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Volvo Ocean Race

Franck Cammas’ crew round-up of the round the world

vendredi 6 juillet 2012Redaction SSS [Source RP]

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After Groupama 4’s victory in her very first participation in the Volvo Ocean Race, even before the final In-Port race on Saturday, we review this action-packed circumnavigation of the globe from the start in Alicante to the finish in Galway. An epic saga, which marks the constant progress made by Franck Cammas and his men over the course of the 39,000 miles sailed in eight months…

Leaders in Portugal

The Atlantic crossing is a format Franck Cammas and his men are very familiar with and the start from Miami is excellent for the crew of Groupama 4, who rapidly extract themselves from Florida, bound for a tropical storm to the North. The first to gybe to distance itself from this dangerous disturbance, the French boat makes good its escape, whilst the rest of the fleet battle with some violent headwinds. The focus is on catching up with a front, which is moving along at the same speed as the boat : after a few days, the backrunners dive towards the banks of Newfoundland and snatch the lead ! Groupama 4 drops from first to last place… However, with the arrival of a fine south-westerly breeze, the potential of the French boat is fully expressed and as they approach a ridge of high pressure offshore of Portugal, Groupama 4 slips into second place, racking up some phenomenal speeds. Franck Cammas and his men come flying up to Abu Dhabi’s stern at the finish line, thus moving up into the lead of the overall standing ! A few days later, the French put up a faultless performance in the In-Port race.”

Franck Cammas : “We did a very good job, though we still regret not having secured a win. We weren’t far behind Abu Dhabi and there was nothing in it at the end ! We sailed a fine leg : we had our highs and lows and we finished on a very positive note. We had some very varied weather conditions and the leaders put themselves in some difficult situations : it was at our expense at the start of the race and in our favour at the end of the leg.”

The top three in Lisbon 1-Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas) : 2+20+2+18+5+24+2+30+4+20+6+20+5+25+6 = 189 points 2-Telefonica (Iker Martinez) : 1+30+6+29+2+27+6+20+1+25+2+15+1+15+1 = 181 points 3-Puma (Ken Read) : 5+0+4+19+3+17+5+25+5+30+4+30+4+20+5 = 176 points

On home waters…

Clearly the eighth leg is very important for the top four in the overall standing, as the result in Lorient Lorient L’actualité du port de Lorient et de sa région. could upset the hierarchy. And things get off to a bad start for Franck Cammas and his crew, who get stuck in a windless hole beneath the bridge in Lisbon ! The Portuguese tradewinds are active across the Atlantic and Groupama 4 is able to get back into the thick of the action as the fleet approach the calm conditions offered up by the Azores High. Once around the island of Sao Miguel, they have to negotiate a nasty depression, which has settled across the route to Brittany : the pace becomes increasingly steady as the wind picks up to over 45 knots ! Given that none of the four pretenders are keen to ease off the pace, the battle is extremely tight. Until that is, the crew of the French boat (having resolved their mainsail issue) is first to put in a gybe, whilst the Spanish boat loses a rudder. The French team have sailed a blinder and triumph on home waters. Seemingly unstoppable, they secure another victory during the In-Port race, when Franck Cammas slips to leeward of Camper over the last few metres… Groupama 4’s lead over the second-placed American is enough to view the next two races with more serenity.

Franck Cammas : “I’d dreamt about this, the whole crew had dreamt of it ! On a short leg like this, the slightest error costs dearly. With our mainsail issue barely two days from the finish, we all told ourselves it was over… However, when we were able to effect repairs, we came back fighting : it was bordering on the edge but it came off. We took risks like the others and it turned into a competition to see who was going to be the first to bail…”

The top three in Lorient Lorient L’actualité du port de Lorient et de sa région. 1-Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas) : 2+20+2+18+5+24+2+30+4+20+6+20+5+25+6+30+6 = 225 points 2-Puma (Ken Read) : 5+0+4+19+3+17+5+25+5+30+4+30+4+20+5+20+4 = 200 points 3-Camper (Chris Nicholson) : 4+25+5+24+4+18+3+15+6+15+5+25+3+10+4+25+5 = 196 points

Victory guaranteed

There is just a single oceanic leg left to race, the shortest of this round the world, since it is just 550 miles between Lorient and Galway, via Belle-Île and the Fastnet lighthouse. Things don’t get off to a great start for Franck Cammas and his men, after the preliminary course off Groix, since they’re bringing up the rear. However, the crew’s determination enables it to move on up to the front of the fleet and once around the Raz de Sein, the top four boats are neck and neck. The south-westerly wind fills as they attack the English Channel, then eases as they approach Fastnet, which the Americans are the first to round. The Irish breeze is fairly shifty in terms of strength and switches to the South to reach the Aran Islands. Once again it’s the timing of the gybe that enables Groupama 4 to secure second place behind the Kiwis, who win their first offshore race. With a 24-point lead before the final In-Port race has been launched off Galway, Franck Cammas and his men are crowned the winners of this eleventh edition of the Volvo Ocean Race… on their very first participation !

Franck Cammas : “To win the Volvo Ocean Race is a very fine challenge when you’re a novice in this format and French to boot ! That’s what is motivating and exciting for a team : achieving what nobody expects of you. We weren’t a favourite or even an outsider at the start in Alicante. We were also in an easy position, especially as this first crewed race around the world was about learning the ropes prior to a planned second participation. We were here to discover the scene without any pressure on our shoulders, but to win was a surprise to everyone... despite putting a huge amount of work into the race over the past three years.”

The top three in Galway 1-Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas) : 2+20+2+18+5+24+2+30+4+20+6+20+5+25+6+30+6+25 = 250 points 2-Camper (Chris Nicholson) : 4+25+5+24+4+18+3+15+6+15+5+25+3+10+4+25+5+30 = 226 points 3-Puma (Ken Read) : 5+0+4+19+3+17+5+25+5+30+4+30+4+20+5+20+4+20 = 220 points


Voir en ligne : Info presse www.cammas-groupama.com/fr/



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