Solidaire du Chocolat - Day 28

Maya magic for winners

After 26 days 16 hours and 35 minutes at sea, winning your first transatlantic race in conditions which were as tough as they have been on this race, is already an event in itself for young yachtsmen Tanguy de Lamotte and Adrien Hardy. When the magic of a Maya welcome is added to the cocktail of unusual images, ritual dances and offerings, emotions tend to overflow. The Yucatan is steeped in a rich cultural and historical heritage. Through the fever of a tropical night, the victorious youthful crew of Initiatives-Novedia received a royal welcome. In Progreso, the Solidaire du Chocolat from France to Mexico stands out once again for the quality of exchange, sharing and discovery.

Quotes: Tanguy de Lamotte & Adrien Hardy

Arrival and victory

Tanguy : "This feels good! Just brilliant! 26 days is a bit long. We’re sorry to have taken our time at the end. We’re impressed by the welcome we have received. Fireworks as we crossed the finishing line, the Maya ceremony as we disembarked, brilliant; Before the start, we decided to aim for the podium if things went well. I believed in it."

Adrien : "What a welcome. Quite unexpected and very moving. We weren’t expecting there to be many people about in the middle of the night and we’re very surprised to see the dances, to receive so many gifts. I’m touched and very moved."

Conditions

Tanguy : "We had some particularly tough conditions. In the last change of tack at the end of the 6th low, Adrien and took one look at each other : we were out of it. The boat had also gone through a lot. We worked out that if you reckon on one the boat slamming down once every 30 seconds, she suffered 40 000 impacts in the waves. On the Caribbean Sea, we were lucky to have better weather. It was easier not to get caught out and to maintain our lead."

Moments of doubt

Adrien : "Two days after the Azores passage, I had a bad day. I really believed that when we ended up in dead calm, that we had made the biggest mistake you can make on a transatlantic race and that any chance of victory had had just slipped through our fingers. That has already happened to me in the past"

Tanguy : "In the Caribbean, we had fewer doubts. Even though it was nailbiting at times, the weather was on our side and tactical moves and attacks could be ruled out. ."

Key moments

Tanguy : "There were two key moments. Before and after the Azores. On both occasions, we were further south than the rest of the fleet. Rather than relying wholly on the 3-4 day routings, we took a longer-term view of the weather in order to remain in better condition physically, to protect the boat and to avoid rushing headlong into heavyweight lows north. That’s also how we lost 9à miles diving south to regain 100 miles the next day. We even made notes on board : head south, protect the south…"

Best moments

Adrien : " Strangely enough, the rough weather. I’m pleased to have had that sort of experience now. Pleased to have come through it. It’s odd but you have to go through some rough times to understand. You don’t really know what the hell you’re doing there. Fortunately, this is a two-handed race. I was thankful for that and for having Tanguy alongside in the series of lows. One hell of an experience."

Sailing two-handed

Adrien : "I was a bit worried about sailing crewed again after a solo season. But it all went well. A question of trust. I’d like to thank Tanguy and his partners for having offered me the chance to take part in this race."

Tanguy : "Adrien and I got along really well. We’re friends but we’d never sailed together. We prepared the race with that in mind and Adrien was truly committed. Being young probably helped us keep on top of things all the time. All of the decisions were made together and now we are going to celebrate our victory together."

Qualities and defects?

Tanguy : "Adrien hs a hard job not sleeping a lot and so he got a lot more sleep in than I did. That said, it probably helped us to remain lucid and stay on the ball. He also has incredible weather skills whatever the conditions and I learnt an awful lot from him throughout."

Adrien : "Tanguy is sometimes too optimistic. He always thinks that everything will work out well and that we’ll come through it no problem. The advantage is that it simplifies things a lot. "

What now?

Tanguy : "I’ve been sailing this boat for two years now and the project is starting to mature. This year, we won the Fastnet and did well in the Mondial. Right now, we have our sights set on the Route du Rhum and this Solidaire du Chocolat was a fantastic way to prepare for that."

Adrien : "I’ll be doing another Figaro season and am going to start running again. I can’t wait!"

A win with a heart

Tanguy de Lamotte and his co-skipper Adrien Hardy, winners of the Solidaire du Chocolat, bore the colours of the association Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque throughout the 5000 miles of the race course. Thanks to their efforts, to Initiatives Saveures and Novedia, their charity partners of the association, three children from developing countries who have heart malformations will be able to receive the surgery they require.

Before setting off, Tanguy was fortunate to meet a 9 month old Vietnamese baby girl, Nana, operated on at the CHU hospital in Nantes thanks to the Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque. The crew was touched by meeting the little girl. « I saw Nana in hospital before the start…As Nana fights to get well, we have to fight out on the water », explained Tanguy. 10 000 euros are needed to operate one child. Two children will be operated on by Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque as a result of the Solidaire du Chocolat.

This is not the first time that Tanguy has got involved. He has been supporting Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque since 2005 on his many race participations and has made it possible for 8 children to be operated on within the framework of the « One heart, a sail » programme. This programme was set up by Catherine Chabaud in 1997, a programme bringing together skippers who undertake along with their partners to save one or two children requiring heart surgery. It has already helped save 161 children who have been operated on and then looked after by foster families all over France.

Soldini-D’Ali and Jourdren Stamm : a duel … through to the bitter end!

Here we go again… 85 miles from the finish, Telecom Italia (Soldini-D’Ali) and Cheminées Poujoulat (Jourdren-Stamm) are still sailing side by side, or almost, with just 5 miles separating them. Along the coast of the Yucatan, the east/north-easterly wind has lightened and boat speed is now down to about 3-4 knots. As they approach the Gulf of Mexico, the atmosphere on board must be intense. A nailbiting finish. Who will take 2nd ? Who will take 3rd ? Both are expected in to Progreso between 20h and 23h, local time on Sunday 15th November between 3h and 6h French time.

Rankings at 17:00hrs: (top five, French time)

Latest rankings here and latest position maps here.