Mini Transat - Overnight arrivals expected

by Solene Rennuit on 3 Dec 2013 In the Mini Transat, the party is over at the Marina du Bas Fort and the daily routine of the race has resumed. Benoit Marie and Giancarlo Pedote share the media duties and spend their time telling the stories of their race. For Benoit, this is a joyful telling, a beautiful way to end his first participation in the race and to finally break his wall of silence. But for Giancarlo, who did not race to come second, the return from the race is necessarily more difficult to endure.

Between the first and second finishers in the Mini Transat there were just three hours, but behind but them is a gaping chasm. For the winner, a gentle euphoria dominates his emotions today. In winning the Mini Transat, Benoît Marie entered another world. The first freshman to win the race since 1995, Benoit continues to respond to requests, receive greetings of affection and admiration. Whatever happens, his name will now be part of the history of the race. Giancarlo Pedote meanwhile, is digesting the disappointment of not being able to follow his dream.

Having been in the lead for more than 90% of the time, having managed to tame his Magnum to get the most out of her despite the struggles to repair his bowsprit and the head of his keel, he cannot erase this terrible feeling that results in this unlikely equation: how many small details make the sum of these three lost hours? For the two sailors, it will be time to move on : to continue the momentum for Benoit and to bounce for Giancarlo, for both to build new stories.

It's a safe bet that Rémi Fermin (Boreal) will be more than satisfied with his third place finish. Having previously started in 2011, he was unable to defend his chances after breaking his mast and he vowed to return. On the boat he designed and built, with an economy of means that borders on indecency (boat fiberglass, fixed keel), Rémi is now demonstrating that we can achieve great things. Somehow, his journey fits right in line with the first adventurers of the Mini Transat, when we knew why we were leaving, but we did not know when and how it would happen. Behind Rémi, Bertrand Delesne (TeamWork Proto) and Bruno Garcia (Sampaquita) are still fighting for fourth place. They should finish in the depths of the Guadeloupe night.

Still in second behind Aymeric Belloir (All Chante World against Cancer), Justine Mettraux (TeamWork) now has to fend off the return of Simon Koster (Go 4 It). If she can keep her place, she will claim the best female performance in the history of the Mini Transat. She has the temperament, the question remains whether the technical problem which which appeared to cause her to lose 50 miles yesterday, is finally solved. Behind the leading trio is Renaud Mary (www.runo.fr) who is sailing a good race. His northern option has paid and he is now looking at a very nice fourth place. We can still expect more changes in the series boat ranking. Damien Audrain (Gerinter) and Alberto Bona (Onelinesim.it) could follow the same path and threaten Jean-Baptiste Lemaire (L’œuvre du Marin Breton), who is positioned in the south of the fleet. Others might also make spectacular jumps up the classification, such as Pip Hare (The Potting Shed) or François Lamy (Guadeloupe Espace Océan) whose homecoming is anticipated as that of the prodigal son. The key for them is that the trade winds seem to want to rejoin the party. To celebrate arriving at the Caribbean, it is the least we can ask.

Cegelec / Eurovia Ranking (prototypes) at 16.00 (GMT +1)

3. Rémi Fermin (741 – Boréal) with 67.5 nm to finish
4. Bertrand Delesne (754 – TeamWork Proto) + 45.2 nm
5. Bruno Garcia (240 – Sampaquita) + 52.5 nm
6. Julien Pulvé (802 – MEXT – ICA) +388.1 nm
7. Nicolas Boidevezi (710 – Nature Addicts) + 770.7 nm

Yslab Ranking (series boats) at 16.00 (GMT +1)

1. Aymeric Belloir (810 – Tout le Monde chante contre le Cancer) with 312.5 nm to finish
2. Justine Mettraux (824 - TeamWork) + 258.3 nm
3. Simon Koster (819 – Go 4 it) + 319.3 nm
4. Renaud Mary (www.runo.fr) + 627.8 nm
5. Jean-Baptiste Lemaire (607 – Œuvre du Marin Breton) + 630.4 Mini Transat website