Tour de France à la Voile – Team SFS go double again but Trésors lead

by A.S.O./Tour de France à la voile on 18 Jul 2017 Team SFS completed their second double of the 40th Tour de France à la Voile when Sofian Bouvet and crew added the Act 5 Nautical Stadium win off the sunny beaches of Les Sables d’Olonne to Monday’s Coastal Race win.

But a last gasp gain in the light winds Super Final by Trésors de Tahiti means the blue spinnaker of the Tour leader stays with Téva Plichart’s team but only by two points.

Both Team SFS, debutants this year, and Trésors de Tahiti head to the Mediterranean, to Roses in the Province of Girona on Spain’s Costa Brava where racing starts Friday separated by a tiny margin after five of the nine Acts of this Tour have been sailed.

After Team SFS were docked nine points at the end of Act four Arzon for shipping an out of class anchor which was measured to be too light by two kilos, Sofian Bouvet’s team have delivered the perfect riposte, heading for the waters they know best.

Bouvet said today:
“For us winning both events here is the perfect reaction to Arzon. But there is so much still to go. There will be lots more surprises in the Mediterranean which is our home. But now winning two doubles is good for everyone on the team.”

The leaderboard for 2017’s 40th edition contrasts nicely with last year’s when Lorina Limonade-Golfe du Morbihan had won three of the first four Acts and lead from their native Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean with a whopping 26pts margin. After starting poorly in Dunkirk, the champions lie eighth, overshadowed so far by the ‘Mojito Kids’ their younger, amateur counterparts on the Lorina Mojito-Golfe du Morbihan programme who lie sixth.

This time the Tour leaders Trésors de Tahiti have so far won only one discipline the Stadium Super Final in Arzon-Port du Crouesty, south Brittany, which they bolted to a good second in the coastal race there. But in Fécamp, Normandy they went 9-9.

Team Oman Sail head to the Med on target for their goal this edition, seeking to finish on the podium. Stevie Morrison, Thierry Douillard and the crew finished in fifth today’s Super Final, losing a place in the dying breaths of the race, but remain pleasingly consistent.

“It was a long, tough day. We are well drilled so seem to be able to stay fairly consistent. But we made a good improvement in the windier stuff. But we did not maybe feel quite as quick in the lighter stuff later in the day.” Said Morrison, “That Final was pretty light and difficult. We had one race in qualifying where we were fourth and dropped to seventh. But we are working on the KISS principle, Keep It Simple Stupid, principle. We played it is a bit safe at the bottom mark and lost a place which, if we could play it again, we would have gone to the other mark. The standard is so high you are crossing each other by a foot here and there. If you nearly crossing and have to duck, for example then that is a massive thing. At the same time it is not a Merlin Rocket (dinghy) where you do two short, fast tacks under someone’s bow.”

“It is tiring. We are looking for a good eat, a couple of days with no wetsuit on will be nice. We have a good shore team. Peter Burling has stepped back from the role and so I can now praise our shore team. They take the load off. I do a lot of the driving. Like in the boat, I feel safest driving!”

The stadium racing off the busy beach of Les Sables d’Olonne started in 14-15kts of SE’ly breeze with the bay whipping up dancing white horses and small waves. As a nautical arena there are few Tour venues which come close to offering shoreside viewers a perfect spectacle. The finish line was tucked into the western corner of the promenade while windward turn was clearly visible level with Les Sables d’Olonne’s famous Cote West Hotel and Thalasso Spa, well known to the Vendée Globe finishers as their first real taste of luxury - big, dry, static beds and great food – after 80 or 90 days racing solo non stop around the world.

The wind died through the afternoon and became more unstable, making it essential to stay on top of the shifts and the changes in wind pressure. Two teams made it through to the eight boat Super Final for the first time, Aurélien Ducroz’s Coved-Paprec and the young team on Toulon-Provence Méditerranée. Underlining how close the racing is over the five qualifying heats, two teams missed the cut by one single point and only three points separate fourth from eight.

Hugo Rocha and the New Territories team head to Roses in their native Spain lying in 14th place in the 29 boat line up. After losing their mast overboard when a pin failed the British crew on Team Maverick SSR lie 24th overall.

At the top of the Finagaz Youth Standings is the Lorina Mojito-Golfe du Morbihan crew while the Amateurs division is lead by Homkia Les Sables d’Olonne Agglomeration, the home team of Act 5 who finished 15th today.