Races of the day cancelled on the Martinique Cata Raid

Despite a briefing and a course proposal on the morning of the third day of racing, the decision by the organisers and the race committee to cancel the day's racing was imminent.

The cancellation has now been made official: "Since this morning, and in line with the forecasts, the wind has been in excess of 25 knots and there has been one squall after another in the race zone," explains Bruno Lecomte. It would be totally unreasonable to launch a race in these conditions. We're going to have a look at how the weather develops, but it's highly likely that we'll use the reserve day, scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, to send out a few races.

After two particularly intense days of racing, the news has been welcomed by the racers, who are delighted to be able to take advantage of this break to fine-tune the preparation of their boat, recover physically from the first few days of racing and set off to discover the charms of Martinique: l'île aux Fleurs.

They said :

Gurvan Bontemps/Fred Moreau (French Caribbean - Stickerman)

"Yesterday we were a bit unlucky and we also took some risks that we shouldn't have taken, with a penalty that was a bit harsh. We had a lot of work to do last night which we were able to finish off this morning. The boat is back to 100% and we were motivated to get out on the water, but the conditions are a bit too strong. The organisation and the race committee made a good decision, quite early on, which will enable us to enjoy our afternoon".

Patrick and William Carro  

"We finished quite late last night to repair our spinnaker pole. The chainplate sheared clean off and we had to drill, tap, glue and change the spinnaker pole. At the same time, we were working on Gurvan and Fred's boat to repair their rudder and centreboard, which broke yesterday. Quite honestly, for everyone's safety, the decision to stay ashore is a welcome one. Above all, we're here to enjoy ourselves, not to smash things up."

Programme for the week:

• Saturday 20 January: Opening drink


• Sunday 21 January: Training day


• Monday 22 January: Constructed course


• Tuesday 23 January: Long distance (Canceled)


• 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

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