2011 KRYS MATCH - 6/8 OCT 2011 LA TRINITE SUR MER - DAY 2 - Race 4 (Photo by Sea & Co.)
Today, Monday 23 January, at the Dusseldorf Boat Show, the much anticipated 2012 MOD70 European Tour was unveiled. Starting on 29 August, five weeks of intensive racing will see the six competing MOD70s race nearly 5,000 miles in a mix of offshore competition, and races in the heart of five cities in five countries : Germany, Ireland, Portugal, France and Italy.
The six MOD70s are helmed by skippers with some of the biggest hauls of oceanic medals – Michel Desjoyeaux, Sebastien Josse, Sidney Gavignet, Roland Jourdain, Steve Ravussin and Yann Guichard. The teams will be setting off from Kiel in Germany, on the Baltic Sea, towards the east coast of Ireland, after a rather unfamiliar passage via the North coast of the Shetland Islands which will see the teams reach 60° North – as far north as Cape Horn is south.
After stopping off in the Emerald Isle, the teams will tackle the descent of the North Atlantic, heading for Cascais in Portugal, for an eight-day stopover before heading east.
Beyond the Pillars of Hercules, the MOD70s will cross the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea to tie up at the feet of the Bonne Mère in Marseille (France), while the final leg of the European Tour 2012 will take the MOD70s on a big looped circuit around the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, prior to climbing up to an Italian port looking out onto the Ligurian Sea…
At the end of this tour of Europe, the fleet will have covered 5,000 miles and crossed seven seas and one ocean.
Start : Kiel, Germany, 2 September :
Steeped in maritime tradition, Kiel is the city which played host to the Course de l’Europe during the first edition back in 1985, and again in 1997, for the 4th leg. For this 2012 edition of the MOD70 European Tour, the local authorities were the first to commit themselves wholeheartedly to the project. Alongside KIEL.SAILING CITY, the online gambling company, Betfair, will be present at both the legendary Kiel Week, to be held in June 2012, and the German stopover for the MOD70 European Tour 2012.
Uwe Wanger, Managing Director of Kiel Marketing GmbH : “In collaboration with Betfair, we’re proud to play host to the first leg of the European Tour, an event that forms part of the MOD70 circuit, for their first race in Germany. These spectacular boats represent technology at its highest level – a point they have in common with our new partner Betfair. With this stopover, we’ll be punctuating a series of prestigious sailing gatherings and we’re hoping for between 50.000 and 80,000 spectators at the heart of Kiel to witness the racing.”
Marco Simeoni, President of MOD Ltd. : “Today we’re happy to be able to present the first edition of the race around Europe, aboard MOD70s. Since 2009, we’ve been working on putting together a one-design class and a coherent circuit for racers, boat owners and our partners. With the current economic context colouring Europe, things haven’t been easy but we’ve managed to pull it off. The cities of Kiel, Marseille and Cascaïs are the first three cities to have signed up alongside us and the contracts with the remaining two cities involved in this project will be signed in the coming days. Featuring 5,000 miles, 5 countries, 5 host venues and 5 City races, this MOD European Tour will be the setting for a competitive and cultural oasis! Thanks to the one-design format, which guarantees sporting equity, we’re sure to witness some great on-the-water confrontations between the MOD70 crews competing in this 2012 season.”
Hervé Favre, Event Manager OC ThirdPole : “To organise a European tour is an opportunity to revive the great moments in the history of oceanic multihulls, but it’s also a genuine challenge in every possible way. This is true in logistical terms first of all, as not all the ports in Europe can accommodate 6 or 7 trimarans measuring 22 metres long and 17 metres wide. It’s also true in sporting terms, with the need to construct a balanced circuit and some interesting legs, with around 3 days spent at sea between cities. Finally there’s the marketing aspect, with our desire to select cities whose image and notoriety are recognised on the international playing field, and who are keen to communicate their outward-looking attitude to the sea. We’ve also endeavoured to involve the Teams and their partners, who have guided the final decisions. Launching a new event is never easy, particularly today, but we’re proud of this very fine course, which will support the increase in power of the new Multi One Design Class”.
