68th Geneva Bol dOr
by Rolex Media Centre 18 Jun 2006 23:01 BST
The start of the Bol d'Or Rolex on Lake Geneva © Carlo Borlenghi / Rolex
Like Swallows in the Springtime
Nearly 600 of them set out yesterday morning in tight rows against the local Easterly 'Séchar' wind. Just a handful of them had rounded Le Bouveret, at the far end of Lac Léman, by the start of the afternoon, and even fewer - heroic souls nonetheless - had made port by yesterday evening. These were the escapees of a Bol d'Or Rolex that, true to form, was hard on the sailors, gruelling for the nerves and tough on equipment.
At dawn, the fleet spans the entire width of the race zone. Solent sails flog, colourful spinnakers inflate and then deflate as if exhausted by so many nocturnal veins of breeze. In a race full of unpredictability, courage and patience are the prerequisite of the Bol D'or Rolex. Alex Schneiter and Patrick Firmenich, are the first to slide their red Psaros 40, almost surreptitiously, across the finish line shortly after 0100 this morning to take victory in Class 1. It is the beginning of a vast procession of hundreds of fine, individual tales that are both personal and secret, of sailors that have come like swallows to the spring to answer the call of the Léman.
The Bol de Vermeil goes to 'Tilt'
For almost the entire race, Alex Schneiter and Patrick Firmenich aboard the Psaros 40 'Tilt' believed that Taillevent II - Nicolas Engel's prototype which had been right on their tail since Bouveret - was going to catch them. Their greatest fear in the darkest of calm zones was to see the famous Bol de Vermeil snatched from them, a prize promised to any boat capable of lining up three class victories over a five-year period. The satisfaction of having won it, after such tense racing, lit up the faces of Schneiter's crew as the Race Committee sounded the finish gun at 0104 hours. 'Tilt' had a lead of just 12 minutes over Taillevent II, a prototype designed and built like an old style 'Class America Mini', though the anemometer was barely scraping zero.
"It's been a testing race" says Alex with a smile that seems to suggests otherwise. "Especially at the finish where we feared we'd be run over by a gust right up until the last minute." It's not easy reading the lake surface in the pitch black, with not a single breath of wind. "This Bol d'Or Rolex is exceptional, not only because we won it, but also because we've had all kinds of conditions, complete with a violent squall with 27 knots of wind. It was a complete race that was all about strategy." Firmenich takes up the theme: "It was a fabulous 'Bol d'Or Rolex! We could have lost everything just a few boat lengths from the line. You couldn't afford to mess up the final manouvres, or risk stopping a boat that was only moving as a result of its own inertia. It was very tense at the end. Thank you to the crew." Behind the first two, 'Full Pelt', a highly original prototype with a planing hull and a swing keel, designed by British naval architect and Olympic medallist Jo Richards, completes the Class 1 podium.
Storm and Some Hope
This 68th Bol d'Or Rolex will remain etched in the memory, not least for the big storm that struck mid-afternoon, while the whole fleet was stretched three-quarters of the way across the lake. It swept down across the race zone, causing a good 20 or so retirements and a great deal of emotion from the racers, some of whom saw the anemometer record winds over 35 knots. For the 400 or so boats still racing to Bouveret, this gust brought hope of a having a more wind-assisted push towards the finish. Sadly for them, the storm only left a vague chop in its wake and that quickly subsided with the crushing apathy of a race zone utterly devoid of wind.
The Toucans triumph in Class 3
The close battle between the Luthis and the Toucans finally went to the latter. 'Enaile' skippered by Yves Tournier took victory at 2117 hours after a bitter struggle, the winner finishing a mere breath of air ahead of another Toucan, Luc Munier's 'Aquatic'. The Luthi 952 'Tarangau Electronic Marine' skippered by David Vulliez broke the Toucan monopoly to complete the podium.
