MOD70 European Tour - Musandam-Oman sail win Leg 4 to Marseille

by Sabina Mollart-Rogerson on 25 Sep 2012 The 2012 MOD70 European Tour is currently underway and in crossing the finish line in front of Marseille’s Roucas Blanc Marina this Monday morning, 24th September at 07hrs 11mins 34secs local time (GMT/UTC+2), the crew of Musandam-Oman Sail win the fourth stage, from Cascais to Marseille.

The team which is skippered by Sidney Gavignet took 3days 16 hours 11minutes and 34 seconds for the 1,030 miles passage from Cascais to Marseille. The MOD70 trimaran arrived into the Rade Sud in a watery, grey sunrise in some 20kts of breeze and flat seas after a boisterous final night at sea with gusty winds to 25kts during which Gavignet described conditions as a ‘battle.’

Winning skipper Sidney Gavignet had a tear in his eye this morning under leaden grey skies on the breezy Roucas Blanc pontoon after docking the victorious Musandam-Oman Sail in the small marina where 25 years ago he used to train as an elite level sports student in his Laser: 'That is where my boat used to stay and out there is where is I used to capsize many times, so it has a special feeling for me to be back here.'

'I spent three years here in Marseille doing sports studies and so to be back, winning this leg, I think about the whole journey I have been on since then, perhaps that is why I am so moved.'

Musandam-Oman Sail maintains the pattern of three different MOD70’s having consecutively won City Race and the passage stages, Foncia winning inshore in Kiel and offshore to Dublin, Spindrift racing victorious inshore in Dun Laoghaire and to Cascais and now Musandam-Oman Sail triumphing in Cascais and offshore to Marseille. Musandam-Oman Sail’s win into Marseille complements their victory in Cascais’ City Race series round the short, sprint courses inshore and promotes the Sidney Gavignet skippered team to lie third overall on the MOD70 European Tour standings.

Leg 4 has been marked by mainly light winds. The stretch between the Strait of Gibraltar and the Cabo Gata at the SE corner of Almeria, proved to be the most difficult where the transitions between the different winds, the day sea breezes and nocturnal land breezes, were most difficult but it was during these hours that Musandam-Oman Sail made their biggest gains.

After starting from Cascais, Portugal last Monday afternoon Sidney Gavignet (FRA), Jean-François Cuzon (FRA), Brian Thompson (FRA), Thomas Lebreton (FRA), Khamis Al Fahad (OMA) and Al Hasni Amburi (OMA) took the lead in light winds off Cabo de Gata during that night, around midnight (UTC).

When the five boat MOD70 fleet was tightly compacted after a light winds run down the Portuguese coast, they found the best course to emerge around the point which forms the south westernmost corner of Portugal, with a small lead. Since then they have not been challenged, at one stage yesterday afternoon having a clear 101 miles Race for Water.

By the finish line off Marseille’s Roucas Blanc before dawn this morning in blustery 30-35kts they had a margin of around 50 miles on Stève Ravussin’s second placed Race for Water, the winning by the biggest distance of this inaugural MOD70 European Tour which started in Kiel, Germany on 2nd September.

Sidney Gavignet FRA skipper Musandam-Sail Oman: 'I am happy. It was only after the finish line that I really thought we had done it. Even on the passage back past the rocky islands from Cassis we had a big 40knots gust and we nearly lost it. We had to dump the main and barely held on to it. There is a lot of emotion because these beasts are hard work. It is tiring, it is exhausting. I believed in this win. It is a team thing, so congratulations to all of us. It was gained off Cape St Vincent. We have made such progress in light winds. That was the key thing for our escape. Jean François Cuzon spent so much time at the char table, much more than in the bunk. The crew is really progressing. Fahad is a good offshore crew now.

Khamis Al Anbouri (OMA), 'It means so much for me to win this leg. It is the first offshore racing leg I have done on the boat and so to win is very special. It is amazing. The team worked really hard, trying to push ourselves very hard on the first two days, working for speed and so gain on the other teams, working to get to Gibraltar in the daytime. We gained there, and then kept gaining. I am sure that at home they will be very happy about this win. I won the Extreme Sailing Series before and at home the reception from the young Omani’s was incredible, and so I am sure this will be the same.'

Brian Thompson (GBR): ' It is especially good to win this leg because it was one of the most interesting ones, coastal all the way. In fact we were last out of Cascais but caught on the approach to Cape Saint Vincent. Jeff did a really good job with the laylines there and we were fortunate to miss the calms and just wriggled out in front of Race for Water. And then Jeff did a really nice job of getting us around the low off Cadiz. We crossed it a tiny bit earlier than everyone and managed to get south of it on the other side, while the others had to tack quite a long way north. That was a good gain. At Gibraltar we gained, getting through just as it was getting dark and so we saw a big calm that I think both Race for Water and Foncia saw, but the next two went straight into it. Cabo Gato we went into with breeze and in daylight, doing 20-25kts and so that was a big gain to us. That felt unusual. I have never done a race like that in my whole life, where the rich got richer. When the sun rose after Gato, we knew the wind was going to rise and we would get it first then and that was when I started to think we could win.'

Leg 4 Cascais to Marseille:

1. Musandam Oman Sail finish time: 07h 11m 34s (3 days 16 hours 11 minutes and 34 2 seconds)
2. Race for Water – 2h 23m 7s from winner
3. Foncia – 2h 45m 32s from MOD70 European Tour website