Foncia wins MOD70 European Tour Leg 1 in Dun Laoghaire

Foncia wins MOD70 European Tour Leg 1 © David Branigan / MOD S.A.

2nd for Spindrift racing in MOD70 European Tour Leg 1 © David Branigan / MOD S.A.

FONCIA wins it at the wire into Dublin

After around 1400 miles and three and a half days of hard racing from Kiel to Dun Laoghaire, Ireland just 77 seconds finally separated the top three MOD70 one design trimarans when the MOD70 European Tour leaders broke the finish line in a dying breeze just after midnight on Dublin Bay.

It was a heart-stopping conclusion to the first of the five offshore legs which takes the fleet from Germany to Genoa, Italy with stops in Dublin, Cascais and Marseille. Michel Desjoyaux's crew of FONCIA had only seized the lead from long-time pacemakers Spindrift racing within the final 15 miles of the finish.

But within 50 metres of the finish line in the fickle, patchy breeze they had slowed to a crawling two knots.

They only just squeezed across the finish line, 31 seconds ahead of Yann Guichard's Spindrift racing which in turn only just held off Sébastien Josse's hard driving young crew on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild who missed out on second by only 46 seconds.

"It was tough the whole time." Commented double Vendée Globe winner Desjoyeaux, skipper of FONCIA" We kept in contact with Spindrift in particular most of the time and then Groupe Edmond de Rothschild seemed to be the biggest threat, but we just never gave up and it paid off on the finish. We played all the little wind shifts and our sail trimming to get ahead and had to constantly trim and adapt to the conditions to get ahead of Spindrift racing."

For Desjoyeaux's crew there was the satisfaction of adding to their Betfair City Race series points win in Kiel, whilst for the Guichard team there was the disappointment at losing out on a leg which they lead for most of the 1238miles distance, through the full range of conditions. But, equally, Guichard reflected that the finish was so close that they might as easily have finished third. And for Josse and his Groupe Edmond de Rothschild team there is the considerable satisfaction of having put together an accomplished performance that came so close to winning.

In fact it was a fitting climax to an engaging first leg which has offered the five strong fleet of MOD70 trimarans a good share of each type of wind conditions, from a robust beat around the Skagen point on the tip of Denmark, a tactical light winds beat in the North Sea, through a high speed plunge down the Channel to Land's End, averaging close to 30kts for a sustained period, and finally a 200 mile beat up the Celtic Sea to the nerve shredding finish.

Though FONCIA lead out of Kiel last Sunday night, Spindrift racing took the lead on the W coast of Denmark on the speedy descent to the North Sea. And from there until the final miles they had looked like the team most likely to win.

In contrast Stève Ravussin's crew on fourth placed Race for Water started only modestly, finishing their Monday morning with a deficit of some 70 miles or so on the leaders. But they worked hard to come back and in the end they were just over 34 minutes behind the winner. Spindrift racing had FONCIA within sight for most of the race and it turn Groupe Edmond de Rothschild were close to the FONCIA since the Channel.

Sidney Gavignet and his crew of Musandam-Oman Sail were unfortunate to lose the breeze as it shut down. Finishing fifth they had been duelling for the entire course with Race for Water, which counts with Volvo Ocean Race winner Franck Cammas and Thomas Coville on board.

MOD70 European Tour, Leg 1 Kiel to Dun Laoghaire: (1238 miles, times in GMT)

1-Michel Desjoyeaux (FONCIA) 23h 19 '09 Sept. 5 in 3d 10h 49' 09
2-Yann Guichard (Spindrift racing) at 23h 19 '40 in 3d 10h 49' 40 (+31secs)
3-Sébastien Josse (Groupe Edmond de Rothschild) at 23h 20 '26 in 3d 10h 50' 26 (1min 17secs)
4-Steve Ravussin (Race for Water) at 23h 54 '25 in 3d 11h 24' 25 (+35min 16sec)
5-Sidney Gavignet (Musandam, Oman Sail) at 00h 54 '00 Sept. 6 in 3d 12h 24' 00 (1h 34m 51sec)

Quotes:

Michel Desjoyeaux, skipper FONCIA: "It was tough the whole time. We kept in contact with Spindrift in particular most of the time and then Groupe Edmond de Rothschild seemed to be the biggest threat, but we just never gave up and it paid off on the finish. We played on the little wind shifts and sail trimming to get ahead and had to constantly trim and adapt to the conditions to get ahead of Spindrift racing. When we are faster than the others it means we are better, there you have it with a one design!"