Michel Desjoyeaux, skipper of the MOD70 Foncia: “This MOD70 version of the European Tour 2012 will be the second event of the season. It will be longer and more intensive than the Krys Ocean Race, but I bet you that the crew of Foncia will be very much into their stride! Added to that, the European Tour isn’t a complete unknown for me as I raced aboard Crédit Agricole, the winning boat in the first edition back in 1985. I sailed it again in 1993, aboard La Poste. It’s always a real thrill because there are a number of intriguing passages to be negotiated. The race zone really deserves to be highlighted! Alternating between offshore legs and inshore events appeals to me since it’ll give us the opportunity to show our different guests what the MOD 70 Foncia is all about during the stopovers. These moments of sharing and exchanges aboard our fantastic machines are always rich and interesting.”
Sidney Gavignet, skipper of the MOD70 Oman Sail : “Our MOD70s are capable of covering great distances in a short space of time so they’re really cut out for this type of course around Europe! For my part, I’ve already had the opportunity to compete in European races in 1993 and 1997. I have some very fond memories of them with some great battles on the water. I expect nothing less in this edition.
This European Tour really ties in with the agenda that my partner OMAN had in mind, which involves promoting tourism among the European public across the sultanate.”
Yann Guichard, skipper of the MOD70 Spindrift racing : “I’m more familiar with transatlantic events and this will be my first participation in a European Tour. I’m very enthusiastic about the idea of helming my MOD70 Spindrift Racing over this course, which will enable me to discover the race zones, particularly as regards the first leg between Kiel and Ireland. Another first for me is alternating between offshore and inshore races, especially over the course of a month! It’s going to be raced at a steady pace and we’ll have to be consistent and perform well, whatever the race format.”
Roland Jourdain, skipper of the MOD70 Veolia Environnement: “It promises to be an enthralling sail… Already at the time of the multihull, and also the monohull, all the racers adored the race. On a sporting level, it’s a superb mix of offshore and coastal courses. On a multihull we’re sure to have a ball!”
Stève Ravussin, skipper of the MOD70 Race for Water : “Germany is a great country for sailors, as it has a particularly important place on the map of Europe. As such I’m very happy and proud to be part of this first European Tour in Kiel. Adventure, speed and adrenalin, a mixture of spectacular offshore races and city races on an equal footing… it is the epitome of everything I love about sailing! In addition to the sports competition, I’m delighted to be able to raise awareness amongst adults and children about problems relating to water… Indeed, with the MOD 70 Race For Water, ambassador for the Multi One Attitude Foundation, we’re going to spread this message to the four corners of Europe as well as battling to sail some fantastic races!”
Sébastien Josse, skipper of the MOD70 Edmond de Rothschild Group : “T he European Tour is proposing an ambitious programme and it will be a difficult race. For three weeks we’re going to link together a series of offshore and city race formats at a steady pace and the team will have very little time to catch their breath. This second event of the 2012 season will showcase the crews’ stamina and their ability to adapt to the switches in format. The North-South route of the race is likely to provide us with some highly varied conditions. The northern part may give us some really lively conditions at that time of year, whilst the second part, in southern Europe, should prove to be milder. However, that’s just a hypothesis as the Mediterranean is never short of surprises and could very well dish out an entirely different scenario. The European Tour will be intense with a line-up of six honed crews after the Krys Ocean Race.”
The MOD70 European Tour 2012 in brief :
- First edition of the European Tour in MOD70s.
- 6 competing sailing teams (6 crew members per MOD70)
- 5,000 miles
- 5 countries visited: Germany (Kiel), Ireland, Portugal (Cascaïs), France (Marseille), Italy.
