As the Pro Sailing Tour prepares for its first ever visit to the home of British yachting in Cowes, and the challenging 515-mile course to get there, the crews of the seven Ocean Fifty foiling trimarans have had the opportunity to reflect on two days of intense inshore racing in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc.
Navigating the light winds and legendary strong currents for which the area is known was the key to success, with the starts proving to be equally crucial to securing a podium place or win.
FULL FOCUS NEEDED
After the excitement of shoreside activities in the port of Armor, out at sea the crews were fully focused on working their way through the light airs on the Bay of Saint-Brieuc around the Saint-Quay Islands.
Increasing the challenge, the strong tides hindered progress towards the course marks, with the Ocean Fifties engaged in a constant battle of tacks and gybes around the two coastal courses and the intricate round-the-cans challenge set by the race committee.
Quentin Vlamynck (FRA) on Arkema won the opening race and Erwan Le Roux (FRA) aboard Koesio scored two back-to-back victories, with both opening up a lead over Leyton and defending Pro Sailing Tour champion Sam Goodchild (GBR).
Primonial was disappointed by its results in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc, and Sébastien Rogues will be keen to do well on the upcoming race to Cowes, with both Komilfo and Solidaires En Peloton-ARSEP also out to make their mark in English waters.
PROVISIONAL RANKING AFTER 6 RACES
Arkema: 46 points
Koesio: 42 points
Leyton: 31 points
Komilfo: 29 points
Primonial: 25 points
Solidaires En Peloton-ARSEP: 25 points
Group GCA-1001 Sourires: 10 points
COWES COURSE WILL BE A TRUE TEST
As the clock counts down to Sunday's 19:00CET start the crews are anticipating a strategic and physical 500-plus mile race. After a short leg to show off the multihulls in front of spectators in Armor, the fleet will head for La Roche Gautier to the north-east of the island of Brehat, before leaving Sark in the Channel Islands to port.
The multihulls' bows will then turn towards Finistère and the Grande Basse de Portsall cardinal mark, before the crews set off across the English Channel to round the mythical Wolf Rock lighthouse.
From there it is an ultra-technical race due east along England's south coast towards the Isle of Wight, managing the numerous headlands and tidal gates all the way to the entrance of The Solent, with the Pro Sailing Tour reserving the right to shorten the course at The Needles off the Isle of Wight, depending on the weather conditions.
"We're really looking forward to the offshore to Cowes," said Goodchild. "I started my offshore sailing career there at the Artemis Offshore Academy in 2010-11, so it will be good to go back there with my own project and to sail in the Solent again – I'm looking forward to it!"
A cannon fired at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes will greet the winners, and all crews will receive a warm welcome from the Royal London Yacht Club and the Cowes Harbour Commission on their expected arrival at midday on Tuesday.
In 2022, seven foiling multihulls will line up for the Pro Sailing Tour season 2 that takes the multinational fleet from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and finishes in the English Channel. The teams are led by some of the best offshore sailors in the sport: Sam Goodchild, Giles Lamiré, Sébastien Rogues, Thibaut Vauchel-Camus, Erwan Le Roux, Quentin Vlamynck and Eric Peron. The competition consists of a mix of inshore and offshore races constituting an Episode – there are four Episodes – and one long final offshore race, the ‘Final Rush’ from Cowes to Roscoff.
The Ocean Fifty (formerly the Multi 50 class) foiling trimarans are as long as they are wide (15.24m x 15m respectively), as agile as they are spectacular and can reach speeds of up to 42 knots (77km/h).
The Pro Sailing Tour for the Ocean Fifty trimarans was launched in 2021 and is the culmination of a determined development process by the teams and stakeholders that began in 2015 when the Class was professionalised and continued in 2017 with the addition of foils. Today, the Tour is going from strength to strength with the objective of making the Pro Sailing Tour a lasting part of the French and international ocean racing landscape.
The inaugural Pro Sailing Tour in 2021, raced by seven teams, lived up to all expectations. The high intensity inshore races and offshore battles were watched by 25,000 spectators, and the historic first season was won by Leyton, skippered by Sam Goodchild (GBR), with four victories, including the final from Toulon to Brest in August.
Image: Pro Sailing Tour 2022 - ©️ Lloyd Images/Pro Sailing Tour.