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05.11.2007 Back to news

Kito de Pavant on board Groupe Bel: "the rhythm will speed up"

Kito de Pavant et Sébastien Col - Départ

Nice work by Safran during the night, when they passed Ouessant (Ushant) In a few hours, the "sister" boat of Groupe Bel made a comfortable thirty miles advance on the other racers. A group of five monohulls are following over seven miles: Gitana Eighty (Peyron-Le Vaillant), Foncia (Desjoyeaux-Le Borgne), Ecover III (Golding-Dubois), Groupe Bel 'De Pavant-Col) and VM Matériaux (Le Cam-Morvan). It is a golden opportunity for Kito de Pavant and Sebastien Col to record precious data about their competitors. In the hours to come, the Northeast wind should strengthen to between 25 and 30 knots as they pass the Finisterre headland. Things will probably heat up a bit.

The prize of the day goes to Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier, two Bretons who don't just have salted butter in their veins but also the map of the tip of Brittany engraved in their DNA. To pass, as they did, between the Le Four channel and the Raz de Sein, on board a boat with a 4.5 metre draft, requires quite a bit of “self-control” and a lot of experience. They passed rock after rock, giving themselves some 30 miles advance over their pursuers. No question for Kito de Pavant and Sébastien Col of doing the same, since they got to the area later and the current was not favourable; the best route was well outside Ouessant. Groupe Bel is holding its position in the leading pack and you can feel in the voices of the crew that this close view regatta is really enjoyable.

Kito de Pavant: “We were welcomed this morning by dozens of dolphins. Honestly, one should go on holiday in the Bay of Biscay in November, the weather conditions are ideal! During the night passing Ouessant was tricky with little wind, lots of currents and quite a few options including the Le Four channel, Fromveur or right outside the headland. For us, this third option was obvious, but Safran, which had a slight lead on the fleet, passed via the Four and the Raz de Sein and hit the wind first. Since she is ahead, I think that she will have some peace for 2 to 3 days. We have just come across Gitana 80, 3 miles in front of us, Mich' Dej' isn't far, we can also see Ecover and VM and I think that we are going to regatta race with this small group all day. This means we can gauge our speed, so that's perfect. We are going to continue to play with the wind to prepare for our arrival at Cape Finisterre where the rhythm will accelerate for the better. Otherwise, everything is working marvellously on board, the lads from the team have really done great work, and the boat is super.”

Sébastien Col: “The boat is surfing well and little by little we are learning to sail her. We have raised the little spinnaker for the first time and it's a beautiful sail. The aim of this transatlantic race is also to see what points could be optimized on the boat this winter and to sail a good distance with a reference like Foncia today, is not bad. The conditions are really calm so I am not having any difficulty getting accustomed to the sea. We have had lots of work changing sails and manoeuvring since the start and I find time is slipping by fast. We are now keeping our two our watches and I just need to force myself to sleep during the day."

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