It is without much suspense that Poujoulat Chimneys has won the 2014-2015 edition of the Barcelona World Race. Left with no direct pursuers, the two skippers arrived in Barcelona at 17:50 min and 25 sec UTC (one hour slower than in France). They also set the new reference time for the race by completing their circumnavigation in 84 days 5 hours 50 minutes and 25 seconds. As a reminder, the 23,321-mile course was changed for this edition. The detour through the Cook Strait (between the two islands of New Zealand) had been removed.
Bernard Stamm's impressions, on the spot " I am happy, really happy! That's it, it's over. In my head, a lot of things are happening. When you cross the finish line of a round-the-world race after almost three months at sea, it's always strange to find people all around you. It puts us right back into the civilization bath, but it's nice.
Last year was a bit complicated for me so winning this Barcelona World Race is a great reward. All the hard work I put in has finally paid off and it feels really good. I'm happy to share this moment with Jean. This victory was not easy, far from it. It's true that we were in close contact for the first half of the race and then the match was much less close, but we always sailed at a high pace to continue to increase the gap.
While we're at it! The important thing was to be careful with the equipment. In sailing, even with a big lead, you know it, as long as the line is not crossedâ?¦ Jean and I started this race with the same objective: to be on the top step of the podium. So we spent most of our time making the boat work as well as possible. Everything was focused on performance at all times and we managed to do it in a good mood, laughing.
We are lucky that it ended in the best way possible so it's great. Every day we sailed as if we had a competitor right next to us. The only thing, probably, that has changed about not being in contact is that it has given us a little bit of peace of mind in the maneuvers, but that's it. It's great. Really great!"
A world tour as a leader
Poujoulat fireplace took the lead in the race on January 17 when, Hugo Boss dismasted off Salvador de Bahia. Waging a tough war with Neutrogena in the end, they found themselves without opponents when Guillermo Altadill and José Munoz made a stopover in New Zealand.
The next arrivals, from Neutrogena and Gaes Centros Auditivos are scheduled between March 30 and April 2.
