Groupama 2 flying start at Saint Nazaire
Groupama 2.
'Groupama 2'
ThMartinez ©
A few rays of sunshine, Force 3 breeze and flat seas; suffice to say, conditions were perfect for entertaining the crowds massed along the sea walls to witness a fine start to the Record SNSM.
The start was a long while in coming, but the small boats in the fleet finally set off at 1720 UT, the 60 footers following suit at 1735 UT.
The 60 foot monohulls and multihulls benefitted from their far superior speed to overtake the fleet of small boats even before they exited the Loire estuary.
Opting to set off on the 'leeward' section of the start line, that's to say further offshore, the crew of Groupama 2 vied with Banque Populaire for a good few minutes. Side by side at an average of 18 knots, the central pods out of the water, the two ORMA trimarans put on a great display.
Slowly but surely, Groupama 2 gained on Banque Populaire. Highly concentrated at the helm, Franck Cammas calmly gave his orders to the crew who sheeted in or eased the sheets according to the flurries of breeze.
Alongside the skipper of Groupama 2, navigator St?ve Ravussin was regularly consulting the computer so as to avoid the sand banks. Impervious to the climbing central pod, he indicated the best route for the helmsman to adopt.
This will remain the case throughout the night until such time as the winds calm off the tip of Brittany, which is likely to be early tomorrow morning.
The crew of Groupama 2
Franck Cammas - skipper
St?ve Ravussin - navigator
Lo?c Le Mignon - trimmer
Alberto Barovier - No.1 (bow), trimming
Bruno Laurent - pitman
Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant - mainsail
by Kate Jennings Translation 
Devonport, TAS
