Class40: extending the course

It's the second day of racing in the MEDMAX Occitanie - Saïdia Resorts, and it hasn't taken long for the predicted leaders to battle it out amongst the twenty-five boats that have been racing since Sunday in a Mediterranean that is true to its reputation for being capricious.

In the Class40s, the nasty winds off the eastern tip of Menorca played the role of a level crossing: up for the leaders, down for the followers. At the front, an Italian-French tug-of-war began between Ambrogio Beccaria "(Alla Grande Pirelli)", celebrating his birthday by leading the race, and the French duo of Achille Nebout (Amarris), with Mikael Mergui (Centrakor) in his wheel. Two other Italian top guns, Matteo Sericano ( Tyrolit) and Andrea Fornaro (Influence II) were on the lookout for the slightest slip-up. François Verdier (HaPlusPme) and Mathieu Claveau (Prendre la Mer - Agir pour la Forêt) were a little further back but still in the thick of things, doing more than just making up the numbers.

At the end of the day, the bows were pointing towards Ibiza.

New route: another idyllic island in the sights

This MEDMAX will definitely never be an ocean race like the others. After shortening the initial course for the Class40s, which was deemed too uncertain given the weather forecasts, the race committee, faced with the much faster pace set by the leaders of these 12-metre monohulls over the past two days, has added an island for the sixteen duos to sail around. "That's an extra hundred miles or sosays Guillaume Rottée, the race director. It avoids arriving too early in Saïdia, and then the guys are there to sail". A diversion of around a hundred miles, then, past the gateway to Ibiza, heading north-west, to pass the largest of the Colombrete Islands, off the coast of Spain. "A superb volcanic island in a nature reserve. With pebbles, just like in Brittany, but with more sun and less tide".. After leaving the island to port, the Class40s will, as planned, head for Saïdia.

 

 

Ocean Fifty: lengthening your stride

 

 

 

The Ocean Fifty, for their part, have embarked on a game of poker. After a passage through the Bouches de Bonifacio during the night that everyone described as tough, downwind sailing, with points at 30-31 knots, the descent of the east coast of Sardinia brought its share of tactical battles. Faced with a bracing breeze boosted by a flow between Sicily and Tunisia, it was upwind that these nine giant multihulls had to find their solutions.

In this game, it was the oldest and the youngest in the fleet who played their cards right. Fabrice Cahierc (Realites), just into his sixties, threatened Koesio's leadership, followed like a shadow by Baptiste Hulin (Viabilis), not yet 28. Thibaut Vauchel-Camus was full of praise for this fine foil: "Some have tried the offshore route and Viabilis has done a great job of it.

It's going to be another very tactical night, with Sébastien Rogues (Primonial) and the women's duo of Anne-Claire Le Berre and Elodie Jane Mettraux, well back in the race, climbing up behind the leading quartet. The next stretch due west between the tip of Sardinia and Ibiza should in turn prove tactical, with a slight easing expected in the middle. Ah, the Mediterranean!

 

 

 

 

Happy birthday, Ambrogio!

Ambrogio Beccaria wanted to be a leader on his birthday. And that was the case yesterday, on this 1er October 2024, when the talented Italian skipper of "Alla Grande Pirelli", which he leads with his compatriot Alberto Riva, celebrated his 33rd birthday by leading the Class40 fleet towards Ibiza. "We're going to spend the night there, but never mind, I'm not going to celebrate my birthday there," joked the man whose first name, Ambrogio, means "immortal"! For the time being, the man who describes the MEDMAX Occitanie - Saïdia as the "Pastis Route", in parallel with the Route du Rhum, prefers to wait for the finish in Saïdia to celebrate... victory!

 

 

 

Words from the edge... of laughter!

 

Corentin Douguet (Centrakor) in a hurry: "We have to keep chasing after Pirelli and Amarris and find the right reefs. We're hoping that the wind will pick up and that we'll reach Formentera and Ibiza in the evening. I've heard that the parties there are great, so we like the idea.

 

Matthieu Foulquier-Gazagnes (Sotraplants - TRS) cannibalWe're well rested and our spirits are high. We're not giving up, hoping to eat our two friends just ahead of us.

 

 

Fabrice Cahierc (Realites) happy but... : "Along the east coast of Sardinia, the night was as gentle as a summer caress. The morning greeted us with radiant sunshine. But there was no wind! Sailors are never happy!

 

Achille Nebout (Amarris) without postcards : "We're still very disappointed to have spent the night in Cap Creus and Menorca... And possibly Ibiza! Postcard photos are definitely for another time.

 

Anne-Claire Le Berre (Upwind by MerConcept) and the doctor : "After seeing the cliffs of Sardinia for a while, we're sailing in 12 knots of wind and it's going fast. With the Rire Médecin hanging over our heads, it's no time for a siesta.

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