- 5 offshore races and 5 inshore events (city race and speed match)
Stopover schedule :
Kiel (Germany) from 29 August to 2 September
Ireland from 5 to 9 September
Cascaïs (Portugal) from 12 to 20 September
Marseille (France) from 23 to 30 September
Italy from 3 to 7 October
The multihull and the Course de l’Europe :
1985 :
- 1st edition of the Course de l’Europe created by Gérard Petipas with the support of the European Community
- Start on 9 August
- 8 legs: from Kiel (Germany) to Porto Cervo (Italy)
- Victory aboard a multihull for Philipe Jeantot on Crédit Agricole
1987 :
- Start on 12 July
- 8 legs from The Hague (Holland) to San Remo (Italy)
- Victory aboard a multihull for Daniel Gilard on Jet Services
1989 :
- Start on 17 July
- 6 legs from Hamburg (Germany) to Toulon (France)
- Victory for Serge Madec on Jet Services V who won 5 of the 6 legs.
1991 :
- Start on 12 May
- 6 legs from Lorient (France) to Santa Marguerita (Italy)
- Victory aboard a multihull for Laurent Bourgnon on R.M.O, just 93 seconds ahead of Mike Birch
1993 :
- Start on 23 May
- 6 legs from La Rochelle (France) to Stockholm (Sweden)
- Victory aboard a multihull for Loïck Peyron on Fuji
1995 :
- Start on 20 May
- 7 legs from Venice (Italy) to London (England)
- Victory aboard a multihull for Loïck Peyron on Fuji
1997 :
- Start on 1st June
- 5 legs from Cherbourg (France) to Stockholm (Sweden)
- Victory aboard a multihull for Loïck Peyron on Fuji
1999 :
- 2 legs from Genoa (Italy) to Lorient (France)
- Victory aboard a multihull for Loïck Peyron on Fuj
Dates to remember: 2011 / 2012
25 January 2012: Launching of the MOD70 SPINDRIFT RACING
12 april 2012: Launching of the MOD70 OMAN SAIL
January to May 2012: Launching of the MOD70 nr.7
Race Programme: 2012 / 2014
7 July 2012: Start of the KRYS OCEAN RACE
2 September 2012: European Tour
June 2013: European Tour
November 2013 – April 2014: Ocean World Tour (6 stopovers, 5 oceans, 12 racing teams)
August 2014: KRYS OCEAN RACE
2011 KRYS MATCH- 6/8 OCT 2001 La Trinite sur Mer (FRA) , Day1
Banque Populaire V Crew 2012 Jules Verne Trophy Winners (Photo courtesy of BPCE)
The fourteen sailors aboard the Maxi trimaran Banque Populaire V just entered history of offshore racing by becoming the fastest men around the globe with crew, after 45 days 13 hours 42 minutes 53 seconds of sailing*. Loïck Peyron and his crew improved the reference time of the Jules Verne Trophy held by Groupama 3 since March 2010 by 2 days 18 hours 1 minute and 59 seconds.
Historical record for Banque Populaire !
Departed on November 22nd at 09:31:42 Paris time (08:31:42 GMT), after having crossed the imaginary line between Ushant (Finistère-France) and Lizard Point (southern tip of England), the Maxi Banque Populaire V crossed the finish line of the Jules Verne Trophy at 23:14:35 Paris time (22:14:35 GMT) this Friday. She undertook this sailing around the world in 45 days 13 hours 42 minutes 53 seconds days at an average speed of 26.51 knots, covering a total distance of 29 002 miles.