Yann Guichard, FRA skipper Spindrift racing:"That was a pretty nice finish, three boats within one hundred metres of each other, but we would have preferred to have come in first ahead of FONCIA! We were in the lead pretty much from the start and this is really what makes these boats so special. We are very close on speed and that after four days of being at sea we come in within two minutes of each other is pretty impressive. We are a tiny bit disappointed, but then we could just as easily have come in third, so we hold on to the second place just behind Michel. There pretty much was every type of condition, upwind downing, strong wind and then all those course marks that needed to be respected with the intense and fast sail on the south coast of the UK where we would sail right up close to the piers and shave the rocks almost like on the Figaro.
We had a small issue with our central rudder, which means that we head off to the right, but will try and resolve this problem."

Sébastien Josse (FRA), skipper Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA): "We held back a little in the bad weather but then tried to get back in contact with FONCIA close to Dover and then it really was on the last afternoon that we managed to engage with them. Michel really played with us, not giving an inch, it was like America's Cup racing with lots of tacks and we just caught up and then maintained contact the whole time. We had no technical issues; really the boat seems to be very solid. In terms of the crew work we found it tough to keep to our watch system at the start and then we managed to get a bit of rest after the bad weather in the North Sea and then the last night again, there was no time for rest. They must be pretty shattered and will sleep well tonight after all the manouevers on board and had little rest."

Brian Thompson (GBR) watchleader Musandam-Oman Sail: "It was a great sail. We did really well. Conditions were variable and testing and in the end we were just a bit unlucky. We were ahead of Race for Water and both times they got away from us. But last night we had a great race with them right through the English Channel within sight, doing 32kts. We were ahead of them until about 20 miles before the finish. They were two miles further offshore and we slowed down, they sailed around and gained an hour. We did sail really well. It was a great sail."

Results can be found here

Spindrift racing takes second place in Dublin (from Spindrift racing)

In a nerve wrecking, dramatic grand finale in Dublin Bay, three big MOD70s trimarans battled in light air shortly after 1 AM last night for the gain of the MOD70 European Tour's first leg.

After 1.238 miles of hard sailing in 5 seas, from Kiel in the Baltic sea, through the North Sea, the English Channel, the Irish and the Celtic seas no trimaran managed to create a decisive gap. On top of the fleet since rounding the northern tip of Denmark, Guichard's Spindrift racing knew that anything could happen until the very last miles. Little did he know as he sailed past Land'End with a 5 miles edge over Foncia that the final décision would come within the Bay of Dublin. As the wind progressively died on him, both Foncia (Michel Desjoyeaux) and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse) closed up on the big black and white trimaran. As the very light breeze shifted to the south west, it is Michel Desjoyeaux who very cleverly managed to slip to windward of Spindrift racing, making good his escape by a couple of hundred yards. Guichard and his 5 men crew fought to the last yard and ended up in second place, 31 seconds behind Foncia.

The crew's disappointment only lasted a few minutes as the European Tour goes on without respite. Tomorrow will see the start of the Dublin City races. These short courses regattas have been very much to the liking of Guichard and his men. A chance to dispute Foncia's leadership at the overall ranking.

Yann Guichard, skipper Spindrift racing
:
"That was a pretty nice finish, three boats within one hundred metres of each other, but we would have preferred to have come in first ahead of Foncia! Foncia passed us at the finish and there was just nothing we could do. We knew that we would hit a wind hole towards the finish and then we did manage to get out fifty metres ahead but they passed us to windward downwind and were just faster in the light breeze. They really sailed well. Us leading boats managed to break away and maintain their margins except for on the finish.

