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22.12.2010 Back to news

Barcelona, the Great South and other matters

Training for the Barcelona World Race 2010-2011

True to itself, Barcelona is bubbling with excitement as Christmas approaches. It has been six days since the Groupe Bel team got its bearings in the Catalan capital, and, while things are very busy on the pontoons, ashore, in the incredible racing village "Expo", there is never a dull moment on the Groupe Bel stand. It must be said that "La Vaca qui Ríe®" and all its friends are a universal success and attract young and old. The tour will begin on 31 December 2010, and for Kito de Pavant and Sébastien Audigane it is now time to relax and think, since they are not setting off for just any race. This is the Barcelona World Race; 90 days alone together and 25,000 nautical miles around the globe. It is undiluted extreme adventure!

The festive and sporting Barcelona, popular with tourists, has doubled its efforts with the FNOB (Fundacion Navegacio Océanica Barcelona – organizer of the BWR) to welcome the contenders in this second Barcelona World Race. Huge infrastructures and important human resources; the organization is impressive. No one is idle among the Group Bel team either. This weekend, the technical team turned up in numbers to polish up the last details. Yesterday, the monohull sailed out off Barcelona for a while to test the sails. The two sailors are now going to enjoy the Christmas festivities with their families. Before they slipped away, we took advantage of their presence to ask the a few questions:

Barcelona is beginning to look like the European capital of sailing now. What has Spain got that we haven’t?

Kito de Pavant: “The Spanish have proved in all types of events, no matter what the discipline, that they always have the right resources, are good organizers and know how to throw a party! For the BWR, they have gone to town and we have been looked after really well. There may still be a lack of popularity in relation to the French public’s enthusiasm for yacht racing, but this will come with time. After all, it is only the second Barcelona World Race.”

Sébastien Audigane: “It’s impressive! They are looking after us well, in wonderful infrastructures and I find that there are a lot of journalists and huge media coverage. It would appear that the race will have a great following in Europe. In comparison to our races, we feel it is really international. No one is a loser, there is something here for everyone, whether they are English, French, Spanish or from another country!

Let us leave the shore. Whether experienced already or not, does the Great South attract you or frighten you?

Kito de Pavant: “I naturally apprehend it since I do not know it and ignorance brings doubts. It seems like a long time; one month in the unknown, but we have learned a great deal of the Great South from sailors who have already experienced it. I remember the first Vendée Globes when the lads didn’t want to go back. Today, sailors get great pleasure over there, and this is a sign. We have all adapted ourselves thanks to the progress made in communications and equipment, such as sailing gear for example (Kito and Seb will be wearing Marine Pool sailing gear)! It is not the same adventure at all, but, nevertheless, I’m impatient to see for myself. I have not forgotten the Atlantic either, which will keep us busy for two months, and I’m familiar with that.”

Sébastien Audigane: “It’s odd, when you know you’ve never done it, you are living the legend. I remember Olivier de Kersauson asking me “have you already been to the South?”. These words were full of meaning. It seemed like it was the place where all the dangers lie. Since I like sailing in a downwind breeze, the idea of surfing long distances in the South appealed to me. I went there twice. It is the entrance to the Southern Ocean that marked me most. Perpendicular to Good Hope, one morning you get up. You know that you are approaching the 38th parallel, and the first Albatrosses appear. The temperature drops, this accelerates and you’re off! I have always sailed with a full crew, so this changes things. It’s not any more dangerous, but you need to apprehend the problems in a different way and alone when your partner is asleep. I li ke sailing there. You cannot imagine just how low the ceiling is, and how tiny you are on the ocean. The hardest thing is the cold. You have to take care of how you live on board, protect your hands, etc., and in the Indian Ocean the sea is wild. You cannot do what you want; real chaos! It is as dangerous to be inside the yacht as it is to be on deck, but it is so magical, such a feeling of absolute freedom…”

How would you define “the understanding between sailors”?

Kito de Pavant: “My priority is for both of us to stay on the same wavelength, so that we understand each other’s smallest gesture. I trust Seb completely. I know that when he is on deck, the boat is well trimmed! All this is essential, since over a race that lasts a few weeks, you can give preference to a sailor’s experience or his technical side, but in the Barcelona World Race, good relations are of the utmost importance.”

Sébastien Audigane: “Between Kito and myself, there is an understanding between man and sailor. At the moment, it’s strange, I feel the pressure rising, you know. It will get stronger until the start and I don’t really like that. I feel like I’m going round in circles. I can’t wait for the 31^st, and at the same time it’s not just any start. We’re setting off for 90 days! I think that at the moment, we both have the same thing in mind, but we don’t necessarily say so. We are getting ready for a long period of “half-solitude” alone together. When we leave the shore, we will be leaving a lot behind. One of the main differences is that, before a start, Kito needs to be with his family and his team, whereas I am more solitary. “Paradoxically, I am more the kind of person to isolate myself.