Launched in August 2008 in Lorient (Morbihan-France),the giant trimaran holding the colours of Banque Populaire has also established several referenced time on various partials officially listed by the WSSRC for her first world tour:
Equator / Equator record in 32 days, 11 hours, 51 minutes and 30 seconds
Indian Ocean crossing record (Cape Agulhas / South of Tasmania) in 8 days 7 hours 22 minutes and 15 seconds
Maxi Trimaran Banque Populaire V ( Photo © B.STICHELBAUT/BPCE)
Under the leadership of the skipper Loïck Peyron, Thierry Chabagny, Florent Chastel, Thierry Duprey du Vorsent, Kevin Escoffier, Emmanuel Le Borgne, Frédéric Le Peutrec, Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant, Ronan Lucas, Pierre-Yves Moreau, Yvan Ravussin, Xavier Revil, Brian Thompson, Juan Vila and onshore router Marcel van Triest, are the new holders of the Jules Verne Trophy*.
Loïck Peyron, skipper of the Maxi Banque Populaire V : The feeling from the guys onboard : Emotion and Happiness ! We have filled a good part of the contract! We will now appreciate our victory between us and will return in Brest tomorrow morning to share this beautiful story with everyone. Our memories are full of wonderful images: the departure, icebergs, albatrosses, the Kerguelen Islands… When you sail around the world in 45 days, you see many things. The only one we did not get is Cape Horn but this frustration is quickly forgotten with the record we now have in hands. We are very proud !
Brian Thompson : “Everyone is really excited on board and we are looking forward to seeing everybody tomorrow morning. This has been an incredible trip around the planet, almost a dream ride. And that is because of the quality of the boat, of the preparation and most of all to the incredible crew on board. I am very fortunate to have sailed with Loïck, the best all round multihull sailor there is, and the rest of the team that are so talented, industrious, dedicated, fun and welcoming to an English guy with schoolboy French! It feels absolutely fantastic. At the same time, to become the first Briton to sail around the world non-stop 4 times, is just amazing and feels very special”
Banque Populaire V Crew Celebrate Winning The Jules Verne Trophee (Photo curtesy of BPCE)
JULES VERNE TROPHY
Start date and time : November 22nd 2011 at 09:31:42 Paris time (08:31:42 GMT)
Arrival date and time at Ushant: January 6th 2012 at 23:14:35 Paris time (22:14:35 GMT)
Distance: 29 002 miles
Average speed : 26.51 knots
New reference time on the Jules Verne Trophy* : 45 days 13 hours 42 minutes 53 seconds
Time difference with Groupama 3’s record in 2010: 2 days 18 hours 1 minute and 59 seconds
* Under the WSSRC approval (World Sailing Speed ??Record Council).
Loïck Peyron and his crew are expected at the Marina du Château, quai Jean-Francois La Perouse in Brest (France) at around 10:30am this Saturday, January 7th.
Banque Populaire Equator (Photo courtesy of BPCE)
Actual, Winner Of The 2010 Vendée Saint-Pétersbourg
A clean race without any mistakes… a race that finishes for Yves Le Blévec and his crew with a win that they fought hard for showing both determination and intelligence. It offers Yves Le Blévec revenge in two ways: a revenge for the first leg, when they lost out by some 75 seconds, but above all revenge too after fate forced Actual to retire shortly after the start of the last Transat Jacques Vabre.
Right up to the finish, the pressure was on Yves Le Blévec. Even if, since the 0600 hrs rankings from this morning, the crew of Actual knew they were almost certainly heading for victory, the red and green trimaran had to cross the line before the skipper could express all his emotion.
Immediately, friends and family went on board, accompanied by Eric Loizeau, who raced with them in the first leg. An achievement that simply had to be celebrated by the four men, who were behind this success: Eric, Yves, but also Ronan Deshayes, who prepared the boat and sailed this time too, and finally, Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant, who brought along his skills as a trimmer and his experience of ocean racing on three-hulled machines.