We were in the lead pretty much from the start and this is really what makes these boats so special. We are very close on speed and that after four days of being at sea we come in within two minutes of each other is pretty impressive. We are a tiny bit disappointed, but then we could just as easily have come in third, so we hold on to the second place just behind Michel.
There pretty much was every type of condition, upwind downing, strong wind and then all those course marks that needed to be respected with the intense and fast sail on the south coast of the UK where we would sail right up close to the piers and shave the rocks almost like on the Figaro. It was a great race with a good high speed sailing with some changes so the fleet would open up and close up. We did the right thing sailing on the southern course, it was interesting but now we are all pretty shattered.
We have to go off in three days and have not yet thought about the weather. It is going to be pretty taxing over the course of six weeks but also lots of fun. Being consistent and working hard is what is going to count to win the European Tour.
We had a small issue with our central rudder, which means that we head off to the right, but will try and resolve this problem."

A combined attack in Irish waters (from Edmond de Rothschild Group)

Some truly magical moments offshore of Dùn Laoghaire rounded off the first offshore leg of the European Tour, which set out from Kiel three days ago. Shortly before midnight UTC, the top trio suddenly loomed out of the darkness in unison after a theoretical 1,238 miles of racing. With just a few hundred metres between them, the entire podium was decided in one minute and seventeen seconds! On crossing the finish line at 23h20'26'' UTC, the trimaran fitted out by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild secured third place in what proved to be a top-flight battle. Line honours went to Michel Desjoyeaux and his crew, who pipped Yann Guichard's men to the post by thirty-one seconds. On the water, the spectacle was staggering and the sailors themselves, on hearing how little separation there was between them, quickly clocked just how unique a moment it was.

Intensity, contact and enjoyment were the common denominators in the declarations at the finish, as were the smiles on the lips of the six men making up the crew on the MOD Edmond de Rothschild Group. And yet, in order to cover the distance between Germany and Ireland, no effort was spared among the five competing crews. Indeed, from the strong breeze and heavy seas that greeted them after the Skagerak headland to the North of Denmark, to the light airs which marked their entry into the English Channel, not to mention the uncertainty of the weather, which spiced up the last few miles of the race, all the ingredients were there for one almighty battle: "We had some very varied weather conditions in this leg and this diversity really gave the race rhythm, with a great many manœuvres which called for a high presence on deck. In contrast to the Krys Ocean Race, in which we had a very strict watch arrangement, and hence some pre-defined periods for recovery, we had fewer slots allocated for sleep this time. In total we got in a maximum of three hours of sleep in twenty-four hours, but not all in one go," admitted Christophe Espagnon. For his part, bowman Florent Chastel's overriding image was of the human and physical commitment called for by the one-design stamp. "I don't have a Figaro background, like some of the rest of the crew, and my multihull experience was notably forged in the Orma races contested on prototypes. As such I'm new to the delights of the one-design with the intensity of the close-contact racing. We're all on a par here and the winning team is the one which has turned its machine to best account and makes the fewest mistakes. These races on a level pegging encourage us to dig even deeper than before."

Still in contact with the head of the fleet, Sébastien Josse's men battled all the way to the end. Proof of this came, just a few boat lengths from the finish line, as the crew of Gitana XV didn't give up and unfurled the gennaker (large headsail) in a bid to claw back the precious metres, which still separated them from the two leaders. It was one last effort, sadly in vain, but it perfectly demonstrated the mindset and motivation of the men of Gitana Team. The skipper of Edmond de Rothschild Group shared with us his climactic moment from the leg: "Prior to the start, analysis of the grib files and weather routing told us that the race could be decided at the finish. Michel (Desjoyeaux) demonstrated greater ease in the very light airs over the closing hours. Foncia powered up quicker than us and shot off towards the finish line. Victory was decided at that point."

