race for Water, making an interesting comeback.
It seems the learning curve but be kicking in...


Is anyone else following the race?
Who are you betting on to win the next leg?

[PIL007]

My tip is that Frank will make some big gains but who could bet against Mich...