A win achieved in several stages
Over the final miles, the trimaran flying the number 53, could be seen zooming along at more than twenty knots under gennaker with one reef in the mainsail. A few gybes later, Actual crossed the finishing line at 13 hrs 29 mins 25 secs GMT, after racing for 5 days 21 hours 10 minutes and 25 seconds. In fact, Actual’s win has its origins back in the North Sea, before they made their way through the Dover Straits, as Yves and his crew made gains thanks to a small tactical option further west than Franck Yves Escoffier’s Crêpes Whaou ! 3. As they made their way into the English Channel, the two leaders were twenty-five miles apart, and hoping to close the gap, Franck-Yves Escoffier attempted an option close to the coast of Brittany, while Actual sought out the north-westerly wind that was forecast. The result of their respective strategies was that Franck-Yves’s red trimaran was some fifty miles behind by daybreak. Maintaining his sense of fair play, the skipper of Crêpes Whaou ! 3 admitted this was a do or die option, as he knew that it could worsen his situation… “It will either work out or be a disaster,” racers often say, as they make one last ditch attempt to regain control.
Franck-Yves Escoffier is due to cross the finishing line at around 1630 hrs GMT. Whatever happens, both crews will have contributed to making this race what it was and it should mark a new beginning in the development and promotion of the Multi50 class.
From the boats
Yves Le Blévec (Actual): It’s difficult to describe. Obviously we’re very pleased. It was a really exciting race. On the outward leg as well as on the return leg. We overtook, got overtaken and overtook again. I’m just so pleased to be the first back to Saint Gilles. It was all really down to some small tactical choices. In the North Sea, we gained a slight advantage. We decided to continue with our option in the English Channel and it certainly paid off.
The crew really worked well together: Jean-Bapt (Le Vaillant), whenever he talked about us, called us the young ones. In fact, we’re really a crew of old-timers. It’s true that I sometimes am not in a good mood, but that livens things up for the others…”
Positions in the 1400 hrs rankings
- 1 Actual (Y Le Blévec) finished on 6th June at 13hrs 29mins 25secs
- 2 Crêpes Whaou ! 3 (FY Escoffier) 67.3 miles from the finish
- 3 Crêpes Whaou ! 2 (L Féquet) 211.2 miles from the leader
- 4 Région Aquitaine Port-Médoc (L Roucayrol) 349.3 miles from the leader
- 5 Naviguez Anne Caseneuve (A Caseneuve) 355.1 miles from the leader
- 6 FenêtréA-Cardinal (E Le Roux) 410.9 miles from the leader
- 7 La mer révèle nos sens (P Hingant) 452.2 miles from the leader
- 8 CLM (H Cléris) 525.3 miles from the leader
Vendee To St. Petersburg (Photo by Vincent Curutchet / DPPI / Vendée Saint Petersbourg)
Less than 150 miles to go. Next to nothing for these machines capable of speeding along at an average speed of twenty knots. That is all that faces the two multihulls which have been leading this first leg since the start. In which order will they finish? Between Crêpes Whaou 3 ! and Actual, the gap has remained so small, that no one is willing to make any forecasts. Behind them, the wind, which has finally freshened, is enabling the pack to close the gap a little bit, which means we can look forward to a fight in the return leg…
They may not be spending their holidays together but these two just seem to want to stick together out on the water. Yesterday evening the gap between Franck-Yves Escoffier and Yves Le Blévec widened to more than twenty miles for the first time in the race. But that was only to last as long as a night in the far north of Europe… A few hours later, the green trimaran was back up with her all-red rival. The only thing we can be sure of is that on Monday we are to see the conclusion of this first act. Franck-Yves Escoffier, used to clear wins, remains fully determined in spite of his cheerful disposition. Yves Le Blévec is only dreaming of one thing and that is achieving his first win. We cannot question the motivation of each of the two crews, who are vying for victory. It is all likely to be done to a few little details: a puff of air that someone picks up, a little more experience of multihull sailing for one, a slight advantage in a breeze for the other…Who knows? Whatever happens, between these two competitors history is being made, just as each time two close rivals battle it out for the finish and show utter respect for the other. There’s likely to be a lot of lively discussions in the bar in Saint-Petersburg Yacht Club.
