On the late afternoon of Wednesday, May 29, Yann Guichard’s Spindrift, the MOD 70, will leave Trinité sur Mer and head to Valencia, on the Iberian Peninsula of the Mediterranean coast, for the start of the European tour, this year called the « Route des Princes ». Close to 1,400 nautical miles is never a simple delivery aboard a light and hugely powerful trimaran. Guichard intends to use every mile to improve the cohesion of a crew that is slightly changed from that which won the first MOD70 championship last year. To the regulars: Jacques Guichard, Pascal Bidégorry and Erwan Tabarly have been added two multihull specialists: Christophe Espagnon and Xavier Revil. Both men have accumulated considerable experience on machinery of « two or three legs » and it is logical that the choice of co-skipper for the Transat Jacques Vabre: Le Havre – Itajai (starting November 3), should be one of them: Revil.
The Route des Princes begins on June 7 with an inshore regatta before the first race towards Lisbon. Last year, victory in a race with a similar profile, escaped the men of Spindrift racing by a few seconds. Guichard and his crew intend to take the performance to another level, aspiring for nothing but victory in Morlaix Bay on June 30 after the four legs.
The Training Delivery
« This great passage of the Iberian Peninsula to Valencia and the start of the Route des Princes is not simple, » Guichard said. « We have done a lot of day sailing and close to shore lately. This delivery gives us the opportunity to go offshore, spend several days at sea and live together. It means we will have warmed up nicely when we arrive in Valencia. This is important for the cohesion of the crew, which is a bit different than last year. Xavier Revil is going to benefit from this time to find his feet, as it is he who will be my substitute for the inshore races in Valencia and Lisbon. For those times, I will be returning to our D35, Ladycat. I have every confidence in his ability in the inshore racing – it’s his specialty.
“Our MOD70, Spindrift, was completely revised this winter. The one-design rule limits the technical interventions on the boat. This class is well conceived, and apart from the review of the hardware and work on the hull, there was no fundamental construction. We start this year with new sails that we will have to look after because the class limits the number. »
Route des Princes, Europe South to North
« The Route des Princes is the equivalent of the Course de l’Europe in which the MODs competed in last year and from which we have broken away. This year it will turn in the opposite direction, from the Mediterranean to northern Europe. We know what to expect now in this MOD one-design class; there is no room for error. It will be immediately on the pace. It will be relentless. There are four boats at the start, all very close to each other, which leaves little chance to rebuild after a bad performance. Our crew is very consistent, and especially full of strong individuals who will live well at sea together. The course is great, very interesting. There will be a big chunk between Lisbon and Dublin with all kinds of conditions. It will be very open, very sporty. The course is varied and finishes will be measured like last year, by the second. Our goal is clearly to win the Route des Princes.”
Xavier Revil, the Obvious Choice
« I chose Xavier as my partner in the next Transat Jacques Vabre. He has huge experience of multihulls. I think he’s someone who resembles me, at least in his path. Xavier knows the MOD70 having navigated on Foncia. He was onboard the Maxi trimaran that won the Jules Verne trophy and like me he comes from Olympic Tornado programme. On a human level, this is a man of quality and I’m sure we will get on well together at sea. Going for the double-(-handed TJV) not scare me. The physical side is extreme on lightweight multis. It will take more on a one-design than on a 60ft Orma. Everyone will attack constantly. It requires maximum concentration, alertness and anticipation.”
The crew of the MOD70 Spindrift on offshore legs
Yann Guichard, skipper
Xavier Revil, trimmer
Jacques Guichard, trimmer
Pascal Bidégorry, trimmer
Erwan Tabarly, trimmer
Christophe Espagnon, trimmer
Crew of the MOD70 Spindrift on Inshores legs
Yann Guichard (Dublin, Plymouth)
Xavier Revil, trimmer
Jacques Guichard, trimmer
Erwan Tabarly, trimmer
Christophe Espagnon, trimmer
Seb Marsset, No. 1 (all inshore)
Nicolas Charbonnier, tactician (Dublin, Plymouth)
Chris Andre, grinder (Lisbon, Dublin)
Fred Brousse, grinder (Valencia, Plymouth)
Nicolas Texier, grinder (Valencia, Lisbon)
Jean-Baptiste Levaillant, trimmer (Valencia)
Program :
Valence: from June 5th to 9th
Stopover in Lisbon: from June 13th to 16th
Stopover in Dun Laoghaire (Dublin : from June 20th to 23rd
Stopover in Plymouth: from June 26th to 29th
Arrival in Morlaix: June 30th