Nice UltiMed kicks off in Marseille
by A.S.O. / Nice UltiMed 25 Apr 2018 19:19 BST
25 April - 6 May 2018
Nice UltiMed in Marseille © Jean-Marie Liot / Morgan BOVE / ASO
The first edition of the Nice UltiMed is up and running! This Wednesday, in the Vieux Port in Marseille, spectators came out in force to admire the three giants, IDEC SPORT, Sodebo Ultim' and Actual-Grand Large Emotion.
For the skippers, Francis Joyon, Thomas Coville and Yves Le Blévec, this original stopover is bringing back plenty of memories and giving rise to great enthusiasm. From Friday, they'll take to the sea again with their crews for the Sud-Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region Prologue, the start of which will be given by Renaud Muselier, President of the Region.
A football city par excellence, Marseille is currently gathering together France's best racers for the Nice UltiMed. In this way, in the Vieux Port, opposite City Hall, the public have the chance to meet Francis Joyon, singlehanded record specialist and the current holder of the Jules Verne Trophy, the legendary crewed round the world record, with an astounding time of 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds aboard IDEC SPORT. Two of his crew present for this performance are also accompanying him on the Nice UltiMed, Bernard Stamm and Gwénolé Gahinet. Similarly, onlookers will have the opportunity to see Thomas Coville, the second fastest sailor to sail singlehanded around the world on Sodebo Ultim'.
The skipper of the third giant to compete in the Nice UltiMed is also highly experienced. Yves Le Blévec has completed the Jules Verne Trophy course twice over (one of which was victorious in 2005) and he was the first solo sailor to attempt the crazy challenge of a westabout round the world on an Ultime. The crews formed by the three skippers in the Nice UltiMed group together more excellent sailors, who will really be able to show off the extent of their talent on the Mediterranean race zone...
The memories come flooding back...
Among the three skippers, Yves Le Blévec is doubtless most familiar with the race zone in Marseille and the Sud-Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. "I spent a fair amount of time here aboard the maxi catamaran Orange II in 2002 and 2005. We spent several weeks here, getting out on the water regularly and enjoying some very good times here. We broke the Mediterranean record in 2004 (between Marseille and Carthage in Tunisia), setting sail on a Mistral day, which was fabulous", he recalls. "More recently, I returned here with Actual Ultim to show off the boat. As such, I'm pretty familiar with the playing field, though more so Marseille than Nice."
Thomas Coville also has some fine memories of his previous trips to Marseille. "Seeing Sodebo Ultim' in the Vieux Port, I can't help but think back to the long stopover I made here with Laurent Bourgnon on his trimaran Primagaz in 1992. It was a high point for me, a real rite of passage, as I pretty much began my career as a racer there and then. We were tied to this same pontoon and it feels like I can see Laurent at the end of the dock..." Thomas explains, not without emotion. "I came back here again on the Ultime Sodebo 3 for a Mediterranean record but that time I remained outside the port."
During his long and illustrious career, Francis Joyon has also stopped off in Marseille, albeit briefly. "I participated in several editions of the Course de l'Europe and I criss-crossed the Mediterranean in every direction, but never made a stopover in Marseille", he says. "In the end, it was with the first IDEC that I called in here for the first time, invited by the city hall. I stayed here for two days for a public relations operation. I recall sailing in the Mistral with 25 guests on the trimaran's trampoline. It was pretty lively!"
"Delighted to come back"
Far from getting wrapped up in the nostalgia, the three skippers in the Nice UltiMed are approaching this new Mediterranean meeting with enthusiasm and excitement. Yves Le Blévec: "We're delighted to come back here. Making landfall in Marseille is always extraordinary. It's a port in which you transition effortlessly from the sea to the city. It's great to be able to return here with our big boats designed to navigate the globe's oceans. The Sud-Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region Prologue promises to be fabulous. We'll be able to jostle for the top spot as we hug this magical coast, right up close to the public."
Francis Joyon and Thomas Coville are also delighted at the prospect of this Marseille-style "Warm-Up". "This city has a very special resonance, a different touch," stresses Coville. "Things are happening here and we have a real card to play all together, particularly within the context of the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 and this Olympic site of Marseille which, to my mind, is an excellent choice for French sailing."
"Beware of the Mediterranean's idyllic image"
All based in Brittany, the skippers in the Nice UltiMed are inspired by the idea of getting a handle on a playing field that is fantastic yet complicated, fascinating yet demanding. "There are some very strong features that colour the weather in the Mediterranean. This morning, as we approached Marseille, we came up against a 50-degree wind shift. Seeing that, it's evident that sailors who really know the race zone should race a lot better than the others here", explains Francis Joyon. "It's important to beware of the Mediterranean's idyllic image with its blue skies and glassy seas", Yves Le Blévec confirms. "Sailing can be very difficult here and it's hard on the short, breaking seas. The Mediterranean isn't a lake, it's vast and full of pitfalls. There are a huge amount of localised weather phenomena that succeed one another. Here, more so than elsewhere, it's never over until the finish line is crossed."
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