PRB wins Barcelona World Race prologue
by OC Events 16 Aug 2007 07:49 BST
9 crews, 7 nationalities, 36 total circumnavigations
The 2007 Rolex Fastnet Race that also doubled up as the official prologue to the non-stop, two-handed Barcelona World Race, proved to be a tough proposition for the duos onboard their IMOCA 60-foot monohulls. It was the French pairing of Vincent Riou (winner of the solo 2004 Vendée Globe) and Seb Josse (skipper of ABN AMRO2) who dominated the 608-mile race to bring PRB across the line first in a time of 2 days, 2 hours, 17 minutes and 44 seconds, compounding their position as race favourites for the two-handed, non-stop Barcelona World Race that starts on 11th November. A total of 15 IMOCA 60s started the race – eight of them are entered to compete in the Barcelona World Race - but in these tough conditions not all finished, including the Spanish entries of Estrella Damm and Educacion sin Fronteras plus Roland Jourdain’s Veolia Environnement.
Strong south-westerly winds, often gale force, made it a challenging race but also made it a fast race. PRB has established a new record for the IMOCA 60 class beating the time set by Catherine Chabaud on Whirlpool in 1999 by 3 hours, 1 minute and 16 seconds (to be ratified). Also, Alex Thompson and Andrew Cape onboard Hugo Boss who crossed the finish line off Plymouth at 14:48:01 GMT swiftly followed four minutes later by Jérémie Beyou and Signey Gavignet Delta Dore at 14:52:07 have broken Chabaud’s record.
The 100-ft maxi ICAP Leopard claimed the Rolex Fastnet Race line honours and smashed the existing monohull record but the leading IMOCA 60s have also broken the previous monohull record set by RF Yachting in 1999. RF Yachting was 20-foot longer than the IMOCA 60s but changing technology coupled with the windy conditions combined to make this edition of the Fastnet a record setting race. For Swiss and French skippers, Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret, they bought Temenos 2 across the line at 15:35:11 GMT, 3 hours and 18 minutes after PRB. Spaniards Javier Sanso and Pachi Rivero onboard Mutua Madrileña, completed the line-up crossing the line at 17:04:51 GMT in a time of 2 days, 7 hours and 4 minutes.
This 608-mile race was a short but intense period of time for these skippers who dealt with challenging and changeable conditions. With minimal sleep they finished cold, wet and tired having pushed as hard as they could to stay at the front, whilst trying not to break any race-ending equipment. If anything this prologue has been a ‘snapshot’ of the Barcelona World Race that will see nine teams racing 25,000 miles non-stop over three months across the planet’s most hostile oceans.
Quotes:
Vincent Riou, PRB: “We are so happy to have finished! It was a very technical and physical race. You really had to be fit I can tell you! Jojo [Seb Josse] and I have been working really hard in the past 24 hours. We spent the whole of the first night at sea, doing manoeuvres - just like the Monday afternoon actually, during which we tacked 12 times, going from main sail and staysail to two reefs and storm jib. As you can imagine on Tuesday morning, it was very quiet onboard PRB, we hardly said a word to each other! We were just looking at each other, exhausted! Last night, to reach the Fastnet, took only two tacks. Everything is okay on our boat, which as planned will go into a refit at the end of the week, in preparation for the Barcelona World Race.”
Alex Thomson, Hugo Boss: “This was my sixth Rolex Fastnet Race and the fastest yet. We had hardly sailed the new Hugo Boss before this race and she is better than we could have ever expected. She seems to be one of the fastest in the fleet which is really nice to know. The first tack Capey and I have ever done together as a duo was at the start of this race. We got on brilliantly which bodes well for the Barcelona World Race. We are chuffed to bits with the performance of the boat and we could not have asked for anymore.”
Jérémie Beyou, Delta Dore: “We are a bit disappointed. We were tired last night and we haven’t perhaps made the best choice of sails and never see the position of the others. Any race we always want to win it, but that’s life. With Sidney we have validated a lot of things, find our marks. The boat is clean without a lot things damaged. So the prologue of Barcelona World Race has been interesting all the more so because we have always sailed near PRB. Anyway, a prologue must not be won!” [It is considered bad luck in France to win a prologue event!]
Results Barcelona World Race Prologue / Rolex Fastnet Race:
Position / boat name / skipper & co-skipper / finish time GMT / elapsed time
1st PRB / Vincent Riou (FRA) & Sébastien Josse (FRA) / 12:17:44 / 50:17:44
2nd Hugo Boss / Alex Thomson (GBR) & Andrew Cape (AUS) / 14:48:01 / 52:48:01
3rd Delta Dore / Jérémie Beyou (FRA) & Sydney Gavignet (FRA) / 14:52:07 / 52:52:07
4th Temenos 2 / Dominique Wavre (SUI) & Michàle Paret (FRA) / 15:35:11 / 53:35:11
5th Mutua Madrileña / Javier Sanso (ESP) & Pachi Rivero (ESP) / 17:04:51 / 55:04:51
RTD Estrella Damm / Guillermo Altadill (ESP) & Jonathan McKee (USA)
RTD Veolia Environnement / Roland Jourdain (FRA) & Jean Luc Nélias (FRA)
RTD Educacion sin Fronteras / Servanne Escoffier (FRA) & Albert Bargués (ESP)
Barcelona World Race Qualification update post-Rolex Fastnet Race:
Temenos 2 - qualified
Delta Dore - qualified
Mutua Madrileña - qualified
PRB - additional miles to be sailed before qualification
Veolia Environnement - additional miles to be sailed before qualification
Paprec Virbac - additional miles to be sailed before qualification
Hugo Boss - additional miles to be sailed before qualification
Estrella Damm - full 2800nm qualification passage to be sailed
Educacion sin Fronteras - full 2800nm qualification passage to be sailed
Vincent Riou wins the Artemis Trophy at the Rolex Fastnet Race (from Justine Ozoux)
Vendée Globe Champion claims another record onboard PRB in a stormy race
The Artemis Trophy at the Rolex Fastnet Race, an award presented by Artemis Investment Management to the winning boat in the IMOCA Open 60 class, has been claimed by Vincent Riou and Sebastien Josse onboard PRB in a new record time for the class. In a race that has been dominated by extreme weather conditions, Riou demonstrated yet again why he is one of the best ocean racers in the world and crossed the line at 13:17:44 in a time of 2 days 2 hours, 17minutes and 44 seconds. The Artemis Trophy and €10,000 winning cheque were presented to the two Frenchmen on their arrival in Plymouth by Artemis CEO, Mark Tyndall.
