Cercle Vert wins in Cherbourg

When asked at the start of La Solitaire du Figaro back in La Rochelle, what would his experience bring, he responded: “The difference comes down to how you handle the race, how you start and how you position yourself against the rest of the fleet.” As to whether he would be aggressive or not he responded, “There are key moment on each race, and these you have to know how to recognise and make the most of.

Gildas Morvan celebrated his 40th birthday on the eve of the start the race from Vigo to Cherbourg, three days later he can blow out four candles and celebrate his fourth leg victory since his first participation in the race in 1993. When asked at the start of La Solitaire du Figaro back in La Rochelle, what would his experience bring, he responded: “The difference comes down to how you handle the race, how you start and how you position yourself against the rest of the fleet.” As to whether he would be aggressive or not he responded, “There are key moment on each race, and these you have to know how to recognise and make the most of.”

For Gildas, the key moment on this second leg come early on: The strategy to sail close to the Galician shoreline paid off, the narrow lead on the first morning at sea was enough to continue to build on over the 575-mile spinnaker race to Cherbourg. Cercle Vert crossed the finish line at 18:26:10 this afternoon after covering upon covering the 575-mile course in 3 days, 3 hours, 41 minutes and 10 seconds at an average 7.6 knots. The sun was out, spectator, support and media boats were there to meet the victorious 1 metre 97cm tall sailor, affectionately known as the Green Giant.

Behind Cercle Vert, the fight for second has been aggressive right from the start. The chasing pack, Gildas Mahé (Le Comptoir Immobiler), Erwan Tabarly (Athema), Christopher Pratt (DCNS ), Jeanne Gregoire (Banque Populaire), Romain Attanasio (DCNS 97), Nicolas Troussel…hunted Gildas Morvan all the way from Cape Finisterre. The strong currents off Brittany and then La Hague brought with the turning tides has made for a thrilling following over the past twenty four hours right to the finish line. Behind the leader, the competitors tried every option, to head offshore to avoid the strong currents, to find shelter close to shore or behind the Channel Islands. The grueling race, was taking its toll on the sailors, “I am not particularly happy with myself,” admitted a disappointed Frederic Duthil (Distinxion Automobiles) today. The race that Romain Attanasio “had forgotten how hard was” continues for the remaining 46 competitors still racing to Cherbourg.