Unprecedented mid-race podiums

There could well be a few upsets in the general standings this evening after the jury's deliberations! Because today, with the fine weather conditions here in the Bay of Robert, the crews were able to compete in two very intense races, full of twists and turns...

Yesterday's afternoon of enforced rest enabled all the crew to get back on their feet after the intense efforts of the first two days and to fine-tune the preparation of the boats, which also needed it. This morning, everyone is ready to resume racing. On this third day of racing in the Martinique Cata Raid, there's already a big scramble at the finishing gate; the top three crews are this morning just 3 points apart, which bodes well for some great battles in the bay of Robert, which is once again passable. While a well-established trade wind continues to sweep along the ocean coast of Martinique, the water is a little less agitated and, above all, there should be no squalls to interfere with the organisation today!

On the programme, carefully concocted by Didier Flamme and Bruno Lecomte, 2 races of 2 laps, a 'back to back' as they say in the jargon, including the rounding of the îlets aux Rats and à Eau. On this course, which is fairly similar to the one raced on Tuesday, the crews, who are now familiar with all the rough edges, are making sparks fly and the bows are smoking.

With their impressive upwind speed, 'Les Nico' (Gillet/Poix on Socoveam - Anmizi) were at the front of the pack in the first round. But downwind, the prize goes to Gurvan Bontemps and Fred Moreau (French Caribbean - Stickerman). Back on track after a complicated day on Tuesday, the two lascars won by a landslide ahead of the Martiniquais. Nicolas Touchot and Pierre-Yves Durand (Rhythm) took third place.
A short break and it's back to work: same course, same conditions, same fighters!

Despite a series of setbacks, Benoit Champanhac and Grégoire Courtel were able to keep up the good work, finishing 6th this morning in the provisional overall rankings, and they created the opening for victory. With an explosive final length under spinnaker, Dutch duo Ad Noordzij/Bastiaan Tentij (HorseRidingSpain) snatched second place from Gurvan Bontemps and Fred Moreau (French Caribbean - Stickerman), who were definitely back in the game.

After another intense day, Dutch riders Ad Noordzij/Bastiaan Tentij (HorseRidingSpain) take first place overall, ahead of Gurvan Bontemps and Fred Moreau (French Caribbean - Stickerman). Martinique's Nicolas Gillet and Nicolas Poix on Socoveam - Anmizi remain in third place.

The Martinique Cata Raid, a format particularly suited to F16s

They are sailing in a Viper, a little drowned out, it has to be said, by the pack of F18s. First in the F16 rankings, Yohan Debauque and Barbara Mazoyer are nevertheless delighted to be here in Martinique and to be discovering the competition:  

"It was a dream for both of us to take part in this race and clearly we're really pleased to be here! The last two days have been pretty sporty, and Barbara, who's only sailing an F16 for the second time, is doing a great job! We're not short of sensations, sporting ones of course and human ones too, as on the first race we picked up a sailor who had fallen overboard after his boat capsized. For me, in any case, it was a very powerful memory! 

The Martinique Cata Raid is a very appropriate format for the F16. It's a shame there weren't more of us this year. The F16 is a more accessible boat, lighter than the F18, and provides at least as much excitement. As a result, there are also a lot more women's or mixed crews in this category. In fact, on this event, the two F16 crews are mixed. 

Yes, it would be great to develop the category in the race. I'd love to motivate the F16 Class to organise the World Championship here on the Martinique Cata Raid!

Yes, it would be great to develop the category during the race. I'd love to motivate the F16 Class to organise the World Championship here at the Martinique Cata Raid!

A big thank you to Jean André from Ti Wind for inviting us here and to Bérengère for lending us her boat! There are still three exceptional days to go with some fine weather ahead, so we hope to make the most of them!"

They said:

Benoit Champanhac and Grégoire Courtel

"On the first run, when we were in third place, just before the line, who knows why? Grégoire decided to go for a swim! We were under spinnaker and all of a sudden: splash! On the second race, we tore our mainsail (again)! It was too hot, so we opened the window!

 Still, it's really nice to win this race, because we've had a lot of little problems! A torn mainsail on Tuesday, Grégoire falling overboard this afternoon, another hole in the mainsail today, not to mention the fact that we thought we'd stolen the start, which forced us to make repairs.... In short! We did get a bit lucky on the first upwind leg, though: we passed the leaders up there and ended up winning the Channel. Overall, we're happy.”

Nicolas Touchot - Pierre-Yves Durand ( Rhythm)

"It's not bad, especially as Pierre-Yves is ill today, he didn't sleep well, he's got a fever, but when the starting gun sounds, we're back to our usual Pierre-Yves. We battled hard and finished 3rd, making the most of each other's misfortunes, but it was great fun!  We did a little less well in the second race, 4th at the finish I think, but the important thing was to be in contact with the fleet and have fun because we were fighting with our friends. We know that the regatta is lost for us with two technical problems on Tuesday and a round that will be lost for us on Monday. Now it's all about fun, fun, fun and trying to fight it out with our mates!”

Victor Martin - Pierre Douville de Franss (Matbois - Technopieux)

“Rooght I've done it again, it was great! Today, we made a lot fewer mistakes, it was very, very good; we were in the match, where we wanted to be. We weren't at the front of the pack because that's too hard for us, but we were really in the thick of the fight in our group. On the other days, we were 16th or 17th, making mistakes, but today we gained around 5 places over the two legs and we're starting to think that we could still make up some places in the top 10! For Sunday sailors, because we only sail on Sundays, that's really good!”

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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Photos On the race website

Videos on the Youtube channel