215 miles, 31 hours of race and a choppy sea: those figures could sum up the longest offshore leg from the Tour de France à La Voile 2009. This 4th offshore leg, marked by three ratio, was a key time of the TFV. They all hoped to win it! Having left Saint-Quay yesterday at 10.00 am, Courrier Dunkerque was the first one today at 5.02 pm to cross the Petit Trého buoy, symbolizing the finish line of the race located right after La Trinité channel.
For Daniel Souben's crew, this is a first offshore victory as they arrived second of the offshore leg from Dieppe to Saint-Cast. This victory gives them by far a first place in the overall ranking. The skipper, winner of last year edition, seems delighted even if as usual, he remains quiet. Their great experience should help them to manage the amazing advantage they took. "It is a great move from a psychological point of view, but we did not even made half of the tour. We are leading right but it could be our opponents tomorrow" tells us Daniel Souben once arrived to the piers.
CSC - HEC - Ecole Navale arrived in second place - the skipper Hervé Gautier is very pleased. Once arrived in La Trinité, he paid his tribute to his crew, which kept his second place in the CSC student ranking. The Purflo - Les Thermes Marins - Saint-Malo crew led by François Le Bourdais took the third place and should be at the very top of the amateur ranking. It is a great performance for them since this team already finished in the top three after the offshore leg from Dieppe to Saint-Cast. They prove once again how good they are at offshore races.
As forecast, during those 215 miles of race, the wind changed a lot as the fleet sailed upwind and downwind, and they had to face the swell at the Brittany tip.
A choppy sea and a rough weather favoured the most experienced crews. When the fleet left Saint-Quay, there was no doubt that this stage would be in favour of the TFV specialists. Daniel Souben and Hervé Gautier are obviously part of them! To get to the top, the crews had to deal the best with the adverse streams and the rocks of northern Brittany.
As a matter of fact, game was over after the Raz du Four. Courrier Dunkerque and CSC - HEC - Ecole Navale took advantage of the turn of the wind and then headed to La Trinité sur Mer with their spinnakers up and at full speed. With a 10 to 12 knots average speed, they outdistanced more and more their opponents. The order established at the crossing of the Basse Royale buoy would not change till the arrival.
However, this leg, affected with a three ratio is to upset the overall ranking.
Nouvelle Calédonie and BRED did not take advantage of this stage. They were respectively 2nd and 3rd of the overall ranking but arrived 19th and 18th of the leg. They therefore lost their amazing advance. More details to follow.

From Saint Quay to La trinité in 31 hours:
A quiet weather at first, with a North East wind blowing from 4 to 6 knots while passing by the coast. Around noon, at the North Horaine check, Elcimaï - Ville de Marseille is first, followed by Ville de Genève - Carrefour Prévention and Courrier Dunkerque.
At 4.00 pm, Espoirs Ile de France is first to cross the buoy "La jument des Héaux de Bréhat", followed by CSC - HEC - Ecole Navale and Manche - Basse Normandie. Those who took the most offshore positions are outdistanced. That is the case for BRED and Nouvelle Calédonie, used to such options. They indeed passed the buoy 5 to 6 miles after the leaders.
Then, as forecast, the wind got stronger - up to 15 knots - and turned West South West. The spinnakers are hauled down at the nightfall as the fleet is making its way upwind and pushed by the stream in the choppy sea.
At 2.00 am, the fleet is getting on at 6 knots. The night is dark and the sea is rough when a distress ASN call is emitted from the Elcimaï - Ville de Marseille boat.
A helicopter from the French Navy and the Themis patrol boat immediately reach the zone, looking for the boat with binoculars and spotlights.
At 4.00 am, Dimitri Deruelle's crew is identified. To everybody's great relief, it was a false alarm. The race can go ahead.
The race direction thanks the CROSS, the French Navy and the patrol for their precious help and also wants to highlight the behaviour of the Normal Sup Lagardère crew. Their help was really appreciated.
As the fleet is heading to the channel Du Four, the ranking seems to have changed during the night. The checkpoint at the Basse royale mark indicates Courrier Dunkerque in leading position followed by CSC - HEC - Ecole Navale and Espoirs Ile de France. They are making their way under a North West 19 knots wind on a very choppy sea. 20 miles further, Centrale Paris Mécenat Chirurgie Cardiaque is the last boat of the fleet.
Around noon, Courrier Dunkerque and CSC - HEC - Ecole Navale arrive close to the Glenan islands. They are rushing towards the finish line at a 10 to 12 knots speed. The following boats are also rushing but the leaders keep widening the existing gap. It is finally Courrier Dunkerque, which is first to cross the finish line, located at the exit of the fairway of La trinité sur Mer. No surprise, Courrier Dunkerque wins a worthy leg he constantly led.

Interview of Daniel Souben, skipper of Courrier Dunkerque:
"This first place arrives right in time ! It was a great leg. We took some advance over our opponents but it doesn't mean we can rest on our laurels- they are still plenty of races coming on. Before the Héaux de Bréhat, we had a complete lack of wind. Nouvelle Calédonie and Marseille chose to get away from the coast while we chose to get closer. That was a good choice but their option was not necessarily a bad idea. With this erratic weather, it's difficult to make a choice. Our decision was a better one for this time.
Those legs are long and that's the main difficulty. It was really long, with a tough weather. You have to manage the advance and the equipment. The more important is not to be leading but to finish the stage. The boat did not suffer any damage but we will check her tomorrow so as to be sure.
At the beginning of the leg, we were rather slow and then really quick. We had our spinnaker up until the Chaussée de Sein, we hauled down the spinnaker just for the Penmarc'h passage and then put it again.
To win this kind of legs, you need to have a great team with the will and the nerve. You also need a good training to make the right choice plus a little bit of luck.
From a psychological point of view, it's a great move. Still, we did not even make half of the race. We are leading right now, but it could be our opponents tomorrow."

Hervé Gautier, Skipper for HEC CSC Ecole Navale, second of the offshore leg:
"There were different passages, arrived at the Heaux de Bréhat , there was no wind for a while. During the night, we took a slightly risky option by getting closer from the coast. It allowed us to take the second place. When we were in north Brittany, I made a mistake and tacked too early considering the stream, but we achieved to stay in the leading group. The leaders sailed close to the coast while we chose to go offshore. In the morning, we were with Dunkerque next to the Four. I dedicate this pretty second place to our team's work. We are kind of tired at the end!"

Agathe Armand / Laura Ruaudel / Effets Mer