A great victory
After several years on the Figaro circuit, Charlie Dalin is now sailing in IMOCA on the recent Apivia foiler. Launched at the beginning of August, the skipper had only had a short time to train with his first big race. This victory in the Transat Jacques Vabre 2019 is his first on the IMOCA circuit, he finished 3rd in the Transat Jacques Vabre 2015 on the Imoca Groupe Quéguiner Leucémie Espoir by Yann Eliès.
"It's the most beautiful of my victories: it's the race I grew up with in Le Havre. We are moved, happy, we don't fully realize what we have done, I think. There's a lot of things. Joy, the realization of a childhood dream, but it was already a dream to sail with Yann in 2015. It was another to become an Imoca skipper. I couldn't do better than win my first race as skipper of Imoca, the first stage of a four-year program with APIVIA. Twenty years ago, I used to go to the pontoons of Le Havre at the end of the school to see the boats leaving. So, winning it with Yann..." exclaimed the skipper of Apivia at the finish.
Well aware of the youth of his boat, Charlie Dalin had told us aim for a podium: "We're going to discover a lot of things during the race. If everything goes well, we have the ability to achieve good results and why not victory."
If he is one of the possible contenders for victory, the fleet of new foilers is numerous and the big favourite is none other than Charal (Jérémie Beyou), who has won all the races of the season.
It is therefore with caution that Yann and Charlie take the start before finding themselves in the right Channel package with a southern route. If he plays the role of hunter during these first days of the race, he takes the reins of the race on October 30th. Upwind, the Verdier plan seems to be very fast and is making a small advance as we approach the high pressure of Gibraltar.
Charal took over the lead at the entrance to the trade wind and never let go until the doldrums. On November 4th, the black and silver foiler was 120 miles ahead. Unfortunately, Jérémie Beyou and Christopher Pratt get stuck in the soft zone while Charlie Dalin and Yann Eliès, moving to the east, are much less slowed down.
"We marked the ground for all those who arrived behind, it was blessed bread for them, they just had to move eastward so they wouldn't get stuck. There was a lateral shift of about fifteen miles, they on the highway and you on the departmental road, with the next junction very far away. We cut the rankings, because it's not human, it was getting unbearable." explains the skipper of Charal, who finished third on the podium.
They left on November 7 and posted 15 knots on the counter. The second is no longer Charal but Banque Populaire 225 miles behind... The 1000 mile long tack in the southeast trade wind is now just a formality and Apivia is making a masterstroke by entering the Bay of All Saints as the winner.
Rankings
2 - PRB (Kevin Escoffier and Nicolas Lunven) - 10/11/2019 - 17:04:42
3 - Charal (Jérémie Beyou and Christopher Pratt) - 10/11/2019 - 17:11
4 - Advends for Cybersecurity (Thomas Ruyant and Antoine Koch - 10/11/2019 - 19:10:41
5 - 11th Hour Racing (Charlie Enright and Pascal Bidégorry) - 10/11/19 - 19:25:23
6 - Banque Populaire X (Clarisse Crémer and Armel le Cléac'h) - 10/11/19 - 22:01:24
7 - Heart Initiatives (Samantha Davies and Paul Meilhat) - 10/11/19 - 22:45:44
8 - Valley 2 Office (Louis Burton and Davy Beaudart) - 11/11/2019 - 04:06:43
9 - Arkéa Paprec (Sébastien Simon and Vincent Riou) - 11/11/2019 - 04:20:53
10 - Newrest Art et Fenêtres (Fabrice Amedéo and Eric Péron) - 11/11/19 - 05:16:07
