Man lost overboard in Round Europe Race

by Mark Turner 23 Jun 1999 22:36 BST

As Kingfisher's Ellen and Yves Parlier crossed the line on Aquitaine Innnovations to take victory in the monohull section of the Round Europe Race, there was sadly not much to cheer about. Towards the end of yesterday afternoon, whilst racing along at breakneck speeds, Nicolas Florin, the bowman from one of the 60 foot trimarans "Biscuits de la Trinitaine", was swept off the boat. His harness broke under the force of the water as the boat dived in to a wave in testing conditions. Several boats were immediately detailed to search as well as two helicopters, but at daylight there was still no sign of him. The search continues but hopes are fading of finding him alive.

Nicolas is a very experienced sailor, and previously part of the Corum Sailing Team, having raced Admirals Cup, Mumm 36 Worlds and even the Paris Dakar rally in a buggy. These Open 60 trimarans in particular are the equivalent of Formula 1 racing cars. They are raced to the limit, and crewed by some of the most experienced sailors in the world.

It's a sad moment in what has been an incredibly fast leg - and testing for the crews. On the sailing, MacArthur commented 'the conditions since we left Italy have been really full on. We've been wet through from the start, and in the past 24 hours have had some thrilling sailing - averaging over 17 knots for the period. Whirlpool was ahead of us yesterday with just 200 miles to go, but we managed to push harder in these final hours and got clear ahead of her beating her by several hours in the end. These Open 60s really are amazing machines. We're sailing at breathtaking speeds, and pushing to the limits unlike when they are raced solo. A fantastic learning experience for me - and a great atmosphere onboard the boat. C'est superbe!'

The crews now get some rest until the start of leg 2 to Lorient, France, which starts on Sunday.

Results:

Monos
1. Aquitaine Innovations (Parlier, MacArthur)
2. Whirlpool-Europe 2 (Chabaud)

Multis
1. Fujicolour (Peyron)
2. Groupama (Cammas)

MINI FASTNET MINI UPDATE

Match racing at front of the Mini fleet!

After 24 hours of light upwind racing across the Celtic Sea, Peter Heppel and Andrew Cape continue to grind down '97 Mini winner Seb Magnen - having reduced their lead to just 2 miles. Magnen's boat has a swing keel, whereas Heppel's carries water ballast with a trim tab on the keel, so this is a fascinating duel between the two schools of design thought - assuming of course the sailors are equal!

Others continue to drop from the fleet for various technical reasons - this race is very good for sorting out the boats that are well prepared or not. A vital preparation for the Mini Transat!

The two front runners are expected to pass the famous Fastnet rock towards midnight tonight (Wednesday), before a difficult light airs downwind leg towards Brittany, France.

PROTOTYPES
Sébastien Magnen (Fouesnant) et Christophe Lebas (Cherbourg)
Karen Liquid
(Magnen) à 389 milles du but
Peter Heppel (GB) et Andrew Cape (AUS)
Reality (Finot-Conq) à 392 milles
Erwan Tabarly (Le Bono) et Patrick Tabarly (Nantes)
Armor-Lux (Groupe
Finot) à 416 milles
Jean-Michel Roux (Dirinon) et Eric Coulon (Les Sables d'Olonne)
Réglisse
(proto Rolland) à 421 milles
Antoine Mayerat et Renaud Stitelman (Suisse)
Handicap International
(Finot) à 428 milles

POGOS
Frédéric Duval (Chantepie) et Dominique Connin (la Trinité s/Mer) Popin
(Pogo-Rolland) à 540 milles
Antoine Debled (Nantes) et Eric Troussel (La Rochelle)
Petit Auguste 7
(Pogo-Rolland) à 442 milles
Christian Bouroullec (Combrit) et Pierre-Marie Bourguinat (Bordeaux) Pogo
(Pogo-Rolland) à 544 milles
Olivier de Roffignac (Cherves-Richemont) et Gilles Rabaud (Lattes) Arcama
(Pogo-Rolland) à 447 milles
Christian Clouet (Pl¦meur) et Laurent Basile (Lorient)
Technipipe (Pogo
Rolland) à 447 milles

More information: www.offshorechallenges.com