Lorient La Base welcomes Défi Azimut 48 Hours finishers
by Défi Azimut 15 Sep 00:35 PDT
14 September 2024
With summery sunshine warming the dock at Lorient La Base, the skippers, exhausted by the two-day frenzy of manoeuvres, congratulated themselves on the diversity of the course in this 48H Azimut.
Though all of them paid tribute to the exemplary performance posted by the winner Charlie Dalin, their main takeaway in this 455-mile sprint was the close-contact IMOCA racing and the high standard required of them if they are to stand a chance of securing a spot at the top of the leader board.
"Fun", "intense", "fantastic", "tortuous", "demanding"... there was certainly no shortage of adjectives this Saturday to describe the 48H and its 'Figaro leg' vibes. Tougher than ever, this 14th Défi Azimut-Lorient Agglomération required the skippers to dig incredibly deep to hold rank. On that score, everyone agreed that Charlie Dalin posted a flawless performance, moving up to the head of the fleet at the midway mark and hanging on in there right to the last. His perfect score was summed up beautifully by third placed Jérémie Beyou (Charal): "He is ultra-consistent, makes no mistakes and manoeuvres well... You have to pull something extra out of the bag to stand a chance of defeating him."
A third win for Dalin
For the third time in his career, the skipper of Macif Santé Prévoyance took the win in style in this 48H Azimut, happy to have managed to hammer the point home following his victory in the New York - Vendée Les Sables d'Olonne: "Versatility pays. The Vendée Globe isn't just downwind; there's upwind and reaching too, and you need a boat that can cope with every situation," warned the Norman sailor, thrilled with his Verdier design.
One hour forty minutes later, a solid performance by Sam Goodchild (VULNERABLE) saw him make landfall in Lorient La Base in great shape and earned him his seventh podium in IMOCA, with a great many last generation foilers in his wake to boot. The Briton remained humble though. Indeed, focused on the fact that his new mast had withstood the pace, he gave a very clear-headed analysis: "I have a boat that is not as quick as the others at times, so if I try to keep pace with them too much, I'll likely hurt myself. In the Vendée Globe, that's an element I need to manage too..."
The demanding nature of top-level racing
Dalin, Goodchild, Beyou. the podium for this 48H Azimut involves the same key players as those in Wednesday's speed Runs then! However, to conclude that the racing has been an absolute breeze for these three sailors would be way off the mark. In fact, astern of this top trio, there have been plenty of skippers spicing things up on the leader board, with Nicolas Lunven (Holcim PRB) regularly at the front of the pack, Samantha Davies (Initiatives Coeur) a little slowed by the multiple manoeuvres but still able to secure a stellar top five spot, and Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkea) really making his presence felt too: "I spoiled the result a little at the end but it was a fantastic race, which required huge physical commitment with a lot of complicated manoeuvres that call for you to completely reconfigure the boat to power back up again. You're constantly jockeying for position with every ranking and it's very hard to get some rest!"
Rest is something that Thomas Ruyant was likely lacking and perhaps explains his 7th place, though this is still a creditable score: "Playing around at being a Figaro sailor with an IMOCA, pfff... I'm a bit knackered and my shoulders have turned to jelly! I didn't sail very clean trajectories. I had a slight issue during the first night with a fishing net and given the standard of the fleet it's very hard to get back into the fray..." admitted the skipper of VULNERABLE. More philosophical, Boris Herrmann, who finished 10th after his two podium performances this season, rightly paid tribute to the know-how of the regatta sailors, admitting: "you can't let it get to you too much! I tried to make the most of my time out there and I opted to test my sail configurations in the knowledge that they weren't necessarily the best..." explained the skipper of Malizia Sea Explorer dockside.
Rest and go again
Back in 13th place we find the first IMOCA with daggerboards. The skipper Violette Dorange takes the title in this official ranking aboard DeVenir after her fairly tenacious performance enabled her to retain a slight edge over Louis Duc (Fives Group - Lantana Environnement) right to the wire. The youngest skipper of the class made no secret of her delight at having tried an option yesterday during the second downwind leg, which saw her overtake three boats. "She who dares wins!" exclaimed the youngster, who was more than happy to have held onto the breeze all the way to the finish and made landfall in the early afternoon, enabling her to have a deserved nap before the next event.
