Fankhauser and Riechers qualify for Transat Jacques Vabre 2021
by Michael C. Geiss 15 Sep 2021 13:06 BST
BF Racing © BF Racing
The skipper:
Swiss-born Beat Fankhauser grew up in the Tyrolean mountains. He is known among the sailing elite as "The Mountain Man". The name says it all, because with brute willpower and as a true all-rounder at sea and on land, he wants to shake up the field in the top class of sailing. Until recently, the ocean sailing professional spent about 48 weeks a year on various sailing yachts on all the world's oceans, not to mention more than 25 Atlantic crossings in the charter and conveying business. All this with one goal in mind: to prepare for the toughest regattas in the world.
The boat:
The original Gitana 80, built in 2007 and former Pure Best Western, contested the Vendee Globe 2020/21 with skipper Romain Attanasio (FRA) and reached the finish line in Les Sables d'Olonne in 14th place after 90 days non-stop around the world.
On August 8, 2021, the BF Racing Team will start at the famous Rolex Fastnet Race, which will be followed by participation in as many well-known regattas of the IMOCA open 60 class and other regattas as possible, as well as countless training sessions to make boat and skipper fit for the unconditional goal: competing in the Vendée Globe 2024-2025.
IMOCA open 60: Fankhauser and Riechers qualified for Transat Jacques Vabre 2021
The duo Beat Fankhauser and Jörg Riechers, have qualified for this year's edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre. Originally, the participation in the Rolex Fastnet 2021 was planned as qualification. After a brilliant race to catch up from 12th to fourth place, the team had to give up, deeply disappointed, due to a technical defect*.
The IMOCA open 60 class association made it possible to make up for the qualification by 15 September, on condition that the team covered 1,000 nautical miles non-stop. The starting signal was given on 01.09.21 at 17:00 off the home port of Port-La-Fôret on the Breton coast, heading out into the Atlantic in light to medium winds and cruising back to Port-La-Fôret, where #themountainman moored again on 06.09.21 at 05:30. On 07 September, the qualification was officially confirmed by the race committee of the Transat Jacques Vabre. Beat Fankhauser thanked his team for the great effort and underlined the successful cooperation with co-skipper Jörg Riechers.
*Broken hook on the mainsail, which led to its total failure.
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