The gang of four
While third place is most likely to go to Loïc Féquet and his mates, unless there is a major upset on board Crêpes Whaou ! 2, the battle is raging for fourth place, and honour is at stake for the older multihulls. While we had imagined a duel between Pierre Hingant’s crew (La mer révèle nos sens) and Anne Caseneuve’s (Croisières Anne Caseneuve), two other competitors are now fighting over the remains of the feast: Lalou Roucayrol (Région Aquitaine Port-Médoc) has continued to assert the qualities of his multihull, when the breeze gets up. He has now given us proof of that by entering this battle for fourth place, after being more than fifty miles behind yesterday at the same time. In his wake, Erwan Le Roux (FenêtréA Cardinal) wants to show too that they still have that talent and determination. Erwan has just achieved two consecutive wins, as a tactician in the Tour de France Sailing Race, one of the most demanding crewed events in the European circuit, and it was certainly not luck that enabled him to do that. As for Hervé Cléris (CLM) he is not so far back and can still hope for them all to bunch up as he aims for fifth place. Only the c r e w o f ÀR 2 f r e e l y a d m i t s t h a t t h e y a r e o u t o f t h i s f i g h t : f o r E t i e n n e H o c h é d é a n d h i s c r e w m e n , t h e y a r e j u s t l o o k i n g f o r w a r d t o b e a b l e t o t a k e p a r t i n t h e P a r a d e o f V e s s e l s i n f r o n t o f t h e P e t e r a n d P a u l f o r t r e s s . T h i s i s n o t d o w n t o a l a c k o f a m b i t i o n b u t m o r e a q u e s t i o n o f g e t t i n g t h i n g s i n t o p e r s p e c t i v e a n d b e i n g r e a l i s t i c a n d a l s o m a k i n g a w i s e c h o i c e .
F r o m t h e b o a t s :
E t i e n n e H o c h é d é ( ÀR 2 )
W e a r e d u e t o p a s s t h e E u r o p e B r i d g e f o u r o r f i v e h o u r s f r o m n o w . W e r e m o v i n g a l o n g n i c e l y d o i n g 1 4 – 1 5 k n o t s . It’s not very warm on board the boat, as aluminium is not a good insulator and with the sea temperature down to around 8-9°… The end of this voyage is likely to be faster and we should see the full potential of our old boat. As soon as the wind freshens, she rises up on her foils and can start to achieve great speeds. But in light airs… I had thought of taking off the foils as they have slowed us down so much up until now.”
Franck-Yves Escoffier (Crêpes Whaou 3 !)
“What was destined to happen is happening. We thought we had got ourselves a good lead last night and there you go, Actual is coming back at us again. This is going to be the umpteenth time we have found ourselves racing together. It all starts again with everything to play for. We’re determined to lead the way right up to the finishing line. We’ve been enjoying some exceptional moments: it was a fantastic night as we sailed along at twenty knots on smooth seas. Up here, night only lasts for a couple of hours. Yesterday there was a crescent moon. The moonlight, semi-darkness and clear skies… One of those moments that we’ll never forget, as it was so magical… For the finish, we’ll see. We’ve got a joker up our sleeve with Antoine (Koch) on board. He has just completed the transatlantic race from Concarneau – St-Barts, and is still hot and also an excellent navigator…”
Yves Le Blévec (Actual)
« Franck-Yves is a nice fellow: he always says nice things about you, but that isn’t stopping him from going that bit faster! For the moment, he still has the advantage. We’re going to try to keep fighting right up to the end. We took turns in getting some rest to be able to think clearly about this final stretch. We know that the slightest mistake could cost us a lot, so we want to be in good shape for these final miles. The race is fascinating and we’re also discovering some magnificent landscapes; our only regret is that we can’t stop.”
Reminder
ETA for the first two boatsThe ETA is now between 0400 and 0500 hrs GMT. A radio session with the winners is planned for 1000hrs GMT. (You have to add on six hours of sailing to get from the finishing line to the pontoon in St-Petersburg).
