Tour de France a la Voile - Race cancelled after gale arrives

by Fabienne Morin on 22 Jul 2014 In the Tour de France a la Voile, the fleet of the M34s left Gruissan this morning for a 140 mile offshore leg to Hyères, but due to a gale warning from Meteo France, the race committee decided to cancel the race.

The teams delivered the boats across the Gulf of Lion with one reef in the main and the storm jib, in 35-45 knots of wind. They left Gruissan at 10am this morning and arrived in Hyères at 22.30.

'We even recorded a gust at 50 knots at Cape Sicié', said Martin Le Pape from local team Toulon Provence Méditerranée as the team arrived in Hyères. 'In the end, we did most of the course with one reef in the main and the small spinnaker, but it was full-on! It was good to take the most of the strong wind for the last time because it will be much lighter from now on'

When the Race Director Christophe Gaumont annonced his decision to cancel this high scoring (Coef 4) offshore leg, some of the competitors were disappointed to not have a chance to catch up a few points in the ranking. But all of them said it was a wise decision, as the wind was too strong and the risks of damaging the boats too high.

The Race Committee has scheduled three inshore races tomorrow in Hyères. The fleet is expected to leave the dock at 11.30

Overall ranking:
1 Courrier Dunkerque 3, Daniel Souben 739 pts
2 Groupama 34, Franck Cammas 720 pts
3 Bretagne - Crédit Mutuel Elite, skipper Nicolas Troussel 693 pts
4 Team OmanSail, skipper, Sidney Gavignet 689 pts
5 Ville de Genève – Carrefour Addictions, Nicolas Groux 643pts
6 Normandy – Acerel, Baptiste Choquenet 620 pts
7 Toulon Provence Méditerranée, Florian Simonnot 619 pts
8 Nantes Saint-Nazaire, Jean-Baptiste Gellée 592 pts
9 Be Brussels Bienne Voile, Delphine Wolters et Yann Burkhalter 541 pts

Offshore leg ranking:
1 – Courrier Dunkerque 3, Daniel Souben 343 pts
2 – Bretagne – Crédit Mutuel Elite, Nicolas Troussel 325 pts
3 – Team Oman Sail, Sidney Gavignet, 318 pts (…)

Technical ranking:
1 Groupama 34, Franck Cammas 404 pts
2 Courrier Dunkerque 3, Daniel Souben 396 pts
3 Team Oman Sail, Sidney Gavignet 371 pts (…)

Amateur ranking:
1 Normandy - Acerel, Baptiste Choquenet 620 pts
2 Toulon Provence Méditerranée, Florian Simonnot 619 pts
3 Nantes Saint-Nazaire, Jean-Baptiste Gellée 592 pts
4 Be Brussels Bienne Voile, Delphine Wolters et Yann Burkhalter 541 pts Event website