Tour Voile Day 8: A Lorina cocktail for Le big weekend?
by A.S.O. / Tour Voile 14 Jul 2018 08:18 BST
6-22 July 2018
2018 Tour Voile - Day 8 © Jean-Marie Liot / A.S.O
On what promises to be a massive weekend in France, as Bastille Day on Saturday segues neatly into the Sunday’s FIFA World Cup and the French showdown against Croatia, Lorina Limonade-Golfe du Morbihan head to their home waters in the beautiful south of Brittany having just seized the blue gennaker as leaders of the 41st Tour Voile. And adding yet more fizz to a heady Lorina Morbihan cocktail their youthful counterparts on Lorina Mojito-Golfe du Morbihan occupy third place overall.
The Morbihan pro team– Lorina Blue for short – triumphed conclusively in 2016, sealing the overall title in Hyères one Act before the final regatta in Nice. But last year, 2017, they under- performed finishing sixth overall. The post Tour debrief saw the long term partnership of Quentin Delapierre and Matthieu Salomon dissolved, with Delapierre retained as skipper.
But, just on cue. Lorina Limonade appear to have their winning mojo back.
After victory in today’s stadium Final off Barneville-Carteret - on the La Manche coast facing Jersey - and finishing second to the younger, amateur counterparts on Lorina Mojito in yesterday’s tidal coastal race, Lorina Limonade-Golfe du Morbihan lead the Tour.
They will carry their heads high when Act 4 of this seven venue Tour starts Saturday at Baden is contested at home on Morbihan Bay where they are based and train.
All three of today’s stadium racing winning crew are the progeny of successful, well known Frenchsailing fathers, cousins Bruno and Tim Mourniac are respectively the sons of Philippe (3 times America’s Cup navigator) and Jean Christophe (‘Kinou’ – 1996 and 200 Tornado Olympian who sails on Cheminee Poujoulat) and helm Kevin Peponnet, a 470 Olympic class racer, is son of 1988 Olympic gold medallist Thierry.
Lorina Limonade’s Tim Mourniac smiled, “It's great to go to Act 4 at home in Baden as the leaders!” "In the final we had a great start that gave us a jump. Then we did what we can do, what we worked for all year long that is making the right choices on the water. In the end, we take our first victory in this Tour, the end of a day when everything worked, everything seemed to go right.
If Barneville-Carteret has witnessed the ascendancy of both Lorina teams, ‘Mojito’ their youth team are up to third, so it has also seen an unexpected slump by the previous Tour leaders Beijaflore at a very challenging venue where the tidal range is one of the biggest in the world. They could only manage 10th from the very tidal coastal race, during which they were sucked back into the pack when the wind died, in today’s stadium Final Beijaflore crossed the finish in sixth.
After three wins and two second places as well as a fifth over the first six races Beijaflore picked up more points at this La Manche stop than over the first two Acts and head to Brittany four points behind Lorina Limonade Golfe du Morbihan.
Lorina Mojito-Golfe du Morbihan finished third in today’s Final and after winning the Coastal Race by a long way yesterday, the young team of Solune Robert, Riwan Perron, Louis Flament and Charles Dorange are now third and lead the Youth standings. Limonade will be identifiable to home fans on tomorrow’s Coastal Race by the leader’s blue gennaker, while Mojito carry the Pink gennaker as Youth class leaders.
Today’s Final raced in 8-11kts of shifty NE’ly breeze saw amateur fleet leaders Homkia Nil Les Sables take second place and for the first time the all-girl team on La Boulangère make the Final and finish fifth.
Stevie Morrison, Mat Richard and Abdul Rahman on #sailingarabia put a bad, problematic coastal race behind them and scored a solid fourth on the Final today. Having qualified top of their fleet they were unable to carry that winning momentum forward. Once more it is hard to judge whether it is better to come through a weaker draw and be forced to raise your game for the Final or arrive in the Final from a long day battling with the other top seeds and the Final feels like just another heat.
Abdul Rahman stepped on to the boat today after Ali Al Balushi fractured his hand on Thursday’s five hour coastal marathon. #sailingarabia are still fourth on the Tour standings, three points shy of the third step on the podium.
“After a frustrating day yesterday it was good to win the group but the Final was raced in four knots of wind and three knots of tide, but that is this game. We are happy with fourth which is OK as it was a bit of a lottery.” Said #sailingarabia’s Stevie Morrison.
Abdul Rahman who will now sail ever day added, “It was a good day, I am disappointed for Ali who will not be sailing. But it is a good chance for me to keep learning. Fourth today is good but the Tour is very long and we need to keep pushing.”
They said:
Emeric Dary (Homkia-Nil-Les Sables d'Olonne): "This second place is our best result on the Tour Voile and that is great! Our goal is to finish in the Top 10 in the overall and for the moment we are there. With our good dynamics we can still get closer to the first. By 2019, we hope to be able to be challenging for the overall podium at General. That goal is realistic. "
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