Rankings at 1400hrs GMT
- 1 Crêpes Whaou ! 3 (FY Escoffier) 147.7 miles from the finish
- 2 Actual (Y Le Blévec) 6.1 miles from the leader
- 3 Crêpes Whaou ! 2 (L Féquet) 291.3 miles from the leader
- 4 Naviguez Anne Caseneuve (A Caseneuve) 403.8 miles from the leader
- 5 La mer révèle nos sens (P Hingant) 422.4 miles from the leader
- 6 Région Aquitaine Port-Médoc (L Roucayrol) 433.4 miles from the leader
- 7 FenêtréA-Cardinal (E Le Roux) 439.1 miles from the leader
- 8 CLM (H Cléris) 456.5 miles from the leader
- 9
A100 Majan Passing a Container Ship (Photo by Mark Covell / Oman Sail)
Just 97 days after Oman Sail’s A100 multihull Majan left her mooring in Muscat, the crew has completed tracing out the course of the Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race, crossing the longitude of cape Ras Al Hadd for the second time yesterday at 23:30 GMT.
Leg 5 has been a magical final journey between the Cape Piai (Malaysia) and Majan’s home, steeped in history and spirituality courtesy of India’s Cape Comorin – but also high on emotion for the crew: whilst en route towards home, Mohsin Al Busaidi received a phone call informing him of the birth of his daughter!
After an activity-packed stopover in Singapore, Majan set sail again and crossed the longitude of Cape Piai on the 27th of April, welcoming on board a new crew member, Ali Hamad Ambusaidi, who shared his enthusiasm with onboard reporter Mark Covell: “I have always wanted to sail in the Indian Ocean and see the long rolling waves”, he said. “I have also wished that one day I could sail on Majan. Now I get the chance to do both at once.”
Ali Hamad Ambusaidi (Photo by Mark Covell / Oman Sail)
After a slow start, day 2 brought speed back on the menu, and thanks to warm winds Majan was starting to stretch her legs on fabulously flat seas, which meant the crew could enjoy the trimaran’s power without any shaky movement, under a glorious full moon… “Hard to beat,” as Mark Covell put it! The next day brought even better news, as Mohsin became the father of a little girl named Thura, a happy event that Paul Standbrige, Majan’s skipper, had never had celebrated on board a boat before despite his packed racer’s career.
Mohsin’s patience was certainly put to the test since Majan soon became trapped in light airs like a “fly in a sticky web.” As Mark Covell reported: “There is so little wind and the sea lies so still and lifeless. It’s 40º on deck and 33º in the water. Eating a hot meal is the last thing you want and sleep is harder to achieve in your roasting bunk. Will we ever get to Muscat?” It certainly has been a long slog back home, and it eventually took 15 days and 19 hours to complete the fifth and final leg, cape to cape (Piai to Ras Al Hadd).
Majan Crew At Sunset (Photo by Mark Covell / Oman Sail)
With the pressure of the ticking clock lifted, Mark Covell sat down at his keyboard one last time while Majan was making her way towards Muscat: “As is the same with so many ocean voyages, we’re happy to have finished safely, but sad that it’s all over. By the time we get to the dock 140 nm from here we will have logged 20,419 nm sailed. The sun is rising over us and more poignantly it’s rising over Oman. We are home!”
97 days after their departure, the crew will now be duly welcomed and celebrated by their team and the Omani public after tracing out this new and challenging course that links together the Middle East, Africa, Australia and Asia, ahead of the first official edition of the Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race planned for spring 2012. OC Events Asia, organisers of the Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race, would like to send Majan’s crew heartfelt congratulations for having superbly written the first chapter of a story bound to open new horizons!
Leg 5 in figures…
• Distance: 3,200 nm / 5,900 km
• Dock to dock:16 days 1 hours 00 minutes
• Cape to Cape: 15 days 19 hours 30 minutes
Mohammed and Sidney Helming Majan (Photo by Mark Covell / Oman Sail)
