Groovederci out of the night!
What suspense! Strong tides and lack of wind makes the outcome of the last offshore race in Atlantic quite hard to predict. Who ever said that the art of sailing was like the art of war was right : the winner is the first who is able to adapt to any changes that may occurs. You had to be one of these warriors to get a good result in Royan.
With today being one of the first days off since the Tour de France a la Voile began, we’ll let the Groovederci Team rest and show you what’s they’ve been up to. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?
July 7th, the boys took off for Lorient, another 200 mile race. I had penciled myself out of this one months ago and looking at the forecast (very light!), I was not at all envious of the boys as they docked off. The shore team and I are packing up here in Pleneuf and as I look at the boat tracker I’m feeling sorry for my team, all of them really. In the last twelve hours they have only managed a mere ten miles. Brutal.
Today is Saturday, July 3rd and I am in Dieppe, France. I had to write it just to remember what day it is and where I am.
A lot has happened since my last update, primarily that we have started what we are all here for, the racing! It has not disappointed.
We started off last Saturday with a mandatory “Prologue” race. This was a day of some “organized” practice starts and then a short race that doesn’t have any score for the overall race, just a parade of sorts. The RC set a starting line just off the coast of Dunkerque where we had a very reasonable breeze of 12 to 15 knots. I say “reasonable” because last time we were here it was nuking! We were to have four practice starts and then a race. Well, it seemed reasonable until we ran the line that was set and understood that the line was set at 23 boat lengths and we were 28 boats on the course. Jungle Ball! The RC had also set a windward mark at about a quarter mile (for our practice starts). All I can say is that it is One Design, and when you have 28 boats going off on a start, sailing a quarter mile beat in 15 knots, guess who gets to the top mark first? EVERYONE! It was a massive shit fight off the line, up the beat was no better. Sailing on starboard tack meant nothing to the port tack boats and if you had any common sense, forget about trying to round the mark! Ah yes, welcome to the jungle. For the “Prologue” race the line remained the same and the beat wasn’t much longer than in the practice starts. The RC had the foresight to send us up to weather with a starboard rounding. This exercise made it very clear as to why we have rules of the road (Racing Rules of Sailing) and why port roundings work in match racing and not in fleet racing! Shit fight again.
Six years have gone by since I last sailed the Tour de France a la Voile, and while many things with the event, boat and preparation seem the same, they seem completely different this time around. The only thing I’m certain of is that I am six years older!
Before I go any further, I have to introduce my team for this 2010 edition – many of them are familiar to your readers: Jonathan Swain, Philippe Mourniac, Sean Couvreux, Paul Tingle, Jeremie Beyou, Scott Nixon, George Peet, Charlie Ogletree, Christopher Pratt, Ben Sternberg, Cameron Biehl, Rob Huntingford (boat captain), Lovro Vidmar (chef), Stephanie Laval (shore manager), Diego Gomez-Hall (video).
I arrived in Dunkerque, France on Tuesday afternoon to the strangest thing; sunshine! Not only that, it’s hot as hell, light wind (very light by the start of our first offshore on the 29th) and it’s absolutely beautiful here. The city somehow looks friendlier, brighter and more alive than it did in 2004. This is definitely “not normal”, which would be 35-40 knots blowing throw daily, the sun rarely shining, and the rain falling sideways, in heavy sheets. My good friend and TdF tactician Philippe Mourniac wrote in an email to the team before our arrival “remember, summertime in Dunkerque is only the 17th of July from 10am to 3pm, so be prepared!” Honestly, it makes me pretty damned apprehensive about what’s to come over the next four weeks. On the other hand, as of today and for the next thirty days, I am just another sailor, and all I have to do is sail. Heaven.
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