the start of the race is imminent
– it will be this Wednesday at the start of the afternoon – and the skippers are setting sail one after the other. Before boarding his latest Ultim (Maxi Banque Populaire XI), Armel Le Cléac’h gave a final interview.
“The start of the race will be sporty”
How do you see this start to the race?
Armel Le Cléac’h: We have a lot of maneuvers to do to get to Fréhel, already, then until the end of the heat. There will be a lot of transfers. We’re going to be upwind so we call that tacking. And so, we will have to make several turns to be able to pass the first gate at Fréhel already and then go as far as Ouessant and then we will see depending on the weather.
Until 2:15 p.m., what remains to be done on board the boat?
Well there, it is that I now take the boat in hand. The team, let’s say, has prepared him really well in recent weeks, in recent days, so the handover will take place in these hours, there, in these tens of minutes until the start. Adjust the boat accordingly also for the starting signal, we know that we are going to set off against the wind, so we will have to adjust the boat well and choose the right sail configuration and already have, that’s it, the first maneuver in your head.
“Even in training, there are never so many of us”
It is essential to cross the line in a good position, it can play from that moment, knowing that it will be fast?
Yes, you have to get off to a good start. We have to be careful because we know that if we leave too early, there is still a big penalty at stake, there are five hours of penalty, so we will have to be careful while being good, so it’s a exercise which is not easy with big boats like this one like Banque Populaire XI. The exercise is complex but we worked, worked several weeks on it so it’s up to me to respond and do what I know how to do. Now, for sure, it’s going to be a complicated start because we’re not used to this kind of race start. Even in training, there are never so many of us. Even if the line is divided into several parts. There will still be eight Ultims, several multi 50s, it will be stressful.
The conditions can bring a record, they say, you see it like that, with the routing you have and the weather?
Yes, for now it is possible. Of course, the weather is good enough to break the record, now it’s not the goal of this project, it’s first to arrive first in Guadeloupe. Even if it takes seven days, it won’t matter. What is needed is to be in front for as much time as possible during the race, because indeed, there are transitions which are going to be important. It will be necessary to be rather in front than behind, because it risks passing by in front. Indeed, today, we have race times around six days, six and a half days. Well, it’s deteriorating a little bit in the latest forecasts this morning, but it’s still fast.