When you're riding high, everything seems to go your way, and that's how
the Bretagne In-Port Race played out. Large crowds cheered on local hero Franck
Cammas and Groupama as they mastered the upwind/downwind course off of Lorient.
CAMPER banged the start and led all the way to the last downwind mark when they
got caught in light air trap, allowing Groupama to steal the race in the last
few meters.
"We snatched
defeat from victory," grumbled CAMPER Skipper Chris Nicholson.
IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race
CAMPER barely hung on
to beat PUMA but closed the overall VOR gap between second and third to four
points heading into Leg 9, a 550-mile sprint to Galway, Ireland. Leading by 25
points over PUMA, Groupama needed only to finish fourth to claim overall
victory.
Ideal sailing
conditions were the order of the day for the Leg 9 start. Blasting along at
over 20 knots, the fleet quickly covered the 6.5-mile in-shore course and then headed
into the treacherous Bay of Biscay.
IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race
This might have been
the shortest leg of the race but there many surprises ahead as the fleet sailed
south into a stiff westerly breeze, leaving the small islands of Ile de Groix
and Belle Ile to starboard. Telefónica led the charge with CAMPER and Groupama
close behind.
The final leg was all
about picking the right sails for the wildy-fluctuating conditions and not
making any mistakes; with the boats sailing within sight of one another for the
entire race, an extra knot of boat speed, a poor sail change, or an untimely
tack would determine the winner.
A few hours into the
leg, rain squalls descended and main sails were quickly reefed as fierce winds
and waves battered the fleet.
The first daring breakaway came when PUMA sailed to the west of Ile de Sein, a tiny island off the western tip of France.
Ken Read, PUMA’s wily
skipper, explained his strategy. "We’re going to go a slightly bigger
distance but we think it’s going to pay in the long run."
CAMPER led the pack
across the stormy English Channel as darkness descended. Up ahead lay the Leg 9
exclusion zone, a perilous no-sail area encompassing the busiest shipping
channel in the world.
At this point, only a
mile separated first from fourth place, with PUMA and Groupama to the west and
CAMPER and Telefónica to the east as the fleet entered the notorious Celtic Sea
where the ocean recoils off the continental shelf and radiates with jack hammer
waves.
IAN ROMAN-Volvo Ocean Race
After a nasty night at
sea, Telefónica held a tenuous lead with CAMPER a half mile astern as the sun
rose and the fleet approached the next waypoint, the infamous Fastnet Rock, the
most southerly point of Ireland.
PUMA’s westerly route
paid off and the black cat rounded Fastnet Rock a minute ahead of Telefónica
with CAMPER and Groupama less than five minutes behind.
Rounding Blasket
Island on the southwest tip of Ireland the boats drag raced downwind along the
west coast of Ireland passing the misty Aran Islands, their towering dark cliffs
guarding the entrance to Galway Bay at the breathtaking Eiragh lighthouse.
It was now a four boat
chess match. PUMA sailed the shortest route straight up the middle of the bay,
while her rivals took slightly different lines, hoping to catch a little more
wind or less current while trying to avoid the wind holes lurking around each
headland.
With 125 miles to go
PUMA was a few hundred yards ahead of CAMPER.
Hamish Hooper aboard
CAMPER set the final stage. "We have been sailing along some of the most stunning
coastline I have seen anywhere in the world. It is rugged and cold and harsh -
the perfect backdrop for the final fight of this leg. We are now downwind
running to the mark with our A4 spinnaker, which we are desperately hoping will
be our golden ticket to be first across the finish line."
Hooper's wish proved
prophetic because while all of the other boats decided to carry lots of
equipment to stack on deck for the bumpy ride across the English Channel,
CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson was convinced the race would be won in the last
thirty miles. The weather forecast predicted a warm front would pass through in
the wee hours of the last morning, delivering dying winds. So CAMPER was
traveling light. They were also the only boat carrying a huge A4 light wind
spinnaker and that proved to be the difference when the winds petered out.
After so many heartbreaking close finishes, CAMPER saved the best for last
and snagged its first leg victory and leapfrogged PUMA for second place
overall.
Groupama finished
seven minutes behind CAMPER and PUMA finished third, followed by a disappointed
Telefónica.
Groupama were the
first team to represent France in the VOR since Eric Tabarly's La Poste in
1993-94 and only the second French winners.
Special kudos go out
to the 100,000 Irish loonies who greeted the boats at 2:30 in the morning,
fired-up on Guiness and cheering wildly as Mike Sanderson and the never-say-die
crew of SANYA edged out Abu Dhabi after finishing last in every race in the
only Volvo retread.
With the overall Volvo
Race winner decided, the Galway in-port race would determine who would get to
raise the Volvo In-Port Trophy. CAMPER and PUMA were tied at 39 points, one
point ahead of Groupama. On a rainy day in the Emerald Isle, Ken Read and PUMA
nailed the downwind start and led from wire to wire in the shifty flat water
conditions, taking the tenth and final Volvo In-Port Race, ahead of CAMPER and
Telefónica, to secure the in-port series trophy by one point.
Next Stop - Galway Pubs
FINAL VOLVO OCEAN RACE SCOREBOARD
GROUPAMA 253
CAMPER 231
PUMA 226
Telefónica 213
Abu Dhabi 131
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