Interviews with Alexis Loison and Guillaume Pirouelle - Class40 Sogestran Seafrigo LHOR One (FRA)
Sogestran Seafrigo LHOR One (FRA), skippered by Guillaume Pirouelle won a nail-biting thriller in the Class40 division of the 2024 RORC Caribbean 600. Melwin Fink’s Sign for Com (GER) was second and third was James McHugh’s Tquila (GBR).
A fierce battle for supremacy came to a conclusion after three days and nights of boat-on-boat combat around 11 Caribbean islands. James McHugh’s Manuard Mach 4 Tquila took the early lead against boats with over four years of additional design development. LHOR One, a 2023 Manuard Mach 5 showed great speed on the reach up to Barbuda after the start, as did Mathieu Jones’ Manuard Mach 5 Alternative Sailing - Constructions du Belon.
Tquila held off the pack to be first to round Nevis and Saba. A tactical leg on the wind to St Barths saw Tquila and LHOR One break away from the pack, with Tquila just hanging on to pole position all the way to the Anguilla Channel. On approach to Tintamarre, LHOR One stayed further south and got into the lead and extended on the long leg to Guadeloupe.
As the wind shadow of Guadeloupe came into play, LHOR One chose to stay offshore. Tquila went all the way in and passed LHOR One. The chasing pack, still in the breeze, closed in on the leaders. On the leg to Barbuda for the second rounding, Tquila chose to stay inshore rather than the competition which went as far as 15 miles offshore looking for breeze. Tquila won that strategic battle in spades, opening up a lead of four miles.