Tour de France à la Voile Cherbourg to Perros Guirec

by Isabelle Musy on 8 Jul 2001 After a day off yesterday due to the lack of wind, the sailors are fresh and
eager for today's offshore race from Cherbourg to Perros Guirec. A 105 mile
leg through the Raz Blanchard, and the Channel Islands. According to the
weather forecast, it should be a speedy race upwind. A test of endurance for
the 38 crews ! The gun fired at 15:03. There was one individual recall.

Effervescence and excitement was running high this morning in the Assistance
Village where all the crews have their meals. After a day off yesterday and
a good rest, they're all eager to start racing again; especially with more
wind being forecast for this coming offshore race from Cherbourg to Perros
Guirec. The navigators have been working hard with their maps and their
computers, checking the forecast, entering the waypoints.
Michel Desjoyeaux arrived early this morning and locked himself in his hotel
room to refine his navigation. The Vendée Globe winner will sail aboard
Jean-Pierre Dick's Virbac-St-Raphaël-Générali.
' The conditions should be rather strong. Well, that is what is forecast.
But you never know with weather forecasts. We should get a good breeze to
sail through the Raz Blanchard and the Channel Islands. I'll be thrown right
into the deep end ', comments Michel Desjoyeaux.
'It should be a exciting leg. All the races should be interesting especially
with such a good fleet and so many talented people. It is nice to have 40
one-design boats with a high and homogenous level. It gathers all what I
really like in this game: currents, rocks, variable weather conditions and
tricky courses. It should keep me busy! I 've done the whole tour several
times, but it is the first since a long time that I will do such a big part.
What is great in this event is the fact that it lasts four weeks and that
there is a crew turnover on the boats. It requires a very good management of
time, energy and stress. Besides, to sail these boats fully crewed in such a
diversity of races requires a very supplementary crew ', adds the Vendée
Globe winner.
Michel Desjoyeaux will race against other Vendee Globe fellows such as Marc
Thiercelin, skipper of Kenzo. The latter will almost feel at home in this
leg: 'I grew up on Port Blanc and therefore have sailed there for 20 years',
comments Thiercelin
Former Vendée Globe sailors, Isabelle Autissier and Bretrand de Broc will
work together aborad Jimmy Pahun's Région Ile de France : 'We should get
more breeze, an average of 20 knots, almost right on the nose; so it will be
upwind nearly the whole way through. We'll have to be careful at the Raz
Blanchard where the wind blowing against the current might generate a rough
sea. It will be important to position ourselves near the Channel Islands as
there will be shifts to negotiate. It should be a fast race. Last year, we
finished in second in this same leg, which is a good omen', explains
Isabelle Autissier. Bertrand de Broc adds: 'It should be a matter of speed
and control rather than tactics. The crew's resistance will be most
important. I don't think it should be a problem on our boat with people like
Isabelle Autissier, Pascal Bidégorry (winner of the Solitaire du Figaro
2000), Jérémie Beyou (Figaro sailor) and myself'.
Franck Cammas is another offshore sailor who has joined the fleet aboard
Gildas Philippe's Dieppe Défi Industriel pour Arpeije. Disappointed not to
race yesterday, skipper of the trimaran Groupama, was really impatient to
start this morning: 'We'll be tacking upwind up to la Hague. It will be
important to be in the front there as after that it will be one long tack
and therefore a speed race. Though it will also be a strategic one as we'll
have to choose whether to go North or South of Guernsey. It will also be
important to refine our time arrival near the coast towards the end, in
order to be on the right side according to the current to avoid going
against it', analyses Cammas.
The Kiwis and the British who don't know this coast as well as the French
will do their best. Grant Beck is the navigator aboard Sun Microsystems
Team New Zealand Racing Crew ' This morning we don't seem to have had as
much wind as forecasted, so I think the weather pattern has slowed down. We
still anticipate moderate to high westerly winds though. The tides are not
such an issue as they have been on previous races but the race committee has
selected a good time for us to start so that we should be with the tide for
the first part of the race.'
Simon Shaw's British Universities Sailing Team are all really excited at the
predicted forecast.
' It should be an exciting race with a big tactical decision for us
navigators when we get to the Channel Islands. The breeze should whisk us
right through there this evening and onto Perros Guirec tomorrow morning.'
He continues ' The boys are really up for it and I shall definitely be
wearing my dry suit for this one!' comments Mike Broughton.
The overall results from now on include one discard, so there is an updated
overall ranking.
Isabelle Musy

Overall ranking after Race 8 (with one discard)
Provisional overall results

1. Ville d'Antibes Juan Les Pins / Marc Audineau 394.25 points
2. COYCH HYEROIS / Henri Fabien 392.5
3. Thales - Vinci - ESTP -ENSAM / Pierre Dalibot 392.5
4. Virbac- Saint-Raphaël -Générali / Jean-Pierre Dick 388.5
5. Sun Microsystems Team New Zealand Racing Crew / Hamish Pepper 385.75
6. Ville de Genève Carrefour prévention / Etienne David 384
7. Nantes-St-Nazaire-Bouygues Télécom / Mathieu Richard 376
8. St-James-Ports Manche / Pierre Alexis Ponsot 371.75
9. Région Ile de France / Jimmy Pahun 357.5
10. Côte d'Armor/ Vincent Biarnes 355,75
11. British University Sailing Team / Simon Shaw 344,75