Both Groovederci and Courrier Dunkerque were dismasted Friday in the offshore leg from Marseille to La Seyne-sur-Mer. The highly anticipated Mistral conditions brought the breeze we had been looking for all month long! Breeze at the start was in the 20 knot range and a large swell spoke of more breeze to come. We were sitting in fourth at the time we dropped our rig, about 18 miles from the rounding mark. The wind was in the low 30’s, masthead up, we were hurling down waves then skipping across the windblown surface of the sea. I was having the time of my life, grinning from ear to ear, loving every minute of this downwind blast and then BANG! The backstay had parted…and so then the rig.

Interestingly enough, I think that Dunkerque and Groove were the only two team carrying around spare rigs! Both teams set to work immediately upon arrival and within two hours, the new mast was built and installed. Special thanks to the French Navy who assisted in the operation with a crane on one of their ships.

There have been a few organizational hiccups (Tour organization) along the way but we along with the rest of the fleet have managed. There was the time we were departing Pleneuf and the “organization” had no address for us (the entire Pikey Camp”) in the next stop city (Lorient). This was funny in that Lorient had just created the “City of Sail” exposition on the waterfront and they were not ready for us by a long shot. It all sorted out in the end but not without some major stress on shore managers. Luckily for us our navigator Jeremie Beyou has his base in Lorient so we had a home no matter what. His team (and lovely wife) invited us to park everything there at their base and further hosted us for a very nice party the next night. Jeremie’s base is pretty impressive and upon arrival we were all drooling over the Open 60 (his former Delta Dore) sitting in the shed. Yea… Open 60.. that looks pretty damn good after a few hundred miles on a Farr 30.

The next hiccup was that we were to haul out in Royan on a Friday night after inshores and then travel on Saturday. Somehow the “organization” forgot about the Tour de France.. THE Tour de France, and some roads we needed to cross were going to be closed. So.. race, haul boats, pack the camp, attend the prize giving (mandatory) and then hit the road around eleven at night for an eight hour drive south. Most teams arrived in Port Camargue around seven in the morning without any place to go other than the parking lot of a hotel and wait for check in at two in the afternoon.

The first night here was usually the last night on the Atlantic and as I recall, the party on that night before the road trip was a wild one! On this first night in Port Camargue, with a “day off” the following, it was not to disappoint! A text message arrived at six thirty in the afternoon informing us that there was to be a “Toga Party” in the Pikey Camp that night. Team Groove stepped up to plate as always and the rest, is history.

There was a little incident with our chef and an unnamed crew member not making it back to the hotel. Stolen watches, wallets, shoes and believe it or not.. shorts too! A bit of a scene this morning trying to sort out the carnage but as of now, I believe all are in bed, safe and sound, mentally switching the “ON” button for when racing begins tomorrow. Enjoy the video in our next post… it may be long (and it was a long night), but well worth it.

Over and out from the Ensenada of the south of France.. this place bites.

Oman passed us above (we could have shook hands they were so close and we were all laughing, okay not all of us, at the absurdity by this point), Safran was charging hard from the other side of the bay. We tried wing on wing, nothing, other boats were trying to trim for upwind (sails flapping), finally we let the main all the way out, held it there and pointed the bow at the pin end, all of us pushing hard on the leeward rail! Just before the pin and with Safran (kite up) a threat, Jono Swain who was driving at the time decided we needed to jibe! We rolled the boat as hard as we could and ghosted across the line just before Safran, Dunkerque and Oman!