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28.07.2011 Back to news
Holy cow!
 | © Guilain Grenier |
It was a well-deserved pleasure for the skipper and his team, who really needed to spend time at sea to turn the page on their past deceptions and take on the 2011 season schedule confidently with this double-handed sprint to Costa Rica next November.
With no less than 20 days of training clocked up since the start of July, including five nights at sea alone together, Kito and Yann have methodologically optimized the available time and acquired a real confidence in their ability to drive this racer capable of running under 620 m2 canvas downwind. "We took her out to sea nearly every day in the last month and have progressively increased the intensity of the training in varied and even quite forceful weather conditions towards the end. We notably made a return trip from Port Camargue to Minorca with DCNS 1000 (monohull sailed by Marc Thiercelin and Luc Alphand), and then last week, after the dynamic image bank shot below Porquerolles, we continued taking her as far as Sardinia", explained the skipper, whose voice indicates his pleasure in coming back to the thing he loves most: being at sea on board the boat he loves so much.
At the top of the summer "job list" was the endorsement of the new Groupe Bel keel: "We didn't dare work it too hard in the first days, and then we became more confident in our brand new keel, particularly when Groupe Bel valiantly sailed close hauled up along the Balearic Islands at more than 40 knots and among violent thunder storms" continued Kito. "Yann also quickly took on board a huge amount of information and warmed up his muscles with me on the coffee-grinder, with that smile that he always has; a real pleasure!"
Smile! You are wet!
Let us take a better look at these acrobatic photos taken from a helicopter. We have the sea, wind, sun, a beautiful boat, motivated sailors, well-oiled organization, a talented photographer and cameraman; everything you needed this 20th July for the Cow to impress us. "When we reached Cap Sicié, we were worried, since there was less wind than was forecast", said Kito. "We knew that below Porquerolles, the pressure would return and the helicopter arrived just in time with its deafening racket. We stayed on one reef/staysail, this is the sail configuration in which the Cow (Laughing Cow®, symbol of the Bel Group painted on the sails) is the most attractive and in which we can attack "safely". We didn't try very hard, she was surfing well at 25 knots and the sea was magnificent. Okay, well, it was a little wet, but we're used to that. As skippers, we often give the boat's appearance great importance, and yet we never see it from the exterior! We are proud to see her cutting through the waves like that. It is a real pleasure and a reward for the team which has worked so hard to get her into top condition. Well done too to the artists in the helicopter, who know what they're doing!
Today, Groupe Bel returns to dry dock for some summer yard work in which the team will change the roof, among other things, to protect the helmsman a little better, and this we can understand!
The photographer Guilain Grenier still can't believe it!
"There are days in the life of a photographer in which everything goes perfectly. When the light is there, the wind holds fast and the waves take over, there's a certain magic. 30 knots West off the coast of Porquerolles and our two skippers, who we now know are capable of playing along for an image bank and there you have it. After nearly 10 years spent in the company of Gilles Martin-Raget, I know that this kind of shooting is very rare, and I still can't believe my eyes. The spectacle of the boat flying through the waves and the spray splashing across the deck will be engraved in my memory and I am delighted to be able to share this with everyone. Exceptional, just like this boat and its skipper!"
With no less than 20 days of training clocked up since the start of July, including five nights at sea alone together, Kito and Yann have methodologically optimized the available time and acquired a real confidence in their ability to drive this racer capable of running under 620 m2 canvas downwind. "We took her out to sea nearly every day in the last month and have progressively increased the intensity of the training in varied and even quite forceful weather conditions towards the end. We notably made a return trip from Port Camargue to Minorca with DCNS 1000 (monohull sailed by Marc Thiercelin and Luc Alphand), and then last week, after the dynamic image bank shot below Porquerolles, we continued taking her as far as Sardinia", explained the skipper, whose voice indicates his pleasure in coming back to the thing he loves most: being at sea on board the boat he loves so much.
At the top of the summer "job list" was the endorsement of the new Groupe Bel keel: "We didn't dare work it too hard in the first days, and then we became more confident in our brand new keel, particularly when Groupe Bel valiantly sailed close hauled up along the Balearic Islands at more than 40 knots and among violent thunder storms" continued Kito. "Yann also quickly took on board a huge amount of information and warmed up his muscles with me on the coffee-grinder, with that smile that he always has; a real pleasure!"
Smile! You are wet!
Let us take a better look at these acrobatic photos taken from a helicopter. We have the sea, wind, sun, a beautiful boat, motivated sailors, well-oiled organization, a talented photographer and cameraman; everything you needed this 20th July for the Cow to impress us. "When we reached Cap Sicié, we were worried, since there was less wind than was forecast", said Kito. "We knew that below Porquerolles, the pressure would return and the helicopter arrived just in time with its deafening racket. We stayed on one reef/staysail, this is the sail configuration in which the Cow (Laughing Cow®, symbol of the Bel Group painted on the sails) is the most attractive and in which we can attack "safely". We didn't try very hard, she was surfing well at 25 knots and the sea was magnificent. Okay, well, it was a little wet, but we're used to that. As skippers, we often give the boat's appearance great importance, and yet we never see it from the exterior! We are proud to see her cutting through the waves like that. It is a real pleasure and a reward for the team which has worked so hard to get her into top condition. Well done too to the artists in the helicopter, who know what they're doing!
Today, Groupe Bel returns to dry dock for some summer yard work in which the team will change the roof, among other things, to protect the helmsman a little better, and this we can understand!
The photographer Guilain Grenier still can't believe it!
"There are days in the life of a photographer in which everything goes perfectly. When the light is there, the wind holds fast and the waves take over, there's a certain magic. 30 knots West off the coast of Porquerolles and our two skippers, who we now know are capable of playing along for an image bank and there you have it. After nearly 10 years spent in the company of Gilles Martin-Raget, I know that this kind of shooting is very rare, and I still can't believe my eyes. The spectacle of the boat flying through the waves and the spray splashing across the deck will be engraved in my memory and I am delighted to be able to share this with everyone. Exceptional, just like this boat and its skipper!"
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