With the end of this epic Route du Rhum single-handed race across the Atlantic in sight for Sidney Gavignet onboard the Sultanate of Oman’s 70ft flagship, Musandam-Oman Sail, the 45-year-old Frenchman’s focus is sharpened down to a fine point. In his sights he has Prince de Bretagne, a trimaran 10 foot his superior and a challenging night of unmarked fishing pots strung around the island of Guadeloupe ahead. In addition to this, he is wrestling with squall after squall as he approaches the Caribbean with their unwelcome 50-60 degree wind shifts and wind speeds that vary drastically from 10 knots up to 25 with resulting leaps in boat speed from a comfortable 15knots to peaks of 32 and more.
None of this distracted Sidney however from writing a note this morning to congratulate Loick Peyron on his remarkable sprint across the Atlantic on 103ft Banque Populaire and his record breaking finish in 7 days, 15 hours, 8 minutes and 32 seconds! It wasn’t so long ago that the boot was on the other foot and Loick was calling Sidney to congratulate him and his 50% Omani crew on beating his record around Britain and Ireland. “Bravo Loick!” Sidney said. “A superb achievement to beat Lionel Lemonchois’ record – well done!
“These boats really eat up the miles, it is really extraordinary, mile after mile flies by – quite literally,” he added. “I have to say though if anyone asks me what the best part of this race is, I would answer unhesitatingly: THE FINISH! We love to leave, we love the race, but we love the finish more.”
And Sidney’s time to put his feet back on solid ground is coming. While there are plenty more challenges to come with more squalls on the agenda for the afternoon, the biggest hurdle will be the approach to the island and the fishing pots concentrated around the north east corner of Guadeloupe. Extra care will need to be taken in the dark as a collision could be catastrophic. Once he has negotiated his way through the fishing pots, he will need to sail around the island keeping it to port and the forecast on the western edge, according to his router Jeff Cuzon, is for light trades with plenty of wind shifts.
Sidney will need maximum focus in the last few hours of his race – for now an ETA is too hard to predict, although he is expected to throw his lines sometime on Tuesday morning.
For photos and video of the Route du Rhum celebrations and the race, and to watch interviews with the Skipper and Omani sailors and representatives, please go to:
http://media.qiusystem.com/omansail/en/photos/302_2014-MOD70-Route-du-Rhum
