Delft, 9 May 2010
Three weeks after the Spi Ouest, the Mumma Duck Sailing Team could sail another race; the GP Atlantique at Pornichet. The two weekends before this race were used for training. During these sessions they especially paid attention to fine-tune the mast settings. During the Spi-Ouest there were some problems with it, hopefully those can be solved in Pornichet.
The team was supported by Yann Riou for this event. Yann is at the Groupama team responsible for the navigation equipment. He gained experience during races like the mini-Transat. During the event his role would be tactician and navigator in the very competitive field of 20 Farr 30's.
Race day 1
The first races were sailed at Thursday. A total of three races were sailed this day. The first race did not go smoothly, after a good start they lost some speed due a wrong mast setting. After taken the wrong side of the track they even lost some more positions, the result was a 17th place. During the second race they had a good start again and with good teamwork they finished on a nice 13th place. At the last race of the day there was enough wind to sail well. Downwind there were some problems after a good start so the team got a penalty. Being behind the fleet there was no chance to catch other boats. The team finished this last race of the day at 20th and last place.
Race day 2 and 3: First offshore
For the first time this year there was an offshore race. This race is sailed during the Friday night around the island of Belle-Ile. But before the offshore they had to sail two more inshore races in the morning. The team was eager to get a good result. In the first race the team was on a fifth position for a long time, but downwind there were some positions lost and they dropped down to an eight position. This was still a result the team was very happy with. At the second race there was a restart, during this restart they couldn't catch up with the faster teams in the front of the fleet. Slowly they went back to the front, to reach even the fifth spot again. After that in the last part of the race there was some speed lost and they finished in an 11th position.
About seven o'clock in the evening it was time to start the offshore. After being in the front of the fleet during the start, they were send back after a few minutes, due to a jumpstart. They had to restart. With choosing the left part of the track it look liked the connection could be found with the leaders. But when the wind changed the team was forced to join the fleet halfway. Around 3 am the island of Belle-Ile was reached and they could return to Pornichet, at that moment there were about six boats behind them. By the end of the race there was fight with the Belgium team, but they had to let them pass and finished on an 18th place.
Race day 4
The weather conditions were not so good during the start of the first race at Sunday. With these conditions the races could be very interesting. Unfortunately, the start was not good. A lot of boats were in our path, so it was difficult sailing. After hoisting the spinnaker the speed was good and some boats could be overtaken. But in the end of the race, some positions were lost and the team finished in a 19th position. Without many problems, the last two races of the event were sailed. A ninth and tenth place were the result.
What's next
During the weekend of the 15th and the 16th of May there will be a training session. And the week after that, during the Whitsun weekend, the Mumma Duck Sailing team will sail the North Sea Regatta with a couple of other Farr 30's, close to home, at Scheveningen.
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