Brest Grandes Ecoles wins the offshore leg from Dieppe to Saint-Cast, Côtes D'Armor

The Raz de Barfleur and Blanchard are famous for being difficult to cross. For this second offshore leg, it is the opposite : wind is erratic on a glassy sea. It actually went into favour of the student crew of Brest Grandes Ecoles, inspired winner of this especially tactic leg!

Having left the city of Dieppe yesterday at noon, the TFV fleet is heading to Saint-Cast, Côtes d’Armor. The start is given in front of the Normandy cliffs in a 5 knots north eastern wind. With their spinnakers up, it takes them 20 minutes only to cross the first buoy.

The student boat TU Delft takes the head of the fleet, followed by Nantes Saint Nazaire. Soon, the boats have to deal with the stream. No doubt that it will play a major part in this leg. Two hours later, in front of Fécamp, the fleet is making its way with a 9 knots speed.
Around midnight, as forecast, the boats are stopped at the Raz de Barfleur. There is no wind, a glassy sea and the adverse stream is strong (4.5 knots).
By night, the navigation lights are on and the VHF is working hard. The following hours will be tough for the crews forced to an extreme care.
In the morning, with the turn of the tide, the fleet is able to pass the East tip of the Cotentin. The crossing of the CH1 buoy, under a 3 to 4 knots wind also means a second official checking. At 8.23 am, Brest Grandes Ecoles takes the lead, followed by Purflo - Les Thermes Marins – Saint-Malo and Espoirs Ile De France. Courrier Dunkerque and Elcimaï - Ville de Marseille are just behind those amateur and student crews. At 10.00 am, with their spinnaker still up, the boats arrive to another area that they all fear, the Cap de la Hague. As they get closer in a foggy weather, the wind totally drops. The very strong stream mixed with a light wind forces the fleet to an almost standstill. “No problem for the first pack to pass, but the ones coming after had to deal with an adverse stream which widened the existing gap, then the fleet entered a more quiet area, those who decided to sail to the right, heading to Serq Island were right” reckons William Borel, race director. The weather, much calmer than it used to be in the Raz de Barfleur and Blanchard, becomes less and less appropriate for the boats to sail. Consequently, the race comity decides to reduce the leg to the west Banc Desormes buoy. An official checking is made at this point and will be used to get the final ranking for this leg. From Dieppe to Banc Desormes, the fleet has only covered 147 miles instead of the 190 miles initially planned. However, this leg will keep a ratio of three as more than two third of the route have been completed.

Brest Grandes Ecoles, brilliant for the whole leg, is the first one to pass the signal meaning the arrival of the race. This student crew, which Sébastien Audigane, crew for Banque Populaire V and just back from New York joined for the leg, walked away with this race leaving the professional crew from Courrier Dunkerque 200 meters behind.
Brest Grandes Ecoles can celebrate a brilliant victory over their opponents, winning an important leg which allows them to make a great move up getting the 6th place of the overall ranking and taking possession of the CSC spinnaker, symbol of the student ranking’s leader.
Second boat to pass the buoy, Courrier Dunkerque is followed by Purflo - Les Thermes Marins – Saint-Malo. Franck Yves Escoffier joined them for this leg and they now take the 3rd place. Worthy performances as they allow them to take, respectively, the 2nd and 3rd place of the overall ranking. Nevertheless and thanks to its 5th place in the offshore leg from Dieppe to Saint-Cast, Nouvelle Calédonie keeps the leader’s red spinnaker. All the boats crossed the finish line on time. Supelec Dauphine, last one to cross the line, arrived two hours after Brest Grandes Ecoles.
Located 45 miles away from Saint-Cast when it crossed the signal established as the finish line, the fleet is expected to arrive in the brand new port of Saint Cast around 10.00 pm.

Tomorrow, triangle races are to be held in the Saint-Cast bay. The skipper’s briefing is scheduled for 10.00 am, the start of the first triangle race scheduled at 11.30 am.


Interview of William Borel, race director, about this second offshore race between Dieppe and Saint-Cast:

“It has been a tough race for the crews, a long and difficult one. They had to deal with strong adverse streams and also times when the wind was too light to sail properly. The whole point was to be able to deal both with the wind and the stream.
The first mark to pass was the Raz Blanchard. The first pack could go through without hitting snags but the other ones had to face strong adverse streams, which widened the existing gap between the boats. Then the fleet headed to a more quiet area. Those who decided to head to the Serq Island made the right choice. There was plenty of work to be made. The boats had their spinnakers up all night long, which means a lot of physical and mental strain for the steersman, the skipper and the tacticians, especially because the weather kept changing.
Finally, to stop the race at the Banc Desormes buoy doesn’t change a thing because, given the almost complete lack of wind, the boats were almost stuck and their order couldn’t have been really modified. It is still an important leg for the overall ranking as it still counts with a ratio of three.”