Meeting of the Minds in Marseille
by SailGP 20 Sep 2019 10:34 BST
19 September 2019
Marseille SailGP Season 1 Grand Final practice day © Sam Kurtul /
www.worldofthelens.co.uk
French sailing heroes team up for practice racing ahead of SailGP Marseille's grand finale
Thursday's SailGP practice racing brought a little extra excitement when the world's fastest solo circumnavigator joined France SailGP helmsman Billy Besson and his team onboard the most technologically advanced boat on the planet, the F50 catamaran. Marseille marks the conclusion of SailGP's inaugural season.
Coville holds the record for the fastest single-handed circumnavigation, sailing around the earth in 49 days, 3 hours, 7 minutes and 38 seconds. He is has achieved 7 circumnavigations and is a winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre and Route du Rhum.
Although from distinctively different sailing backgrounds, Besson and Coville are arguably two of the most decorated sailors racing under the French flags. Besson is a four-time Nacra 17 World Champion with Marie Riou, flight controller for thew France SailGP team.
Coville raced the first practice race of the SailGP Marseille kick-off as the sixth man onboard the F50, sitting directly behind Besson as he faced off against five other fierce teams vying for the million-dollar prize on the Mediterranean. Will Coville join the France SailGP team in Season two? Fans will have to wait and see.
What we can determine is that sailing culture in France is alive and well...