For the first time in its 83 year history, the start of the race was postponed due to adverse weather conditions but many boats were still badly affected by gale force winds. Only eight of the original thirteen IMOCA Open 60’s that set out to win the Artemis Trophy at the Rolex Fastnet Race are expected to make it across the finish line. After taking the lead early on Tuesday morning, Vincent Riou who won the 2004-2005 Vendée Globe in a record time, left his opponents trailing in his wake, culminating in an eventual winning margin of 1 hour, 20 minutes and 4 seconds. In a close battle for second place Cheminées Poujoulat eventually took the spot with Delta Dore and Hugo Boss hot on her heels.
Presenting the trophy onboard PRB, Mark Tyndall, CEO of Artemis Investment Management, commented: “I am pleased to present the inaugural Artemis Trophy to Vincent Riou and PRB. It has been a very hard race with tough weather conditions, testing both boats and sailors. Vincent and Sebastien have clearly sailed an excellent race on PRB against an incredibly strong fleet of IMOCA Open 60s. I would like to offer my congratulations to the whole team and all of the competitors that manage to complete this race in such trying conditions. The IMOCA Open 60 class is very exciting and at Artemis we look forward to future events where we can help to promote these formula one machines in British waters.”
Quotes from the PRB winning team as they received the Artemis Trophy:
Vincent Riou – Skipper of PRB
“The race has been really physical and we are tired, but learned a lot about the boat and that should help us for the following events. We are really happy to win the Artemis Trophy. The fleet is quite similar and the boats are pretty much doing the same speed. I feel like there is even less difference in the fleet than in a one design class! To sail these boats requires a lot of experience and I think that the leading skippers are the ones who have the time to sail and get to know their boats. On a race like the Rolex Fastnet 2007, tactics are key as you do a lot of manoeuvres. You cannot make any mistakes and even if you are tired you have to take the right decisions in terms of navigation. We are delighted that a company like Artemis has joined the IMOCA Class and would support us in Britain.”
Sebastien Josse – Co-Skipper PRB
“It has been a hard race and we didn’t really get time to rest but it was great. It was our first race together and we got on really well. The Artemis Trophy is a fantastic initiative and we are happy to receive it. There are already quite a lot of English teams within the IMOCA Class but if more British and international projects join the class that would be even better. Artemis’ involvement reflects the fact that the class is doing well, that the skippers and boats are starting to get well known and respected outside France.”
PODIUM FINISH FOR HUGO BOSS IN WET AND WILD ROLEX FASTNET RACE (from Annabel Merrison)
HUGO BOSS finished third today in the IMOCA Open 60 class in the Rolex Fastnet Race. Racing two-handed in brutal conditions, which have seen 186 yachts retire from the race so far, Alex Thomson (GBR) and co-skipper Andrew Cape (AUS) completed the 608 mile course in just two days, four hours and 48 minutes. They crossed the finish line in Plymouth, UK, at 15:48:01 BST, missing out on second place to VELUX 5 Oceans race winner Bernard Stamm (SUI) aboard Cheminées Poujoulat by just 11 minutes.
The Rolex Fastnet Race started on Monday 13th August in 15 knots of breeze off Cowes, Isle of Wight. HUGO BOSS had a great start and led the pack upwind, passed The Needles and out into the English Channel, followed closely by her sister-ship Generali. “We fell into a wind hole at Lands End and unfortunately the boats further south had a little more wind and managed to get passed us,” explained HUGO BOSS skipper Alex Thomson. “The breeze filled in and the sea state was very rough in the Celtic Sea – we saw 35 knots at times.”
The boats enjoyed powerful fetching conditions all the way to the Fastnet Rock, with HUGO BOSS rounding in fourth place around 19.30 BST on 14th August. The wind continued to build and moved round to the north-west, which catapulted the fleet downwind under spinnaker. HUGO BOSS enjoyed a wet and wild ride back towards the finish and had a great match race with Delta Dore which they won, taking third place in their class behind French teams Cheminées Poujoulat and PRB. “We had hardly sailed the new HUGO BOSS before this race and she is better than we could have ever expected,” said Thomson. “She seems to be one of the fastest in the fleet which is really nice to know.”
On 11 November, Thomson and Cape will compete in the Barcelona World Race onboard HUGO BOSS; a double-handed race non-stop around the world. “The first manoeuvre Capey and I have ever done together as a duo was at the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race. We get on brilliantly which bodes well for the Barcelona World Race. We are chuffed to bits with the performance of the boat and we could not have asked for any more.”