An intense day to say the least on the Martinique Cata Raid

It seems that circumstances conspired this morning to throw a spanner in the works of the Martinique Cata Raid's well-oiled organisers. As soon as the competitors were on the water, the start procedure was delayed. The cause was the heavy conditions outside the bay, which made anchoring the markers tricky. With the fleet dismasting and returning to the club, the series has only just begun on a day full of pitfalls. A torn mainsail, a blown genoa sheet and a blown spinnaker pole for three of the race's main protagonists... It's clear that Tuesday will have given everyone a hard time!

Impossible this morning to get the competitors out of the Bay of Robert, as the wind and sea are so strong outside for this long distance race of around twenty miles. The course, which starts at 13h30, will take the 26 crews around the îlet aux Rats and the ilet à Eau. Nonetheless, the pressure is high on the line with an easterly flow of 25 knots.

Benoit Champanhac and Grégoire Courtel, who got off to a flying start, could only watch in disappointment as their mainsail was torn apart just a few lengths past the line. A huge disappointment shared by Nicolas Gillet and Nicolas Poix (Socoveam Anmizi), who were also forced to retire due to a broken genoa sheet. A few minutes later, it was the turn of Benoît Touchot and Pierre-Yves Durand to return to the club with a broken spinnaker pole! And that's three serious contenders out of the race. The way was clear for the formidable Dutchmen Ad Noorozij/Bastiaan Tentij (HorseRidingSpain), who won their first race here in Martinique ahead of the Boulogne brothers Emmanuel and Vincent, and the Finn Slim Maival/ Anssi Muikku for a 100% Nordic podium!

Proof, if any were needed, of the intensity of the regatta and the harshness of the sailing conditions, a good dozen crews took advantage of the break between the two legs to make a pit stop. And no one was spared: a bent tiller for Gurvan Bontemps and Fred Moreau, a change of spinnaker pole clamp for Vincent and Emmanuel Boulogne, a spinnaker pole out of square for the Carro fathers and sons... The paddock was swarming and most of the competitors managed to make repairs before setting off on the second race of the day.

On an unchanged course, the fleet raised the level and five boats engaged in an intense battle. This time, it was the turn of Matthieu Marfaing/James Melvin (Cirrus-MM Sailing) to win ahead of the Dutch team of Ad Noorozij/Bastiaan Tentij (HorseRindingSpain), who had clearly made their mark in the Bay of Robert. The duo of Nicolas Gillet and Nicolas Poix (Socoveam - Anmizi) rounded off the podium, a fine piece of revenge after their morning disappointment.

It was a more complicated day for the overall leaders Gurvan Bontemps and Fred Moreau (French Caribbean - Stickerman). After bending their tiller on the first run, the duo hit it on the second, seeing their ambitions for the day dashed. For all concerned, tomorrow is another day, and it starts now with a complete check of the boats!

They said:

Ad Noorozij/Tentij Bastiaan (HorseRidingSpain)

"We've had so much fun today, it's great! It has to be said that we love sailing in breezy conditions and, in these conditions, the boat is on fire! It's the first time we've been to Martinique. Our secret? Maybe it's that we're really enjoying ourselves on the water, not to mention that Bastiann has a huge list of achievements to his name, including being runner-up in the F18 World Championship! Even though it's getting a bit old, he hasn't lost any of his talent!
I didn't really understand what was going on in the first race. I knew we had great speed downwind and then we were also going very fast upwind. On the whole we sailed rather 'cautiously' because there were big variations in the wind and we could see all the boats around us capsizing. Gurvan and Fred [Bontemps/Moreau (French Caribbean - Stickerman) - Editor's note] had problems on both legs, which enabled us to win. They're also really strong and are going to be hard to beat!
We've got some incredible conditions here in Martinique and the setting is just magical! One thing's for sure, we'll be back!

Matthieu Marfaing/James Melvin (Cirrus- MM Sailing)

"It's been a pretty good day with places of 4 and 1! There was a lot of action on the water and it's all very competitive! More than the conditions, it's also the level that's very high in this edition: it's impossible to take your foot off the gas, it's pushing hard, no one's doing anyone any favours and the boats are taking their toll. It's complicated to manage the race: you're pushing hard all the time! But in this last race, we worked really well!

Tom Ben Eliyahu/Jean André Moutachi (Ti Wind)

We went upwind and life was good," explained Tom Ben Eliyahu. We went down to take the start and then CRACK, the chainplate snapped and the mast fell gently!
The Wind Force team were great! They were there, they let us tidy up the boat and furl our sails before taking us in tow!
We don't think we've broken anything else, so we'll see if we can set off again tomorrow... "

Programme for the week:

• 
  

  Saturday 20 January: Opening drink

  
  


• 
  

  Sunday 21 January: Training day 

  
  

  Monday 22 January: Constructed course

  
  

  Tuesday 23 January: Long distance

  
  

  Wednesday 24 January: Constructed course 

  
  

  Thursday 25 January: Rest day

  
  

  Friday 26 January: Long distance

  
  

  Saturday 27 January: Constructed course and prize-giving ceremony

  
  

Rankings to be found on the Martinique Cata Raid website

Follow the race : On the race website (image bank access), social networks (Facebook and Instagram)

Photos On the race website

Videos on the Youtube channel