As regards the rhythm at which the competitors crossed the finish line, the arrival in Dùn Laoghaire unquestionably harked back to the legendary leg finishes that have coloured the Solitaire du Figaro for years. However, in contrast to the latter summer classic, which is very familiar among a large number of the sailors competing on the MOD circuit, the European Tour is judged in terms of points rather than time. In this way, after pulling off a double whammy (victory in the Kiel City Race and the ensuing offshore race), Foncia has logically taken the lead in the provisional standing with a credit of 65 points, ahead of Spindrift Racing and Edmond de Rothschild Group, who have respectively racked up a tally of 58 and 54 points. Of note is the fact that it was these same three boats which formed the top trio on leaving Kiel and that earned them bonus points form the coastal course, which bumps up the final points tally.

After a good hot meal, the sailors quickly headed off for a soft bed because on Friday, the six crew of Edmond de Rothschild Group, accompanied by two extra sailors from the team, will get back down to business with the first day's racing in the Dublin City Race: "The European Tour boasts an ambitious programme. We compete in a series of offshore races, which can be wearing, along with a series of City Races, whose format calls for a great deal of energy from the crew. This rhythm is one of the parameters that needs to be taken into account and to win this event outright, you obviously need to be good, but most importantly you need to be consistent," explained the skipper of Edmond de Rothschild Group.

Lack of wind decides fifth place for Musandam-Oman Sail (from Oman Sail)

Musandam-Oman Sail was fifth across the line in Dublin in the early hours of Thursday after three days, 12 hours and 24 minutes of tight racing that saw the fleet of five giant tri-marans finish within an hour and a half of each other after 1238 miles in Leg 1 of the MOD70 European Tour.

Musandam-Oman Sail was fifth across the line in Dublin in the early hours of Thursday after three days, 12 hours and 24 minutes of tight racing that saw the fleet of five giant trimarans finish within an hour and a half of each other after 1238 miles in Leg 1 of the MOD70 European Tour. The Sultanate of Oman's flagship skippered by Sidney Gavignet (FRA) was holding onto fourth place until 20 miles from the finish after a thrilling 36 hour duel with Race for Water but ultimately the lack of wind decided the final ranking.

"We were in sight of Race for Water all the way from Norfolk to just short of Dublin. We stayed ahead all day Wednesday in the beat up to Wales and across to Ireland. But just before nightfall we were separated laterally by about two miles with them further offshore, we simply ran out of wind," said helmsman Brian Thompson (GBR).

"But it was a fantastic race and our crew worked really well together in variable and testing conditions. We have the boat speed but we were just unlucky at the end. If our luck had held the entire fleet would have finished within half an hour of each other. That's pretty amazing."

Omani crew Mohsin Al Busaidi who was the first Arab to sail non-stop around the world described the Leg 1 course from Kiel to Dublin as fascinating especially passing famous landmarks of so many different countries.

"We had a patch of rough weather for about seven hours off Denmark's famed Skagen Punt, we dodged the giant oil and gas platforms in the North Sea, saw impressive wind generator blades off the Thames Estuary and had a super fast downwind chase to England's Land's End in just over three days," said Al Busaidi.

Thompson said that besides sending navigator Jeff Cuzons up the mast twice in rough upwind conditions to fix the lazy jack, they had no problems on Musandam-Oman Sail.

"The boat was fabulous. She is a fantastic machine, really well designed, well built and capable of being pushed really hard and fast in all wind speeds and angles. We hit 36 knots shooting down England and comfortably did 18 knots upwind."

Thompson said a highlight was discovering that Omani Fahad Al Hasni is not only a talented helmsman and tactician but also has a great knack for photography.

"He took such awesome shots that he's definitely created an extra job for himself on board." Skipper Sidney Gavinet said the crew had improved a lot as a team.

"The close in-port races last week before the start of Leg 1 start in Kiel, Germany were like racing dinghies in a canal and helped us enormously. Our crew work is getting slicker. The results will come and we are really looking forward to the next race," said Gavignet.