Sailing News with Sailing Box

First act of the eighth Route du Rhum - La Banque Postale race: the registrations closed on 1st July with a record number of entries since it was created back in 1978. No fewer than 86 participants will be lining up for the start in Saint Malo on 29th October. We have to go back to the English transatlantic race of 1976, which brought together 125 boats to find a larger line-up.
The previous record number of participants was in 2002, when 58 boats lined up for the start. With 86 skippers ready to battle it out on the Atlantic the 2006 event looks like being an exceptional race from every point of view. This remarkable “vintage” will moreover be even more spectacular with all the different classes taking part starting out together and everyone racing over the same route.

They are all there…. And many others too
They will all be there in Saint-Malo, the young guns, the veterans, the “stars”, the gifted “amateurs”, all those who love this legendary race, which has become a must. This dream line-up will be on show in the City of Privateers from 20th October.
Among the 86 sailors, who have registered, four of them were winners of their respective classes in 2002 : Michel Desjoyeaux on Géant (ORMA Class), Franck Yves Escoffier on Crêpes Whaou (class 2 multihulls), Bruno Reibel on Ville de Dinard (Class 1 monohulls) and Régis Guillemot on Hallucine (Class 3 monohulls). The latter will be trying to regain their titles as they face a group of yachtsmen, whose goal is to be the first to finish in Pointe-à-Pitre.

> 15 signed up in the ORMA class
There were eighteen in the 2002 race and this time fifteen 60’multihull skippers will be at the start of the Route du Rhum - La Banque Postale 2006. Michel Desjoyeaux, who will be trying to regain his title on Géant, will be up against the winner of the last Transat Jacques Vabre, Pascal Bidégorry on Banque Populaire and the four-times winner of the ORMA world championships, Franck Cammas on Groupama, who has won the Transat Jacques Vabre on two occasions. Finally, the two catamarans from the class will be sailed by Lalou Roucayrol (on Médiatis Région Aquitaine) and Pascal Bonneau (on Libertad).
> The IMOCA class….a very open race
As for the IMOCA class, the leading figures from the Vendée Globe will be present, with, notably, the winner of the last race, Vincent Riou at the helm of his new PRB. He will certainly be a worry to Brian Thompson, who can boast an impressive list of successes and a wealth of experience. Then, there is Roland Jourdain, Jean Le Cam, Jean Pierre Dick, Marc Guillemot , Jérémie Beyou and Dominique Wavre…
> Class 40… a race within the race
The class 40 is the largest in the fleet. There will be 28 lining up at the start on 29th October. It is not simply the sheer number of boats, but the wide range of participants, which is striking. Under the spotlight among the 86 race entrants, this series will represent perfectly the spirit of the Route du Rhum – La Banque Postale. Not only do you find there the youngest and oldest participants in the race, (Jean Pierre Amblard, 65 and David Lefebvre, 22), but also a fabulous mixture of professionals and amateurs.

> Class 1, 2 and 3: four Escoffiers
In the class 2 multihulls, two Escoffiers will be battling it out, the father and son: Franck Yves on Crêpes Whaou and Loïc on Gamin. Anne Caseneuve, the only woman in this series, will be showing what she is capable of on board Lui competing against 10 other competitors, including, alongside the two from Saint Malo, Roger Langevin (Négocéane) and Pascal Quintin on Jean Stalaven. In the Class 3 multihulls, Karen Leibovici and Damien Seguin will be racing in identical boats, a Krysalid 42. There will be four entrants on 45-feet multihulls.
In the class 1 monohull category, there is another Escoffier, the brother and uncle of the two aforementioned: Bob the boat owner from Saint Malo and a loyal Rhum racer. Five boats will be competing in this class including the current titleholder, Bruno Reibel on Ville de Dinard. In the Class 2 monohulls, the American company director and talented amateur, Kip Stone, the winner of the 2004 Transat will be at the helm of Artforms, which is the name of his colour printing firm. He will be up against the fourth Escoffier: Servane, the youngest member of the family, Bob’s daughter, who is racing on Vedettes de Bréhat – Cap Marine. In this class we will also see Régis Guillemot on Hallucine. There is a difference of fifteen feet between his boat and his cousin Marc’s Safran.

Some facts and figures
86 competitors (the organisers reserve the right to invite other racers)
20th October: All the boats must be present in Saint Malo
29th October: All the categories start out together at 13h02 (local time)
9th November: The first boats are due to arrive in Pointe-à-Pitre
12 days 8 hours and 41 seconds: the record set by Laurent Bourgnon in 1998

Bundock and Ashby’s victory came after returning from Europe three weeks ago and sailed a Hobie Cat Tiger Formula 18 supported by Ronstan (of course!)Nissan, Hobie Cat and Marinepool. The Championships were held on Wallis lake on the mid-north NSW coast close to Foster.

Racing was extremely tight with the added interest of the 2007 World Championships in Yeppoon, Queensland in February attracting the top catamaran sailors into the class. Steve Brewin, previous A Class World Champion with Andrew Williams finished one point behind the 2004 and 2005 F18 World Champions. Young future stars Matt Homan and Andrew Cook battled hard for 3rd place and spoiled a good score card with their final race.

The fleet enjoy a variety of conditions with breezes reaching 20 knots on the Saturday, 8 to 12 knots seabreeze on Sunday and 5-8 for the final race on Monday.

The only real pressure put on Bundock and Ashby was by themselves after leading race two and completing an extra lap before finishing and losing 19 places in the process.

Bundock commented “we blew it in the second race when we miss counted the laps, it was like taking a victory lap without the victory, but the conditions were fantastic with strong breeze and perfectly flat water - we were having such a good time”

Ashby said “It was always close racing and it is going to be a great season with the National Championships in three weeks and finally a World Championship in our home country. I guess this event was a good warm up for us to start off the Australian season”

Bundock/Ashby’s summer season highlights will be F18 Nationals in Frankston, Victoria from 4th November, Olympic Tornado South Americans and World Championships in Argentina from 20 November and the Formula 18 World Championship in Yeppoon Queensland from 17 February.