Only three days to the start of the Transat CIC: sun and little wind in Lorient, where Alberto Bona is preparing for the regatta with the support of boat captain Pierrot and Pablo Santurde del Arco, who flew from Spain to support the team. The safety briefing was held this morning in the theatre of the “City of Sailing” – the wonderful museum in Lorient dedicated to the exploits of Éric Tabarly: for over two hours, the 48 competing skippers followed the analyses and instructions of the French Navy pilot who coordinates the rescues at sea.
On the dock there is great excitement and ferment, with plenty of curiosity for the two new generation Class40s: Quentine Le Nabour’s Mach 6 Bleu Blanc Planéte Location – practically the evolution of the Class40 IBSA – and Vincent Riou’s mysterious Pierreval.
“Two new boats out of the 13 competing Class40s”,commented Alberto; “certainly something interesting to check out. But here it’s a question of considering all opponents as potential winners. Contrarily to other regattas we are used to, where towards the end of the course risks are limited, here at the end of the race we could risk a lot, due to strong disturbances. It will be really important to avoid any peril and stay lucid until the end, always awake and connected: the trajectory will be vital”.
The perils concern the approach to the coast of the American continent: the buffer zone created in the North by the organisers to avoid icebergs plays a major role and – after the Azores – the skippers will have to find the best trajectory to avoid having little room for manoeuver between the no navigation area to the North and the Gulf Stream to the South.“Finding the best corridor will be critical, and the area of origin of the American depressions, to the South or the North of the finish line, will play a significant role”, explained Bona.
The day ended with the official presentation of the skippers, in one of the most beautiful stages of international ocean sailing, a few steps from boats that have made history, from the 44-foot ketch Pen Duick II up to Flore, the decommissioned military submarine located in the historic German U-boat base, which today is a museum.
