Please select your home edition
Edition
North Sails Loft 57 Podcast

Tour de France a la Voile - Wins for Cammas and Coville

by Fabienne Morin on 30 Jun 2013
2013 Tour de France a La Voile @JM LIOT / TFV / ASO
This afternoon, the Tour de France a la Voile race committee secured three races and three opportunities to score for the M34 fleet just off the beaches of Dunkirk. Franck Cammas’ crew (Groupama 34) won the first two races and Thomas Coville (Sobedo) won the final race of the afternoon. Are Cammas’ competitors waking up?

Low tide came at soon, and Dunkirk’s strong currents revealed numerous sandy shallows, keeping M34 crews alert and allowing spectators to enjoy an afternoon’s worth of surprise maneuvers. Still leading the dance and holding off local crew Courrier Dunkerque 3, Groupama 34’s winter training was evident as they jockeyed for position in the pre-start countdown. The attacks came quickly as the rest of the fleet demonstrated their unwillingness to let Cammas’ boat secure an easy win.

The first race started at 11am in 10-15 knots of wind from the northwest. Race committee set a short triangle (.75 nautical miles to the windward mark) course to compensate for the vast shallows and low tide. Groupama 34 take control but Courrier Dunkerque 3 does not give up, taking over halfway… But loose the lead to Cammas again, only a couple a meters from the finish line! Second, the disappointed local crew take sixth and fifth and the next two races. Bretagne-Crédit Mutuel Elite take third after a good leg.

Again, Groupama take control of the second in-port race. Daniel Souben (Courrier Dunkerque) picks the wrong side on the first upwind leg. After a tough first race, Sodebo is doing better. This time around Groupama’s real opponent is Ville de Genève Carrefour Addictions, who take second. Team OmanSail take third.

But Saturday’s last race is not for Cammas’ crew. Sodebo take the best start, a key victory asset on such short racecourses (3,6 miles in total) while Iskareen and Ville de Genève are over the line too early. Sodebo lead from the first upwind mark to the finish line. Coville’s dream team have all it takes to win: four Volvo Ocean Race winners (Coville, Jean-Luc Nélias, Laurent Pagès, Martin Krite) and two World Match Racing Tour experts (Damien Iehl and Thierrt Briend) were onboard today.

Groupama, Sodebo and OmanSail are first, second and third overall tonight while Normandie’s young sailors are leading the amateur ranking.

All 12 M34 are sailing three in-port races tomorrow, weather permitting, before leaving for their first offshore leg. They will set sails from Dunkirk to Breskens, Holland tomorrow at 9pm.

Jean-Luc Nélias, Sodebo navigator: 'We are doing what we can! It’s nice to win a race, especially when it’s the last one of the first day. We took a better start and it’s an advantage to start in the lead on these very short racecourses. You can pick where you’re going and your competitors can only follow. We’ve struggled speed wise since the beginning and we are working on it. I’m in charge of navigation and Laurent Pagès calls the tactics, though we will see a lot of turnover for the tactician position. You’ll see my face all along though! I’ve done around 10 Tours and I’ve been on every step of the podium. Last time I came though, it was in 1999.'

Cédric Pouligny, Team OmanSail skipper: 'Our team often take the fourth place and we want to do better this time. It will be difficult though. I’m not speaking about Groupama and Dunkerque only – other teams are reaching high. Sodebo showed their potential on this last race. They will keep improving and so will Bretagne-CME. It’s all about patience and consistency. The main challenge this time is not to score any bad race because there is no ‘’discard’’ anymore. Consistency will pay.'

Guillaume Pirouelle, Normandie helmsman: 'It’s not so bad for a start. We were second at the first upwind mark of the first race… We lost it all afterwards. We’re getting there and are leading the amateur ranking today. Our main goal is to win this ranking. Our team mixes Normandy sailors. It’s my first Tour and I love it. This is a great experience topping up with y 470 Tour de France a la Voile website
Maritimo M600Hyde Sails 2024 - One DesignCyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTER

Related Articles

Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais - Practice Day
Will Platoon Aviation's big breeze, big pressure experience prove key to their fourth world title? Of the three past and present world championship winning crews which completed their final practice today in typically muscular 25 knot breezes and big waves out of Cascais, Portugal it was Harm Müller-Spreer's Platoon Aviation which showed best today.
Posted on 1 Jul
Some thoughts on provisioning for distance sailing
A new perspective on provisioning and time spent at sea One of the great joys of distance racing unfurls the moment that the dock lines are untied. Suddenly, the myriad packing lists that inevitably define most trip-planning efforts become about as relevant as a tax return from eight years ago.
Posted on 1 Jul
LA28 sailing venue decision driven by politicians
The LA28 Olympic "dinghy" events will be sailed alongside a working container port. The decision to stage the Los Angeles "dinghy" events alongside a working container port appears to have been a determination by local politicians.
Posted on 1 Jul
Freestyle Pro Tour Paros day 3
The return of Super X Day 3 at the FPT Paros 2025 was a slower one - with a lay day with no wind anticipated and a late skippers meeting at 13:00 to assess the conditions, there wasn't much initially filling up the schedule.
Posted on 1 Jul
Bill Guilfoyle on the 2025 Transpacific Yacht Race
Bill Guilfoyle discusses the 2025 Transpacific Yacht Race When it comes to offshore sailing in the United States, the biennial Transpacific Yacht Race reigns supreme for its distance and promise of off-the-breeze sailing angles.
Posted on 1 Jul
McIntyre Mini Globe Leg 2 update
The Mad Bastard may be right! When the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race set off—the first solo, non-stop circumnavigation—many thought it impossible. But one sailor proved them wrong: Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, sailing his beloved Suhaili!
Posted on 1 Jul
Packing for a Summer Sailing Weekend
Just because it's summer doesn't mean you're going to stay warm and dry all the time Just because it's summer doesn't mean you're going to stay warm and dry all the time, particularly when you're out on the water. The day may start windless, with a little dew on the ground, but a sea breeze can pick up in the afternoon.
Posted on 1 Jul
Young Sailors Invited to the 2025 Fireball Worlds
A special discounted entry fee for eligible youth participants for the event at Lake Garda Circolo Vela Arco and Fireball International are inviting young sailors from around the world to take part in the 2025 Fireball World Championship at spectacular Lake Garda, with a special discounted entry fee for eligible youth participants.
Posted on 1 Jul
Jazz Turner completes Project FEAR
Drama right to the end in her non-stop, solo, unassisted navigation of the British Isles Jazz Turner has completed Project FEAR, her non-stop, solo, unassisted navigation of the British Isles in her Albin 27 yacht. A flotilla of supporters met her in Seaford Bay, which grew and grew the closer they came to Brighton Marina.
Posted on 1 Jul
GKSS Match Cup Sweden & Nordea Women's Trophy D1
Sunday's storm winds cleared to deliver ideal conditions for the opening race day Sunday's storm winds cleared to deliver ideal conditions for the opening race day of the 2025 GKSS Match Cup Sweden and Nordea Women's Trophy, official championship stages of the World Match Racing Tour and Women's World Match Racing Tour.
Posted on 1 Jul