Diam World Tour launches this year
by Matthieu 23 Apr 2018 18:35 BST
Diam World Tour © diam24onedesign.com
Five years after its launching date, the Diam 24 One Design has not finished to surprise us with the creation of the Diam World Tour. This new circuit - three events today, has been made possible by the international success of this 24 feet one-design boat (7,3 metres).
The official boat since 2015 for the Tour Voile, it has seduced a wider range of public and the count of 100 units on the market will be overtopped in the coming months. Spectacular but nonetheless fun, accessible and a strict one-design, the Diam 24 od has got today lots of supporters in different countries and high-levels regattas take place on three continents.
Three continents
In February, eight teams have joined the warm coasts of the Middle East to compete in the new formulae raids of the EFG - Sailing Arabia The Tour (SATT) at Oman. This World Diam Tour first race has been followed by the king event of this World Tour, the Tour Voile, which has triggered more participants.
The racing season has finished on the polynesian waters with the Grand Prix Pacifique des Jeux (Tahiti), crowned by a 5 000 euros* money prize. The local skipper Teva Plichard, who came up second last year in the Tour Voile on his Diam Trésors de Tahiti is one of the initiators of this event. "It's an interesting idea as it will boost the class and raise the level. It will also encourage foreign skippers to come" he explained. The Swiss born Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat) has been the first to sign up in these different events in order to "sail in different parts of the world" and also to spend as much time as possible on water, hence gaining in competitivity level.
The specifications
The Diam World Tour events must meet with very strict specifications which will guarantee the best organisational standards both at sea and onshore. The regattas must include; races at the closest possible range to the public, the stadiums, but also coastal races as well as dozens of miles rallies to put to the test the skippers staminas. To be quality certified, an event must, moreover, last a minimum of five days and should not exceed 17 days competition.
As conviviality forms entirely part of the package, the organisers are asked to facilitate the team members arrivals, whether they are family members or team partners. "The underlying idea of this Tour it to propose great adventures similar to the EFG - Sailing Arabia The Tour at Oman. This will make possible group travels, possibly family members. We want to unite sport and discovery" says Vianney Ancellin, the Shipyard director and the project conceiver.
The first Diam 24 One Design champion will be announced in november, at the end of the Grand Prix Pacifique des Jeux. The winning team will be distinguishable from the other competitors as from 2019 by a star on its sailing gears and a golden Diam on its Main Sail. Classifications will be set in order to account for the number of participants which have signed in for each event. An acknowledgement procedure has been lately submitted to the International sailing federation (World Sailing). One of this World Tour objective is to open the organisation frame to International level and give visibility to anglo-saxons sailing crews.
* shared between the first three winners
Testimonials
Teva Plichard (Trésors de Tahiti):
"It's an interesting idea as it will boost the class and raise the level. It will also encourage foreign skippers to come. If in the long run we could get about 40 or 50 boats that would be great. There are three races scheduled for the first year, that's fine but ideally, five would be best."
Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat):
"It's a good idea to raise this class to an international level. It's good to sail in different parts of the world. Oman and Tahiti organise events and it's a good thing that people sign in. The Diam 24 has become a demanding series and it's great to train on a real circuit with real classification scales. This series is developing and that's a fact, and it's evolving rather well because it has kept its one-design characteristics. I hope we'll see more of people from Australia, Asia and worldwide"
Vianney Ancellin (ADH / Diam 24 One Design):
"The idea of a World circuit was clear from the very beginning even if it has been set aside for some years. It came back under the limelight last year, all the more because Bernard Stamm pushed for the organisation of the events. This enables us to meet with the sponsors' expectations and satisfy an anglo-saxon public. They love to sail not far from home and eventually embark on a big Tour trip. The underlying idea of this Tour it to propose great adventures similar to the Sailing Arabia The Tour at Oman. This makes possible group travels, possibly family members. We want to unite sport and discovery."
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