It was as close a finish as many would have wished for, just over seven minutes separating first placed Virbac-Paprec 3 and third placed PRB. Jean Pierre Dick’s crew, with back to back Route du Rhum winner Roland Jourdain among them, lead all the way down the Mediterranean only to surrender their lead to PRB at the gateway to the Atlantic, the Strait of Gibraltar. But through the last 24 hours of the 800 miles first stage which started on Saturday in Barcelona, Virbac-Paprec 3 fought back to hold a tiny lead over Francois Gabart and crew on MACIF, with Vincent Riou’s PRB taking third.
Crossing the finish line in Cascais, Portugal at 20h 44m 17s (CET, UTC+2hrs) this wednesday 23rd May 2012 Virbac Paprec 3 won Leg 1 of the Europa WarmUp in an elapsed time of 4 days 3 hours 44 mins 17 seconds.
Virbac Paprec 3 finished just ahead of Macif. Francoise Gabart and crew finished at 20h 50m 29s and Vincent Riou and team on PRB finished only 53 seconds behind them in third place.
On the dockside in Cascais, all the crews shared a mood of happiness and contentment. Jean Pierre Dick praised his crew, Francois Gabart expressed his satisfaction at the closeness and intensity of the racing and Riou reasonably pleased by having fought well with a boat more optimised for downwind. The skippers were happy to finish and happy to talk. And one thing is for sure, skippers and crews will treasure their memories of this stage, finishing an IMOCA Open 60 race into Portugal for the first time ever.
Reactions:
Virbac-Paprec 3, Jean-Pierre Dick: they had the motivation.
“There were great moments sailing, sometimes with so much uncertainty in different areas. Despite taking different options at times we find ourselves all at the finish, side by side, in contact with three boats. It was a great battle with lots of shots to play. All in all we had a lot of happiness sailing with Bilou, it is nice to be together after having been adversaries for so long. I am delighted to win this as a crew for the first time. This is an excellent preparation for racing alone.”
MACIF, François Gabart: you could wish for no more.
“We came looking for a close contact race and we got it. On a day like today if there were differences between us then it would not have been fun. But here we were so close together and it was really exciting, especially when there is nothing in at the finish. The upwind sailing is not so much fun. But sailing with a crew is great, even if you do love solo sailing. And then is the race itself. When you are racing in sight of each other, everyone is all so competitive. Between this stage and the delivery it is all great preparation for going solo next. It builds up momentum gradually. In a few days it will be different, difficult things will be happening and so we will have to be ready.”
PRB, Vincent Riou: it was intense
"It was intense. You can say that and right to end! We are disappointed with the final result. But hey, this leg took was nearly all upwind and that is not the favorite point of sail for PRB. So it's a big satisfaction to see that we have raced at the highest level with boats more suited for that.. It went well and most importantly, strategically, we did well. We could keep up. Not once did we crack the sheets. It was a demanding stage. We end the third, this is the game! Even if we did not win we were right in the thick of Division 1. There were two big choices to make and both times we made the right choices. That's why we're here today. In Gibraltar, we stuck with what we believed and we came out in front at the strait. The boat is here in Cascais in great shape, we have not much work to do. It is ready to go. Maybe not me, I am looking forwards to full night’s sleep.»
1 Jean-Pierre Dick Virbac-Paprec 3, 4j 04h 44mn 17s, 7,94 nds
2 François Gabart MACIF, 4j 04h 50mn 29s, 7,93 nds
3 Vincent Riou PRB, 4j 04h 51mn 22s, 7,93 nds
From : Europa Warm'Up
Credit : R.Pinto/Europa Warm Up
Crossing the finish line in Cascais, Portugal at 20h 44m 17s (CET, UTC+2hrs) this wednesday 23rd May 2012 Virbac Paprec 3 won Leg 1 of the Europa WarmUp in an elapsed time of 4 days 3 hours 44 mins 17 seconds.
Virbac Paprec 3 finished just ahead of Macif. Francoise Gabart and crew finished at 20h 50m 29s and Vincent Riou and team on PRB finished only 53 seconds behind them in third place.
On the dockside in Cascais, all the crews shared a mood of happiness and contentment. Jean Pierre Dick praised his crew, Francois Gabart expressed his satisfaction at the closeness and intensity of the racing and Riou reasonably pleased by having fought well with a boat more optimised for downwind. The skippers were happy to finish and happy to talk. And one thing is for sure, skippers and crews will treasure their memories of this stage, finishing an IMOCA Open 60 race into Portugal for the first time ever.
Reactions:
Virbac-Paprec 3, Jean-Pierre Dick: they had the motivation.
“There were great moments sailing, sometimes with so much uncertainty in different areas. Despite taking different options at times we find ourselves all at the finish, side by side, in contact with three boats. It was a great battle with lots of shots to play. All in all we had a lot of happiness sailing with Bilou, it is nice to be together after having been adversaries for so long. I am delighted to win this as a crew for the first time. This is an excellent preparation for racing alone.”
MACIF, François Gabart: you could wish for no more.
“We came looking for a close contact race and we got it. On a day like today if there were differences between us then it would not have been fun. But here we were so close together and it was really exciting, especially when there is nothing in at the finish. The upwind sailing is not so much fun. But sailing with a crew is great, even if you do love solo sailing. And then is the race itself. When you are racing in sight of each other, everyone is all so competitive. Between this stage and the delivery it is all great preparation for going solo next. It builds up momentum gradually. In a few days it will be different, difficult things will be happening and so we will have to be ready.”
PRB, Vincent Riou: it was intense
"It was intense. You can say that and right to end! We are disappointed with the final result. But hey, this leg took was nearly all upwind and that is not the favorite point of sail for PRB. So it's a big satisfaction to see that we have raced at the highest level with boats more suited for that.. It went well and most importantly, strategically, we did well. We could keep up. Not once did we crack the sheets. It was a demanding stage. We end the third, this is the game! Even if we did not win we were right in the thick of Division 1. There were two big choices to make and both times we made the right choices. That's why we're here today. In Gibraltar, we stuck with what we believed and we came out in front at the strait. The boat is here in Cascais in great shape, we have not much work to do. It is ready to go. Maybe not me, I am looking forwards to full night’s sleep.»
1 Jean-Pierre Dick Virbac-Paprec 3, 4j 04h 44mn 17s, 7,94 nds
2 François Gabart MACIF, 4j 04h 50mn 29s, 7,93 nds
3 Vincent Riou PRB, 4j 04h 51mn 22s, 7,93 nds
From : Europa Warm'Up
