Mauritius Regatta - Micheal Desjoyeaux`s advantage

by Harry Spedding on 21 May 2013 The Mauritius Regatta race start was at 11am. The fleet left the moorings in Bénitier at 10am this morning to go to Mont Choisy, on the North-western side of the island.

For the first time in this edition, boats sailed upwind to round the first mark near the Balise Marina. Michel Desjoyeaux proved to be better at this game and was first at the mark, taking the lead by using every little wind shift of today’s irregular breeze. On this tack, it was a proper olympic style regatta.

The fleet then headed towards Mont Choisy where each sailor had to be very careful to avoid the coral reefs. Champagnes Nicolas Feuillate skipper, in great form was the only one to chose a route further offshore than the rest of the fleet. This tactical option allowed him to keep the lead until the finish line.

François Gabart onboard sol`s takes second by a short lead in front of fondoele skippered by Franck-Yves Escoffier. The battle will be fierce for the final results!

Let’s not forget the excellent performance by Romain Attanasio who, despite a large crew with very little experience managed to stay in close contact with the first three boats.

The fleet is separated in two due to differences in boats and a true friendly battle is taking place between the female team led by Dee Caffari for the MTPA and yatch management’s boat skippered by Harry Spedding. The latter won the battle today. From a general point of view, the female crew brings a big smile to this competition between some of the best skippers in the world.

20/05/2013 - Ranking

1. Champagnes Nicolas Feuillatte - Michel Desjoyeaux
2. Sol’s - François Gabart
3. Fondeole - Franck-Yves Escoffier
4. La Balise Marina / Investec - Romain Attanasio
5. Yacht Management - Harry Spedding
6. MTPA (female boat) - Dee Mauritius Regatta website