Started very late due to a lack of financial resources, the Défi Français led by Franck Cammas had little time to train. However, the players in this conquest didn't slacken off. We met them at their base in Bermuda so that they could explain to us the course of a typical training day.
7:00 am - Indoor Gym
The day starts with 1 hour of gym time in the gym to warm up and work the muscles used on board.
8h00 - Meeting
While the team members eat after the gym, the managers announce the day's programme in the form of a general meeting.
8h30 - Preparation of the boat
Then follows the preparation of the boat with the different technical choices according to the sailing program and the weather (mainly on the pre-settings of the foils and the wing).
11:00 am - Matage and launch
As the boat has come out of the water after each navigation, it is dismasted. The hulls are stored in one shed, the wing in another. The launch at the end of the morning is an operation that lasts an hour. It involves connecting all the hydraulic systems between the wing and the boat.
13h00 - Navigation
Then follows a navigation according to the program set up by the coach Bertrand Pacé. Starting, tacking, gybing or top speed sessions. Regularly the grinder crew (the men who winch) are replaced in turn. After 20 minutes, they are rinsed out ..
7:00 pm - Return ashore
Returning to shore after several hours of sailing does not mean rest for the crew. There is still a lot of work to be done before the day is over.
7:30 pm - Water outlet and dismasting
The whole team is on the dock to participate in this daily dismantling. Even Franck Cammas is getting involved. The boat is rinsed with a water jet and then stowed away in her hangar.
21h00 - Debriefing
Together, the sailing team can then look back on the day's learning and work with the designers to see how to improve the boat for the next day.
22h00 - Technical preparation
The various engineers go back to their laboratory to develop, fine-tune and improve the various points so that the boat will be even more efficient the next morning. Another part analyses the data recorded during navigation. It will be a long night for them..