Festival of sports boats
The Mumm 30s were led home by the crew of 'Ville de Genève-Carrefour Prévention' who will defend the Swiss colours at the upcoming Tour Voile, which starts in Dunkirk at the end of June. Skipper Loïc Fuhrer worked hard over the winter with his crew and today he reaped the rewards of that effort by taking victory in Class 4 over another Mumm 30, that of the Frenchman Patrick Ducommun. The Farr designs managed to outwit the imposing fleet of Grand Surprises.
Quotes from the boats:
Thierry Chapatte, President of the Organising Committee:
"It is a rare moment that can be observed each year in the early morning, at the finish of the Bol d'Or Rolex. That spontaneous smile of satisfaction from the exhausted competitors comes as the horn sounds to celebrate their passage and they regain their enthusiasm and good humour. The magic happens again and again with each arrival. Added to this was the great experience of the breathtaking finish of the multihulls and the monohulls from Class 1; the suspense of the crowning of a highly successful 68th edition. Each year, we set the bar a little higher and our 80 volunteers try to equal the professionalism of our partner Rolex. This alchemy works really well and the Rolex team are unquestionably raising the standard here. As a result, we become a bit more demanding each year. In terms of safety for example, this year we had, in addition to the French and Swiss services, 20 safety boats which were able to intervene very effectively during the storm. The conviviality remains the key word in our organisation. The Rolex soirée on Friday was a complete success. The musical entertainment and the wall of video images were greatly appreciated. In this way we hope to perpetuate our event. The international opening is very important in this regard. We think that the Bol d'Or Rolex may become an 'obligatory' point of passage for a certain number of one design classes, like the Melges or the Mumm 30s. Loïck Peyron and Alain Gautier have also opened the door to professionals who with this regatta find the perfect way of expressing their ocean racing talents with our extraordinary multihulls. The Bol d'or Rolex is decidedly a good time had by all.".
Yvan Ravussin (Axiom - 10th M1 Class):
"Racing on a lake produces 'hot water-cold water' extremes. At one point you have to be conservative, whilst at another you have to play all the risks without a second thought. The success comes in getting the balance right. This didn't really work for us. Up to Yvoire, we were with Russell [Coutts] but then we didn't dare follow him so far in his inshore option. 35 knots in a D 35 is a shaky ride. We dropped the mainsail and stayed with the storm sail. Wind was coming at us from all angles. It was impressive. The Léman is really very special. You have to sail here the whole year round to feel it."
Xavier Lecoeur (Mirabaud 2):
"We made too many strategic errors to stand a hope of scoring another 12th place as we did last year. Lake sailing doesn't pardon any mistakes and the particular shape of the Léman increases your chances of falling into a trap. On two occasions we went to the wrong side of the race zone and there's no coming back from that. You have to come back to learn."
Focus on the Eris Out 95:
It has really set the tongues wagging since its arrival in Geneva. The Eris Out 95, the 'concept boat' thought up by two young British engineers, Alex Ashworth Briggs and Neal Pawson came 60th in the general rankings. Its very small wetted surface area, swing keel and strange skirts, were doubtless an advantage when extracting itself from the light airs. The rotating wing mast, with its fully-battened mainsail leech, provide enormous power when sailing downwind. However, its designers are proudest of its supreme upwind performance, 34% faster than a Mumm 30 they say! Built by OOS, the Out 95 flirts with 25 knots downwind in calm waters so it's the ideal vessel for performing on European inland waters.
Rendez-vous in June 2007
The 2006 version of the Bol d'Or Rolex comes to a close. Congratulations to the champions, at the end of a colourful, suspense-filled sporting spectacle. A fleet of 565 boats entered the race on Saturday morning. Of those, 327 had crossed the finish line when the race officially closed at 4.00 pm on Sunday afternoon. From Coutts to Peyron, Gautier to Ravussin, along with all the many Corinthian racers, Lake Léman (Geneva) has been rich in emotion, magic and the simple pleasures of sailing. All that remains is to wait patiently for the next edition in June 2007.