Of course, that next event is the traditional Tour de Groix in crewed format, which sets sail at 12:30 pm tomorrow, Sunday, where everyone gets the chance to share their passion with their guests and partners.
After that, it will be time to return to the jobs lists to ensure they dock into Les Sables d'Olonne in the best possible conditions. On the subject of preparation, Jérémie Beyou shared an amusing anecdote on his arrival today: "There's the Mike Golding school, which saw him arrive in Les Sables and immediately shut his boat up for three weeks with a guy left sweeping the deck! And then there's the rest of us, who couldn't help but carry on right to the last minute! It's doubtless a cultural thing..."
Défi Azimut 48 Hours Results:
1 - Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance): arrival time 14/09/2024 à 09:14:32 en 1j 18h 14min 32s
2 - Sam Goodchild (VULNERABLE): arrival time 14/09/2024 à 10:56:47 en 1j 19h 56min 47s
Time behind first place 01h 42min 15s
3 - Jérémie Beyou (Charal): arrival time 14/09/2024 à 11:10:25 en 1j 20h 10min 25s
Time behind first place 01h 55min 53s
4 - Nicolas Luven (Holcim - PRB): arrival time 14/09/2024 à 11:22:06 en 1j 20h 22min 06s
Time behind first place 02h 07min 34s
5 - Sam Davies (Initiatives - Coeur): arrivée le 14/09/2024 à 11:25:41 en 1j 20h 25min 41s
Time behind first place 02h 11min 09s
6 - Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa): arrival time 14/09/2024 à 11:33:33 en 1j 20h 33min 33s
Time behind first place 02h 19min 01s
7 - Thomas Ruyant (VULNERABLE): arrival time 14/09/2024 à 11:51:09 en 1j 20h 51min 09s
Time behind first place 02h 36min 37s
8 - Justine Mettraux (TEAMWORK - TEAM SNEF): arrivée le 14/09/2024 à 12:28:50 en 1j 21h 28min 50s
Time behind first place 03h 14min 18s
9- Benjamin Dutreux (TEAM GUYOT ENVIRONNEMENT - WATER FAMILY): arrival time 14/09/2024 à 12:35:49 en 1j 21h 35min 49s
Écart au premier: 03h 21min 17s
10- Boris Herrmann (MALIZIA - SEAEXPLORER): arrival time 14/09/2024 à 12:52:13 en 1j 21h 52min 13s
Écart au premier: 03h 37min 41s
11- Damien Seguin (Groupe APICIL): arrival time 14/09/2024 à 13:01:24 FR en 1j 22h 01min 24s
Écart au premier: 03h 46min 52s
12- Isabelle Joschke (MACSF): arrivée le 14/09/2024 à 13:02:52 en 1j 22h 02min 52s
Écart au premier: 03h 48min 20s
13- Violette Dorange (DeVenir): arrivée le 14/09/2024 à 13:34:08 en 1j 22h 34min 08s
Écart au premier: 04h 19min 36s
14- Louis Duc (Fives Group - Lantana Environnement): arrival time 14/09/2024 à 13:37:42 en 1j 22h 37min 42s
Écart au premier: 04h 23min 10s
15- Conrad Colman (MS Amlin): arrival time 14/09/2024 à 14:00:08 en 1j 23h 00min 08s
Écart au premier: 04h 45min 36s
16- Tanguy Le Turquais (LAZARE): arrival time 14/09/2024 à 14:00:41 en 1j 23h 00min 41s
Écart au premier: 04h 46min 09s
17- Manuel Cousin (Coup de pouce): arrival time 14/09/2024 à 14:28:29 en 1j 23h 28min 29s
Écart au premier: 05h 13min 57s
18 - Szabolcs Weöres (New Europe): arrival time 14/09/2024 à 17:14:19 en 2j 02h 14min 19s
Écart au premier: 07h 59min 47s
Follow the race at defi-azimut.geovoile.com/2024/viewer/?lg=en