Impressive Nouvelle-Caledonie

The trickier the weather, the better Nouvelle-Calédonie is! The wind dropped down and the current reversed constantly. Yet, the team won both races today in Dunkerque and is now leading the temporary ranking.

Nice starts, nice tactic and nice strategy: Nouvelle-Calédonie can be proud of the job done. Damiel Iehl, helmsman: “It’s perfect! We couldn’t do much better. The wind wasn’t easy and the current reversed. It wasn’t straightforward to choose the right side.”

Their opponents are also impressed. “Nouvelle-Calédonie is flying away rather quickly,” says Fabien Henry, Toulon-Provence-Méditerranée – COYCH’s skipper, 4th overall. Nicolas Jossier is Manche – Basse Normandie’s tactician. He admits that Nouvelle-Cal’s men “take very good starts, choose the right side, make little mistakes and are very fast. They did two perfect races.”

Not too fast! “We started well, but the Tour de France à la Voile is very long,” tells Iehl. “Race after race, day after day, and we’ll see at the end!”

Another team seems happy in Dunkerque. A student team, whose godfather is Marc Guillemot: Team SOG – Safran. Second and fourth today, the team is leading the student ranking and is second overall! They come from Brittany, know each other very well and work with a famous sailor on the mainsail: Nicolas Lunven, winner of the Solitaire du Figaro 2009.

Purflo – Les Thermes Marins – St-Malo also enjoyed a good day, finishing fourth and eighth. Leading the amateur’s ranking, the French are followed by the Swiss of Ville de Genève – Carrefour Prévention.

The must goes on tomorrow with the start of the first offshore race for Calais. 25 miles at sea for a brief salty session! The leader, Nouvelle-Calédonie, will be joined by one of the French best helmsmen: Bertrand Pacé.

Interviews

Fabien Henry, Toulon-Provence-Méditerranée – COYCH’s skipper:
“It was a mixed day. We did a first good race, with a good strategic project. We took a good start and could be second. The second race started well but we didn’t hold our position. At that time, it was a difficult situation and we finished 14th. That’s too bad, even if the TFV has just started. The road is long, but we’d like some more wind!”

Nicolas Jossier, Manche – Basse Normandie’s tactician:
“«It was a good day for us, even if the weather was difficult. Yet, we arrived twice 5th. Any place within the first ten are good to take. The day was all about tactical opportunity. Choosing the right side, there were many places to gain! There were check points too. We had to be tough and fast. On board, the trimmers were working hard, and so did the helmsman. We couldn’t afford to do mistakes and we had to choose the right side of the watercourse as soon as possible. Today, we had to be sure.”

Corentin Horeau, Team SOG – Safran’s helmsman:
“We wanted to confirm our good result on yesterday’s race. Today, we sailed very well on the first leg and we finished second. Then, we finished fourth on the second race: it’s perfect. We sailed really fast and we did good tactical choices. We started well and were quickly fighting with the leading boats. Coming from Brittany, we know what the current is all about! We like that: the game is on!”