J-24: The Rambla is not far off!

Conférence de presse de la Barcelona World Race au Nautic de Paris

Of the fifteen teams that will be at the start of the Barcelona World Race, the six French ones were set on being physically present or represented at the Paris Nautic boat show. Although the Groupe Bel, Foncia, Virbac-Paprec 3, Fòrum Marítim Català and Fruit crews were able to come to Porte de Versailles, those of Président and Mirabaud were still on their way to Barcelona.

The big day is approaching. In little over three weeks the duos in the second Barcelona World Race will set off, on the last day of the year, to conquer the world. From 17 December, the inauguration day, the whole of the fleet will parade beneath the tents of the racing village.

The press conference on 7 December at the Paris boat show was an opportunity to take stock of the ambitions of each crew, to reveal the operational methods adopted on board each boat and to breathe in a little sea air by talking with the Mirabaud (Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret) and President (Jean Le Cam et Bruno Garcia) crews. This meeting on 7 December enabled them to specify the race arrangements in the company of Denis Horeau, the race manager, who has three Vendée Globe races to his name in this capacity.

Denis Horeau, race manager: “We could sum up this adventure in a few words: three months, two men, and a limited area of the earth. It is not always easy to sail two-handed. It really is an art as such, because one of the keys to success is the harmony on board the boat. We have divided the course into several segments which correspond to each large leg: Mediterranean, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. As illustration, 4,500 square meters is the size of the village, 600 square meters, is that of the press room.”

Kito de Pavant, Groupe Bel: “Our timing is very tight. We have a few changes to make, which were planned, to which we will be adding small jobs, following the damage during the Route du Rhum. The yacht is in Port-Camargue. Fifteen people are working on her so that she will be ready next weekend.”

Sébastien Audigane, Groupe Bel: “A round-the-world is good news. Time flies; my bag is packed and I'm impatient to be at sea. I had an opportunity to sail 5,000 miles on the yacht, so I’m beginning to know her.”

Reminder of the route:
The concept is to start in Barcelona, finish in Barcelona, rounding the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin, and Horn) and pass through two Straits (Gibraltar and Cook), leaving the Antarctic to starboard. In all, this is 24,500 miles (i.e. 45,374 km) in the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. In addition to the overall race ranking, four oceanic records - South-North Atlantic (Gibraltar/Cape Town), Indian (Good Hope/Wellington), Pacific (Wellington/Cape Horn), North-South Atlantic (Cape Horn/Gibraltar), plus two Mediterranean records (start/Gibraltar there and back) will receive prizes.

Source: www.barcelonaworldrace.org

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