Crédit : J Vapillon / WOW Cap Istanbul
WOW Cap Istanbul's solo Figarists put up a good fight in the Turkish waters. The finish was just as splendid. In the final miles of the leg, 5 racers had spread wide over a 300-meter area. These sailors were: the unofficial leader of the race François Gabart (Skipper Macif 2010), his runner up in the general ranking Fabien Delahaye (Port de Caen Ouistreham), a bizuth who proves his presence everyday, Francisco Lobato (Roff Tempo Team), the keeper of the title of French Champion, Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) and Sébastien Josse (Vendée) whose performance is slowly gathering strength.
Since the exit from the gulf of Athens, the racers survived a turbulent sea and several traps of windless holes. There was no end to fine tuning of tactics in the choices of sails and course til the finish line.
Treussart's disappointment
The southern wind at the exit of the gulf of Athens deceived the racers for a long time. Some of them chose to stay close to the shoreline to catch the northern wind. The sailors who patiently waited were eventually rewarded. Mikaël Mergui (TPM Hyéres) led the fleet. Despite his disappointment afterwards, the first to turn the mark was Ronan Treussart (Lufthansa).
Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) just about managed to get out of a windless pocket only to come out in the last few places. But the experienced helmer didn't give in. Gildas left behind his rivals one by one until he took his place in the battle for the winning spot.
Lobato lost by an inch
Leaving the gulf of Athens as the leader, Francisco Lobato seemed to have guaranteed his win by keeping his distance from his four rivals until the last 20 miles. But the competition turned fierce past the Leros and Kalimnos Islands. As Francisco struggled to free himself from the hole he got himself in, his rivals closed in. Even then the "bizuth” racer continued to challenge his fellow racers only 500 meter off the finish line.
Hoping to fend off the attacks of François Gabart by getting ahead with his spinnaker, Francisco later described his action as "a mistake caused by lack of experience.” Instead of accepting the second place and trying to maintain his position, the Portuguese sailor went for an attack. The skipper of Macif 2010 took advantage of this situation immediately and opened the gap with his spinnaker. In the end, after leading the leg for most of its duration, Francisco saw Gabart reach his victory only 26 seconds before him.
There are only 2 legs and 300 miles to get to the final battle of WOW Cap Istanbul. Things can still change.
What did they say?
François Gabart (Skipper Macif 2010) "One second would have been enough for me to win this leg. It really was a challenge. We battled all night. Even though I was mostly in leading positions in the last two legs, I couldn't shake off the second place. Finally I got the reward of all my hard work. This was a magnificent race nonetheless. You should be ready to take any risk at a race where the marks are replaced by islands. If Francisco didn't open his spinnaker in the last minute I would have been left behind. This was an opportunity and I took it.”
Francisco Lobato (Roff Tempo Team) "To be honest I don't know whether I am pleased or disappointed. But I am improving myself everday and that's good to see. I get more chances to stand out at each leg. I am getting closer to the masters of the race and my confidence is growing. I made a mistake in the last moment. And François didn't let it slip. When the leader makes a mistake it's easy for the followers to notice and make their attack. So if you are leading you can't afford to make mistakes.”
Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) "I wanted to make use of the thermal winds in the gulf of Athens. When the wind ran out I suddenly found myself almost in the last place. So I had to make my way back up to the top all night. If I was to join in the final battle at the end of the leg, I had to make aggressive attacks. It was even more thrilling that the boats were so close to each other. You forget about how tired you are. The next leg will no doubt be decisive. But the close finishes are strong indications that it's not over yet.”
From WOW Cap Istanbul