OUT95 scoops third in class in the mighty Bol d’Or (from the The OUT95 team)
The Bol d’Or is the premier event in the Swiss racing Calandar. An 80-mile race starting from Geneva running the length of Lac Leman it attracts 600 competitors, including the British OUT95 ‘Eris’. Neal Pawson tells the story from a race that featured vicious squalls as well as completely drifting conditions over the course of their 22-hour marathon.
After a week of preparation in brilliant sunshine following the Geneve-Rolle-Geneve, still with a monstrous list of “to do” jobs, then having a crew member refused exit from the UK and thus having to find a last minute replacement, we were towed out to join 600 boats on the start line of the 68th Bol d’Or on an overcast morning. With the start line divided up, with the faster monohulls sandwiched between the multihulls and a large number of smaller boats, tactical options were limited as we pulled away from the start on port tack in 2-3 knots of wind that built to a steady 5-6 knot easterly. After initially taking a route down the center to gain clear air we worked the band of pressure down the French shore to Yvoire. Exiting the Petit Lac the wind dropped below 5 knots and the code 0 was hoisted as we fetched across the bay of Thornon in a small band of pressure. On passing Evian the wind became increasingly fickle and we again headed for the shore to make use of the local wind on the beach.
Whilst we played the highly variable wind the clouds started to build behind and we spotted the flashing warning lights that are dotted around the lake to warn mariners of impeding storms. We donned waterproofs and tried to anticipate the direction. Looking behind we saw spinnakers being hoisted as the wind switched to the west and built rapidly to 20+ knots. With masthead kite and full main we shot off in flat water towards the turning mark at Bouveret with the Silva instruments locked in with a constant 20 knots boatspeed. We sped past the leading boats who having already rounded the mark were struggling with reefs and headsail changes on an upwind course. After two smaller hiccups our sleigh ride was bought to a close by a vicious gust down the vertical cliff face above Bouveret, which required the kite halyard to be blown to get us back on our feet. Approaching the mark in pouring rain, the wind became increasingly unstable with bigger gusts and lulls alternatively demanding multiple reefs or full sail. The drama was not over yet, as we rounded under headsail alone with broken rigs around us and the mark only a few hundred meters off a leeshore that had already claimed one boat, a competitor sailing bare-headed directly ahead suddenly lost its mainsail as the halyard broke. Staring at a rapidly approaching transom and insufficient water to sail through to leeward our only option was to gybe out and tack round to clear past the big steel barge recording the competitors as they rounded. The wind at the same time started to drop as rapidly as it had built and clock round to the south. We re-hoisted our main and added our code 0 as we headed back down the lake to the finish.
We quickly returned to sub 6 knots windspeed and from the adrenaline pumping events earlier our bodies suffered from a lack of stimulant and we were left bemoaning our forgotten supply of caffeine stimulant drinks with only bananas and chocolate to jumpstart our bodies and minds. Across the bay of Evian as dusk settled into night the wind became increasingly patchy and required repeated changes from spinnaker to code 0 and back. We worked hard to stay in the wind bands only to be frustrated as the lake gods seemed to deal out an equal number of jokers to our competitors.
Re-entering the Petit Lac with the moon high in the sky the wind disappeared completely until the faintest zephyrs brought the boatspeed into the 0.5-2 knots range. With exhausted bodies strewn above and below decks and tired minds fighting to stay focused, small maneuvers became highlights of excitement from the monotony of creeping along in such light breeze. As dawn approached we jousted with a number of groups of boats that materialized from navigation lights including an F28 trimaran and a number of the local Toucan class of long narrow boats that feature huge overlapping headsails. Picking our way past boats left and right, all the way up to the line, we finally squeezed over the line at 6hr50 in the morning, 12h hours after we rounded Bouveret.
After a restorative sleep and a wonderful meal of Boeuf Bourguignon, kindly provided by our Swiss sponsors “Wings Project Art Space”, we were pleasantly shocked after all the adventures of the race to discover at the prize giving that we had finished 31st monohull from over 540 competitors and be called up to the podium to collect a trophy for 3rd in class!