02.10.12
From the dockside this morning in Genoa where the MOD70 European Tour finished with FONCIA winning overall
Michel Desjoyeaux, skipper FONCIA : “We saw three boats overtake us 15 miles from the finish. At that point, we told ourselves that that was it. It was all over for us and we had lost everything. But then, we said that the finishing line hadn’t yet been crossed. We saw Oman and Race for Water get stuck in a calm zone with very little wind. We went right around them and managed to find wind all the time. That was how we managed to finish in second place and save our overall position.
For the time being, this victory is synonymous with champagne, as we got soaked by the guys on Spindrift. It is a rather special moment, as it is the final race for this boat, for me and the crew in Foncia’s colours. It’s nice to end on a high note, as this company enabled me to do so many things since 2007. All good things come to an end.
Yann Guichard, skipper Spindrift racing:“ We really thought we had it over the final miles of the race, but then three miles from the finish we just kept looking over our shoulder. We had both Oman and Race For Water sailing with us and we really saw them finishing fourth. They managed to get round us and then I think between Oman and Race For Water they had their own battle going on for the third spot.
I think that the mission has been accomplished on this race. FONCIA wins the MOD70 European Tour by two points on a 240-point aggregate, that pretty much speaks for itself. The third place came down to the final metres on the last leg. Then we had three boats finish in just 77 seconds in Dun Laoghaire. Here it was really close at the finish, well all legs have been very close. We have really enjoyed the racing and I think that it has been quite gripping to follow from ashore.
At the end of the day we are competitors and here to win so finishing second is a little disappointing, we have sailed well overall but for Cascais, which I think was our downfall. The others were also up there, but we did win two city races and finished first or second on each leg. We just lost two points and when you look back it comes down to maybe a city race or on the bonus points at the start of the offshore leg. We get a second on the European Tour and then win the KRYS OCEAN RACE so lead the Multi One Championship overall.
FONCIA have earned their victory and it comes down to their consistency over the course of the race as and it is us really us that have lost it with the Cascais to Cascais race. I said at the start that the Yann Guichard
Stève Ravussin, skipper Race for Water : A fantastic finish. A great leg, as we were all together and could see each other. There were some tiny options that more or less paid off. But we can see that once the boats stop, the others catch up very quickly, as they are so close. I haven’t sailed a lot this year. I did poorly in the inshore races, particularly in the starts. In the offshore races, it was better. In the final three races, we were up there with the others. But I think we need to train and sail more, as it’s very close between us. The finest moment was this third place on the podium today. It’s great for the team, for the youngsters that I got out there sailing this year. We weren’t far off winning. I hope that some day we will do just that. The boats are solid and offer similar levels of performance. On one-design boats, the best man wins in the end and in this case that was Michel Desjoyeaux and his crew.
Seven boats have been built. If they are all out there in 2013, it will be great. We’re going to be looking for funding for the boat. And the MOD70 Championship will continue, because that’s what really matters most.
Sidney Gavignet, skipper Musandam-Oman Sail: “We are simply happy with the work we did. Maybe we don’t have so much talent but we work and we are organised and these are values which are important to do the job well. Even if we did not get third place in the end then that is my big satisfaction. This is my first year as a skipper of a team and I really enjoy it, skippering, managing and trying to get good energy on board. I enjoy it.
I hope that we can have a few more boats for next year but to keep going like this, one Transatlantic and one European Tour, both were great and the boats are fantastic to sail, really spectacular.”
Sébastien Josse, skipper Groupe Edmond de Rothschild: “ We made a good start to the first two legs but then we did not take our advantages when we could. So after that we did not really make the good moves and then we start to think about why, in another way. So it was a bit difficult psychologically. But on this least leg we were in good shape but we had that damage with the gennaker which ruined the last leg. The gennaker unfurled with a small tear on it then it was in two parts.
We will go back to Lorient and look at what we did well and what we did not. We are certainly the team which has spent the most time on the water with this boat. For me it is my first season in multihulls so I want to go forwards from that.
