Cammas into the lead

Another retirement, but little separate the top three going into the final day of the Fecamps trimaran grand prix

See more of Gilles Martin-Raget's photos from Fecamps here

After day one, the 60ft trimaran fleet at the Fecamps Grand Prix has dwindled from 12 to 9 boats with Steve Ravussin’s Banque Covefi damaged en route to Fecamps, Foncia breaking the tip of her mast while on Jean-Luc Nelias’ Belgacom, last year’s winner of this grand prix, the halyard system for the genniker has self-destructed

Ravussin’s trimaran limped into St Malo last night after having experienced a collision with a submerged object on Thursday. On her arrival the mast was removed and the boat hauled out of the water to examine the damage. Ravussin said that they had been on the level with Cape La Hague sailing under staysail in the lumpy seas when they had hit something. The collision with the daggerboard had sliced a 5-6m long hole in the bottom of the centre hull. Within minutes the accommodation was completely awash, swamping the engine and the electrics.

With the help of the coastguard, two large pumps were loaded on board to empty the main hull as Ravussin and his crew set about trying to effect a running repair as best they could.

Ravussin believes it will take three weeks to fix the hull and for the sake of time they will carry out the work in St Malo. They will require a new section of hull, a new daggerboard and daggerboard case and electronics. The boat should be ready in time to make the start line of the Transat Jacques Vabre at the beginning of November .

Back in Fecamps the first race today was a 27 mile blast along the coast of northern France, held in 15-18 knots of northwesterly breeze, albeit with large shifts and variations around the race course, making for a highly tactical contest.

Into the groove after the first day of racing, the start was more aggressive despite a strong tide carrying the boats across the line. Marc Guillemot on Biscuits la Trinitaine got the best start, while Bayer, Sodebo, Banque Populaire and Geant were forced to turn back and restart.

Fred le Peutrec’s Bayer and Thomas Coville’s Sodebo were the first to return but during this manoeuvre there was a collision between the two trimarans, Sodebo damaging Bayer’s port float, forcing her to retire from the Grand Prix.

With some of the competition behind because of being OCS, Franck Cammas’ Groupama led the charge along the coast and at the first mark was surprisingly followed by Lionel Lemonchois’ Gitana X, which has so far failed to show any form in this fleet despite being one of the most hi-tech boats.

By the second mark off Yport, Karine Fauconnier’s Sergio Tacchini had taken over the second spot and proceeded to whittle down Cammas’ lead. Unfortunately the efforts of her team were not enough and at the finish line it was Cammas who finished first ahead of them with Michel Desjoyeaux on Geant in third place having made a spectacular recovery following his OCS. After three races Cammas and Desjoyeaux are now tied on points, with Cammas ahead on wins.

Results

1- Franck Cammas (Groupama)
2- Karine Fauconnier (Sergio Tacchini)
3- Michel Desjoyeaux (Géant)
4- Marc Guillemot (Biscuits La Trinitaine)
5- Philippe Monnet (Sopra Group)
6- Thomas Coville (Sodebo)
7- Lalou Roucayrol (Banque Populaire)
8- Lionel Lemonchois (Gitana)
Abandon- Frédéric Le Peutrec (Bayer CropScience)
Non partant- Jean-Luc Nélias (Belgacom)
Non partant- Alain Gautier (Foncia)


Race 4

For the second race today – two loops of a three mile windward-leeward - the wind had abated a little to 10-13 knots, still from the northwest and the sea was less jagged.

The best start was made by Lionel Lemonchois’ Gitana on starboard at the committee boat end of the line and there were no recalls. However once again it was the threesome of Groupama, Geant and Sergio Tacchini that excelled.

Similar to this morning's race there were big shifts and variations of pressure across the race course, so looking for the shifts and chosing the correct side of the course and where to tack was crutial. With Bertrand Pace calling the tactics, Fauconnier’s Sergio Tacchini dominated this race and led for a majority of the way around the course.

Frustratingly she was overtaken on the final run by Franck Cammas and eventually finished second just a few centimetres ahead of Desjoyeaux. On board Sodebo, Thomas Coville was not so lucky and was pipped at the post by Guillemot who took fourth place.

Results from race four

1- Franck Cammas (Groupama)
2- Karine Fauconnier (Sergio Tacchini)
3- Michel Desjoyeaux (Géant)
4- Marc Guillemot (Biscuits La Trinitaine)
5- Thomas Coville (Sodebo)
6- Lalou Roucayrol (Banque Populaire)
7- Philippe Monnet (Sopra Group)
8- Lionel Lemonchois (Gitana)



With bullets in the last three races, Franck Cammas (above) has taken the lead but is only two points clear of Michel Desjoyeaux. After four races just three points separate Groupama, Géant and Sergio Tacchini at the top of the leaderboard and barring disaster they look set to be the three podium finishers tomorrow.

Compared to the other boats and not including the retirements, these three boats seem to be in a class above the others not just in terms of boat speed, but also tactics and their preparation. The tactical side is certainly being boosted with the likes of Thierry Peponnet and Bertrand Pace sailing among the crews.

Overall results after four races

1- Franck Cammas (Groupama) 5+1+1+1 = 8 points
2- Michel Desjoyeaux (Géant) 2+2+3+3 = 10 points
3- Karine Fauconnier (Sergio Tacchini) 4+3+2+2 = 11 points
4- Marc Guillemot (Biscuits La Trinitaine) 7+5+4+4 = 20 points
5- Lalou Roucayrol (Banque Populaire) 6+6+7+6 = 25 points
6- Thomas Coville (Sodebo) 8+8+6+5 = 27 points
7- Jean-Luc Nélias (Belgacom) 1+4+12+12 = 29 points
8- Philippe Monnet (Sopra Group) 9+9+5+7 = 30 points
9- Frédéric Le Peutrec (Bayer CropScience) 3+7=12+12 = 34 points
10- Lionel Lemonchois (Gitana) 10+10+12+8 = 36 points
11- Alain Gautier (Foncia) 12+12+12+12 = 48 points