First stage of the 2023 World Cup in Olympic sailing
From March 31 to April 8, nearly 952 crews and more than 1,200 sailors of different nationalities will compete in the Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca, the first stage of the 2023 World Cup and the beginning of the Olympic sailing season. All the Olympic series will be present, ILCA 6 and 7, 470, 49er FX and 49er, men's and women's iQFOil, Nacra 17, men's and women's Formula Kite.
New Class40 races
Class40 continues to show its dynamism. After the appointment of a new president, Cédric de Kervenoael, successor of Halvard Mabire since March 12, 2023, the class has announced in its newsletter to think about two new races. The first one is Belle-èle-en-Mer âeuros Marie-Galante crewed race for which the class is co-owner of the rights. The second, proposed by Kito de Pavant is the Odysse'O, a course in the Mediterranean, from the Occitan coasts to Morocco via the Greek islands. The program includes 10 days of double-handed races, every 4 years, also open to the Ocean Fifty, with a first departure scheduled for September 29, 2024.
A first French confrontation for the IMOCAs
The Guyader Bermuda 1000 Race Brest is the first French event of the 2023 season for IMOCA boats. Scheduled from May 4 to 14, it will bring together about fifteen duos. For the first time, the race will be sailed double-handed on this 1000-mile course between Brest, the mythical Fastnet and the Gallimard waypoint located between the Azores and Cape Finisterre. It will be an opportunity to discover the two new IMOCA boats Paprec Arkéa of Yoann Richomme, and For People of Thomas Ruyant. Jérémie Beyou, Yannick Bestaven, Sam Davies and the newcomer Sam Goodchild on Advens 1 will also be present.
Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia first at Cape Horn in The Ocean Race
The longest leg of The Ocean Race, which leads the solo sailors from Cape Town to Itajai in Brazil, is coming to an end. Team Malizia, led by the German Boris Herrmann was the first to cross the longitude of Cape Horn on Monday March 27 at 16:23 UTC after 29 days, 4 hours and 8 minutes. This is the 5th passage of the mythical cape for the navigator. The crew also won the 40th Roaring Trophy, which rewards the fastest passage between the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and Cape Horn in South America. The sailors completed this crossing in 27 days, 17 hours and 31 minutes. Team Holcim-PRB crossed it in second place.
A new bow for Mikaël Mergui's Class40 Centrakor
After his withdrawal from the Route du Rhum 2022 due to technical problems, skipper Mikaël Mergui is refocusing on the Transat Jacques Vabre 2023. While he has decided to keep his boat, whose bow had been damaged following a collision with a metal buoy, he is nonetheless making some technical modifications. In consultation with the architects from the Lombard firm and the Grand Largue Composite shipyard, the skipper chose to modify the shape of the bow. Initially designed with a scow bow, the Class40 Centrakor will adopt a more raised nose to lose less speed between two waves and limit the passage of water on deck. The old bow was cut out with a jigsaw. The new part will be grafted and laminated from the inside and outside.
Disagreement between the IMOCA class and the Transat Jacques Vabre
According to several of our colleagues, the IMOCA class is threatening legal action against the organization of the 2023 Transat Jacques Vabre if the Ultims participate in the double-handed transatlantic race. While the biggest trimarans in ocean racing were not supposed to be present on the starting line of the race, the setback of their round-the-world race leaves them more freedom. Negotiations are underway with the race organization. This does not please the IMOCA class, which would suffer a significant financial loss due to the media coverage of the Ultims, the inevitable "first arrivals" of the race.
A successful edition for the Massilia Cup
The 41st edition of the Massilia Cup, the first of the Inshore/Offshore concept, took place from March 24 to 26, 2023 in the harbor of Marseille. 80 crews enjoyed varied and invigorating weather conditions: 15 knots from the south-east with flat seas on Friday, a big swell from the west and large waves on Saturday, and a light wind at the beginning of the day on Sunday for a beautiful finale with 20 knots. The Committees managed to sail up to 11 races depending on the series to determine the 7 winners in Osiris, IRC 0,1 and 2, IRC 3, IRC 4, IRC 4 Vintage, Surprise, Grand Surprise and J70.
