What lurverly weather

For the first time in 30 years the Tour Voile fleet will cross Brittany...by land

For the first time ever, the competing boats in the Tour de France a la Voile will have to travel to Lorient by trailer. The stop in Perros-Guirec Côtes d’Armor had to be cancelled due to hazardous weather conditions. This decision was taken by the race committee and race organisation in order to be able to restart the races on Thursday morning in Lorient, as initially planned.

Strong winds until the weekend

Jean Coadou, President of the Race Committee, announced at noon during the skippers’ briefing his decision not to start any races over the forthcoming days. Any other decision would have compromised the rest of the race, because of strong weather conditions expected as the boats were scheduled to pass through the famous Chenal du Four between Ouessant and the mainland.

“The near gale warning doesn’t allow us to start a race tonight” - such was the first point at the briefing. As far as the rest is concerned, things are getting a little more complicated: “Meteo Consult forecasts a very slight improvement over the next 24 hours; the wind should be blowing around 15 knots tomorrow in the afternoon”.

The offshore leg towards Perros-Guirec Côtes d’Armor could have been sailed, but the boats would then have most likely been stuck another few days. “The competitors couldn’t have reasonably sailed past the Raz de Sein to windward with winds of 25+ knots. This is why we took this decision to put the boats on their trolleys, and to drive them to Lorient. Like this, we could start as of Thursday morning in Lorient, according to the initial schedule”.

The organisation will manage the whole of the operations

The organisers of the Tour Voile had to make this difficult choice for the first time in 30 years of the race's history. In order not to do a disservice to the competitors, the organisation will pay for the crane that is used to put the boats onto their trailers. The race direction also wants to ensure equity during this operation: “It goes without saying that it is forbidden to make any amendment aimed at improving the performance of the boat during the transit”, says Deputy Race Director Jean-Michel Gandon.

No one has protested this decision. “As regards the weather conditions we have, it is the most sensible decision to be taken," said Cédric Château crewman on Manche - Basse Normandie (Benoît Charon, Nicolas Jossier). "We will lose a few days in the Channel of course, but it is the price for not being late to Lorient and for the rest of the race” . The crews certainly regret not racing, but the sailors are convinced of the legitimacy of the decision that keeps them ashore.

Meanwhile the crew are preparing their boats for the overland transit. Mre being removed today, and the boats will be put onto their trailersbefore being taken to Lorient over the forthcoming days. In the meantime, the FestivitiesVillage of the Tour de France a la Voile in Perros-Guirec Côtes d’Armor has opened as usual...