Fuente info MOD
VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT LEADING THE WAY!
It’s in a North-Westerly wind of 15-20 knots, building to 30 knots at the end of the afternoon, that the KRYS MATCH got underway today in La Trinité sur Mer, Brittany. The four competing teams – Foncia, Veolia Environnement, Race for Water and Gitana 11- Edmond de Rothschild Group – were able to get their bearings on the tried and tested race zone, coloured by the backdrop of the superb Baie de Quiberon and the coast of La Trinité. A familiar setting then, for a fierce competition between the three MOD70s, which battling together within their own fleet for the first time. Opportunism, fighting spirit and concentration were the order of the day aboard these oceanic steeds, which adhere to a strict one-design.
The advantage this evening goes to Veolia Environnement, which lies at the top of the leaderboard* ahead of Race for Water and Foncia after three races.
It was at 1315 hours on the dot that the first Race of the KRYS MATCH got underway this Thursday. Sport and spectacle were guaranteed throughout the day’s confrontations. The MOD70s, like the prototype trimaran Gitana 11- Edmond de Rothschild, gave it their all during this trial run.
Full house for Veolia Environnement skippered by Roland Jourdain:
Despite overshooting the start of the first race, Veolia Environnement confirmed its position throughout the day’s races, displaying especially impressive speed upwind thanks to outstanding cohesion between the crew. This evening, Roland Jourdain and his seven crew members are dominating proceedings in the MOD70 category.
Roland Jourdain, skipper of the MOD70 Veolia Environnement: “Aboard Veolia Environnement today, we have good acceleration! It was a really great day! I’m lucky to have a fantastic team around me. Racing aboard an MOD70 is really extraordinary; in fact I don’t think I’ve completely come down from my racing yet! You have to force yourself to tone it down! These last two weeks, we’ve sailed as much as we can. We’ve been practicing going through the manoeuvres with the centre in Port La Forêt. The reflex actions are coming gradually! Today, everything smiled on us but I know the competition isn’t far behind! Everyone’s progressing fast! It’s important we don’t rest on our laurels!”
Astern of Veolia Environnement, with whom they were neck and neck, we find Race for Water helmed by the Swiss skipper Stève Ravussin and Michel Desjoyeaux’s team on Foncia, who experienced difficulties hoisting the gennaker throughout the day.
Michel Desjoyeaux, skipper of the MOD70 Foncia: “What a joy it is to sail aboard a multihull, especially in La Trinité sur Mer! We’ve never sailed in these conditions before aboard our MOD Foncia. In fact, we’ve only sailed very little since its launch due to racing on the D35 circuit. Today, it was a very good introduction which enabled us to gauge where we were in relation to our rivals. We had a few issues with furling our gennaker so we’ll sort that out for tomorrow’s racing! We’re learning, we’re learning!”
Gitana11-Edmond de Rothschild Group, the driving force of the KRYS MATCH:
Though the prototype Gitana 11- Edmond de Rothschild Group sailed through the confrontations by finishing first in each race, it wasn’t without its difficulties. In fact, though Sébastien Josse and his team performed superbly during today’s races, winning every one of them in style, they had Veolia Environnement hot on their heels throughout, and even had to battle neck and neck with for a number of tacks.
Provisional official* standing for the MOD70s after racing on Thursday 6 October:
1) Veolia Environnement (Roland Jourdain) 28 points
2) Race for Water (Steve Ravussin) 28 points
3) Foncia (Michel Desjoyeaux) 25 points
* REMINDER of the KRYS MATCH / MOD70 Standing:
This KRYS MATCH is the opening confrontation between the first three MOD70s – Race for Water, Veolia Environnement and Foncia, which are participating in the Multi One Championship.
On the occasion of this inaugural event, the 77-feet prototype trimaran - Gitana 11-Edmond de Rothschild Group – which the Gitana Team is using as they await the launch of their MOD70 No.04, was an on-the-water guest. She did indeed take part in the various races, but she won’t officially be part of the overall standing
