A 'rentrée' to remember

The fleet enjoyed a majestic start from Nice yesterday afternoon before sailing along the French Riviera towards Monaco. On the sporting front, Biotherm once again led the way at the scoring gate.

Now sailing down the west coast of Corsica, the contest is incredibly tight, with all the teams within just 20 miles. The battle is only going intensify!

Nice, France is already in the wake, yet the warm memories are still vivid in everyone’s minds. The sunrise arrivals of the leaders on Friday, the warm welcome from the people of Nice, and yesterday’s spectacular start.

Nice, the only French stopover of this edition of The Ocean Race Europe, certainly lived up to expectations. “It was a fantastic start, really great with lots of people watching,” said Yoann Richomme.

With the Mediterranean sparkling in the sunshine and the Riviera as a backdrop, Sunday’s setting was magnificent, all the more so as the IMOCA fleet remained side by side for a long time. The battle began right from the line. True to form, Biotherm excelled, with Paul Meilhat’s crew leading through the scoring gate ahead of Holcim-PRB and Paprec Arkéa.

“It wasn’t easy on the nerves”

Yet Biotherm’s flying start didn’t feel that way on board. “We thought we’d got off to a good start but the others quickly came back underneath us, so it wasn’t really comfortable,” admitted Amélie Grassi. “By staying inside and closer to the coast, it eventually paid off. It’s even better when you climb back up places, but it was intense.”

“Biotherm showed their speed and just slipped out in front of us,” added Franck Cammas. The Holcim-PRB skipper noted that they “had never actually done a start upwind before” and that “in the end there was a little more breeze than expected.” Yoann Richomme agreed: “It’s pretty rare to have such a full-on upwind start under the J0.”

From there, the seven crews hugged the coast towards Monaco before turning south to begin rounding Corsica, all in very light conditions. “This is the only night with very little wind, under 5 to 6 knots,” explained Franck Cammas. “It wasn’t easy on the nerves.”

“We’ve been fighting since early evening in very little wind,” continued Amélie Grassi. “There’s been a lot of calm patches and a lot of positioning to manage.” Some managed slightly better than others by choosing a more westerly option—Paprec Arkéa, and later Biotherm, among them.

Heading for the Strait of Bonifacio

At times the teams were in sight of each other, and the gaps remain small. At 07:15 on Monday morning, Biotherm (1st), Holcim-PRB (2nd), and Paprec Arkéa (3rd) were separated by just five miles, with the entire fleet within 20 miles. “We led for a good part of the night,” reported Yoann Richomme.

Now the skippers continue down the coast before passing between Corsica and Sardinia and into the Strait of Bonifacio, where they are expected this afternoon. While strong winds and “long downwind sailing” had been forecast, in Franck Cammas’ words, the outlook now seems less certain.

“We can see different scenarios unfolding, but we know that just one gust can be enough to break away,” said Amélie Grassi. “It’s very tight—there’s breeze offshore but much less on the coast, where there are shifts,” added Yoann Richomme. “We’ll need to play it very carefully!”