MOD70 no2 launched

Roland Jourdain's new Veolia Environnement gets dipped in Lorient

Three months after the launch of Steve Ravussin's Race for Water, so today the second MOD70 second, Roland Jourdain's Veolia Environnement has left Ocean Development ready to be officially launched - another milestone for the new one design trimaran class.

Skipper Roland Jourdain commented: "Building a boat is really like a race. It is always down to the end, when one pushes to finish, the last miles the most difficult. The construction phase has been unusual for me, since because it is a one design, I have had to follow it at a distance and now she is launch we have just arrived this afternoon with our fenders and warps for mooring the boat. Even if it seems more comfortable, it is still stressful although it has nothing to do with the stress of a conventional launch."

Jourdain has of course been impatient to see his finished boat but also says he is relieved that all is well allowing he and the Veolia team to start the next phase: sailing, allowing the team to get used to their new boat.

Sailing must wait though, for based outside the Cite de Voiles Eric Tabarly in Lorient, Veolia Environnement will first have to undergo static tests and last checks on her systems before she will be taken to her base in Concarneau.

Veolia Environnement's first competitive outing is expected to be the Rolex Fastnet Race in August.