The Défi Azimut 48 Hours: Dalin reminds his rivals that he's fast on all points of sail
by Ed Gorman / IMOCA Globe Series 16 Sep 10:03 BST
The Défi Azimut 48 Hours © Vincent Curutchet / De´fi Azimut
It was the last race before the start of the 2024 Vendée Globe and this year's Défi Azimut-Lorient Agglomération 48 Hours solo race, which finished yesterday, proved a superb final work-out for the 19 IMOCAs that took part.
A 455-nautical mile course on the Bay of Biscay that had a bit of everything - powerful downwind and reaching, plus a variety of upwind conditions - made for a complex and demanding challenge when skippers had no time to sleep, with one manoeuvre to execute after another.
Once again, and for the third time in his career, it was Frenchman Charlie Dalin at the helm of MACIF Santé Prévoyance who ran out a convincing winner, ahead of Britain's Sam Goodchild on Vulnerable in second place, and France's Jérémie Beyou on Charal rounding out the podium in third place.
The top-10 finished in just over three-and-a-half hours with Nico Lunven on Holcim-PRB fourth, Sam Davies on Initiatives-Coeur fifth and Yoann Richomme in sixth place on Paprec Arkéa. While foilers occupied the first 12 places, the best daggerboard-configured boat was Violette Dorange's Devenir in 13th place, just ahead of Louis Duc on Fives Group-Lantana Environnement.
All bar one of the 19 starters completed the course, the one retirement being Frenchman Romain Attanasio on Fortinet-Best Western whose boat dismasted while power-reaching on Leg 2. With the Vendée Globe less than two months away, Attanasio's team is now 100% focused on sourcing a replacement mast and is understood to have a number of options available to them.
For Dalin, who won the New York Vendée-Les Sables d'Olonne transatlantic race last time out, this performance was another strong validation of the work he and his team have been doing in preparation for his second Vendée Globe, when he hopes to go one place better than last time when he finished second on corrected time.
Once again the 40-year-old skipper originally from Le Havre was ruthless when he had the opportunity to take the lead, heading upwind on Leg 3. His Guillaume Verdier-designed foiler came alive to windward and from there he was never headed. At the finish, he was nearly 10 miles ahead of Goodchild.
"This is the last race before the Vendée Globe, so it's always good to add a victory to the record, especially after the New York Vendée-Les Sables win," he said on the dockside at La Base marina in Lorient. "But we still have work to do. There are many things to fine-tune to be fully ready."
Dalin was asked about his boat's versatility - fast both off the wind and upwind. His answer underlines his belief that a strong Vendée Globe performance requires an all-rounder. "The Vendée Globe isn't just downwind sailing," he said, "there's upwind and reaching. We experienced all of these conditions last time so, for me, it is essential to have a boat that can adapt to different situations.
"Versatility was a strength of my previous boat (Apivia)," he added, "but this one is even better. It's fast in all conditions - upwind, downwind, reaching - and, on top of that, it's more comfortable, though we're still far from luxury on board!"
For Goodchild this 48-hour sprint was the perfect return to racing after his dismasting in the New York Vendée-Les Sables race. The Briton, who won the IMOCA Globe Series championship last year with a string of third places in his debut season in the Class, was delighted to add his first second-place finish to his impressive CV.
"Another podium is great," he said, "it's always a pleasure, especially since last time I dismasted. But this time, finishing on the podium is fantastic and I did better than third place for once, so that's really satisfying."
Goodchild is continuing to demonstrate that although his boat (the former LinkedOut) is older than the latest designs in the fleet, not least Dalin's flying machine, he is a firm contender for a podium in the Vendée Globe. "Yeah, the boat isn't new anymore," he acknowledged, "but I'm going to give it my all and sail cleanly. So far, things are going well and my focus is on the Vendée Globe."
One way to understand just how formidable Goodchild is on the water, is to hear what Beyou had to say about him after trying to catch him on this short-course race. "Sam sailed really well," summarised the Charal skipper on the dockside. "He made no mistakes, manoeuvred perfectly and was incredibly consistent. To beat him you have to do something extra."
Beyou was exhausted after a demanding course that never allowed for downtime. "This 48-hour format is unique," he said. "You don't sleep, you're constantly doing manoeuvres at full speed. And executing them quickly is a good thing too because it shows you can do them properly. It's not just about completing a manoeuvre, everything needs to be well-organised, otherwise you risk leaving something behind."
Beyou was exhausted after a demanding course that never allowed for downtime. "This 48-hour format is unique," he said. "You don't sleep, you're constantly doing manoeuvres at full speed. And executing them quickly is a good thing too because it shows you can do them properly. It's not just about completing a manoeuvre, everything needs to be well-organised, otherwise you risk leaving something behind."
After a tough race, Beyou was happy overall with his boat's performance. "Now I'm eager to get back to sea in November in the Vendée Globe. I felt really good on the boat and (my performance) reassured me that my machine is in top shape. There are still a few small adjustments to make, some optimisations, but we'll take the time to analyse everything before the Vendée starts," he said.