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18.07.2011 Back to news
First offshore training of the season
 | © Groupe Bel |
After several training sessions in the Bay of Aigues-Mortes, Kito de Pavant and Yann Régniau were gripped with the desire to return to the "Ocean", impatient to drive Groupe Bel into a corner after six weeks of extremely hectic yard work. So the team concocted a tailor-made course and invited DCNS 1000 to join them. "Sailing with several boats is always interesting particularly with the Transat Jacques Vabre in view. It helps work on and study speed differences with others. From a practical point of view, it is also more motivating to race together, rather than alone. It provides an additional dose of pressure!" explains Kito de Pavant.
Roughly 300 miles of training
Groupe Bel joined the Thiercelin/Alphand duo off the coast of Marseille on Monday afternoon, before setting sail for the South. The two teams had agreed to head down to Minorca in the Balearic Islands before heading back up towards Spain and then Port Camargue, however the weather decided otherwise! "The first night went really well, surfing well straight down to the South. However, quickly the speed difference between the two boats favored us since Groupe Bel is much more versatile downwind. In the early morning, we were alone and the weather data forecast a strong Mistral wind. So we decided to go back up north and join DCNS 1000. We headed back together towards Cape Creus (point the furthest east of the Iberian Peninsula) and the island of Maza Del Oro to its east", says the skipper.
Heavy thunderstorms between Spain and Port Camargue
The return trip to Groupe Bel’s homeport was not very restful, since it was during the night through thunder and lightning that the monohull attempted to cut its way through a raging sea. "I know the Mediterranean well, but I'm always surprised by its occasionally unpredictable and violent character. I think that we had a wind speed between 40 and 50 knots, but I couldn't check this because the storm roared on all sides. I had to disconnect everything to avoid damaging or the electronics on board". This morning, when they arrived, the two men found the town flooded and the harbor damaged by the violence of the night storms, "The water rose so high that the current was very strong in the harbor. We took two hours to moor Groupe Bel properly! And now, as though a miracle, it is beautifully sunny in the town as if nothing had happened…"
Acquiring good reflexes
Although Yann Régniau knows Groupe Bel well, this training session enabled Kito's co-skipper to find his bearings again during a longer sailing trip. "The aim was really to coordinate ourselves, and to get used to working in "racing" mode, and to find out how we would work together. Everything went really well and I'm also very satisfied with the boat and the keel! Finally, it did me a lot of good to spend a night on board Groupe Bel again, since the last one was back on 8 March in difficult conditions off the coast of Cape Horn with the keel threatening to break away," says Kito, who this Thursday, will allow himself a short day of debriefing and rest before attacking training sessions again on Friday with his colleague Yann Régniau.
Roughly 300 miles of training
Groupe Bel joined the Thiercelin/Alphand duo off the coast of Marseille on Monday afternoon, before setting sail for the South. The two teams had agreed to head down to Minorca in the Balearic Islands before heading back up towards Spain and then Port Camargue, however the weather decided otherwise! "The first night went really well, surfing well straight down to the South. However, quickly the speed difference between the two boats favored us since Groupe Bel is much more versatile downwind. In the early morning, we were alone and the weather data forecast a strong Mistral wind. So we decided to go back up north and join DCNS 1000. We headed back together towards Cape Creus (point the furthest east of the Iberian Peninsula) and the island of Maza Del Oro to its east", says the skipper.
Heavy thunderstorms between Spain and Port Camargue
The return trip to Groupe Bel’s homeport was not very restful, since it was during the night through thunder and lightning that the monohull attempted to cut its way through a raging sea. "I know the Mediterranean well, but I'm always surprised by its occasionally unpredictable and violent character. I think that we had a wind speed between 40 and 50 knots, but I couldn't check this because the storm roared on all sides. I had to disconnect everything to avoid damaging or the electronics on board". This morning, when they arrived, the two men found the town flooded and the harbor damaged by the violence of the night storms, "The water rose so high that the current was very strong in the harbor. We took two hours to moor Groupe Bel properly! And now, as though a miracle, it is beautifully sunny in the town as if nothing had happened…"
Acquiring good reflexes
Although Yann Régniau knows Groupe Bel well, this training session enabled Kito's co-skipper to find his bearings again during a longer sailing trip. "The aim was really to coordinate ourselves, and to get used to working in "racing" mode, and to find out how we would work together. Everything went really well and I'm also very satisfied with the boat and the keel! Finally, it did me a lot of good to spend a night on board Groupe Bel again, since the last one was back on 8 March in difficult conditions off the coast of Cape Horn with the keel threatening to break away," says Kito, who this Thursday, will allow himself a short day of debriefing and rest before attacking training sessions again on Friday with his colleague Yann Régniau.
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