Trin’40: fighters, from the first to the last

How do you recognise a great race? In the multitude of emotions reflected in the skippers’ eyes as they set a hesitant foot on the jetty and search for their first words, still feeling light-headed after their incredible journey. We’ll take our cue from Thomas Lurton, who finished 22nd on his recently acquired Sireco. “It’s hard to be unhappy when you’re lucky enough to be competing in Class40, to be one of the thirty people setting sail in the first edition of the Trin’40,” enthused the 28-year-old from Morbihan during the night, having “neither eaten nor slept” throughout the race.

As for intensity, they certainly had their share of it throughout this theoretically 702-mile course, which presented them with varied but manageable conditions, without ever putting their safety at risk. A “real speed race”, summed up the impressive winner Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran – Seafrigo), “without any major strategic choices, but with that pressure and intensity to hold one’s position, especially on the long tacks. As soon as we went to sleep, we were taking the risk of being much slower, so many of us didn’t get much sleep!”

“We couldn’t have kept up that pace for twenty days…”

Maintaining the pace, avoiding mistakes, and imposing on your body the extreme discipline of never weakening: that is what made the difference for the sailor from Le Havre, who triumphed in La Trinité-sur-Mer after four days and thirty minutes at sea. After a sluggish start in light winds that were bogging down his rudders, the 31-year-old sailor regained speed close-hauled and took the lead off the tip of Penmarc’h, never to let it go.

A downwind descent to Spain, slightly calmer transitions, then a close-hauled return: the recent winner of the Transat Café L’Or sailed through each stage without a hitch, despite not having competed in solo racing since his days on a Figaro. “In terms of mental clarity, I’m fine, but I was dozing off! It’s clear we couldn’t have kept up that pace for twenty days…”

Behind him, even the experienced Corentin Douguet, who finished second on SNSM, faites un don, couldn’t find a way past, but was still “happy with his comeback. It was really enjoyable sailing; I had a great time out on the water,” explained the sailor from Nantes at the finish. “I lacked a bit of rhythm at the start; I struggled to get some sleep, and there was a moment when I wasn’t quite as sharp, and Guillaume took advantage of that to pull a bit ahead, and I never had the chance to close the gap afterwards.”

Two hours and forty-two minutes later, it was Fabien Delahaye on Legallais who took third place, just eight minutes ahead of his closest rival, Axel Tréhin (Affaire à faire), on a boat launched only three weeks ago. It was a duel that played out in the final few miles of Quiberon Bay, and one that the sailor from Normandy won without flinching. “I went there to work on my solo sailing, and I worked on my solo sailing!” said the 41-year-old sailor, delighted with this “comprehensive exercise for the start of the season”.

I think it’s great to have such an impressive fleet”

From the first to the last, they have all fought to give their very best on the water, regardless of their age, gender, experience, goals or reasons for being there, on the water, battling with an intensity heightened by the difficulty of being alone on board and having to handle everything. All equal, all in the same boat – or almost.

Sometimes things just don't work out, as was the case for Vincent Riou (PIERREVAL - FONDATION GOODPLANET), the only competitor forced to retire halfway through the race following problems with his headsail. And sometimes, the magic of solo sailing works its wonders! “For once in my life, I set off without any mental pressure, with no specific goal; I thought I’d finish in the bottom three given my boat and its age,” said Djemila Tassin, who finished 17th after a superb race on Magenta, the oldest boat in the fleet. “Right at the start, I had a computer failure; after an hour, I knew I wouldn’t be having any weather updates. So I stopped overthinking things and was more focused. The boat was moving forward, I was heading in the right direction! And it led to a good result – I’m just absolutely delighted!”

There was joy to be found even in the hardship – the kind that comes from sleepless nights and moments of confusion. “The solo race was tough,” summed up Thimoté Polet, who finished a solid fifth on his latest-generation Zeiss. “We had very few moments to sleep; conditions were very unstable, so going to sleep meant accepting that you’d be slower, and that wasn’t an option, so we had to surpass ourselves. There was one night, though, when I nearly blacked out, and another when I threw up – something that never happens to me!”

“It's an incredible fleet.”

“Sometimes I wonder why I do this,” admitted amateur Emmanuel Hamez, 62, the oldest competitor in the race on his Viranga, who finished 28th. “The standard has skyrocketed; we’re reaching the limits of amateurism. There are still two or three of us trying to hang on, but now, if you want to be in the peloton – let alone at the front – you’ve got to go to a training centre! But actually, all of this drives you forward, and it makes me do things I wouldn’t normally do, so that’s interesting!”

And then there’s the frustration, which is also part of the game – the desire to always do better. “We knew this race would give us a chance to take stock of what we’ve achieved so far, so the to-do list is long,” summed up Quentin Le Nabour from La Trinité, who finished 16th on his Bleu Blanc Planète Location. “It’s an incredible fleet; even at the back of the pack, everybody is in close contact. I even gained a place right on the finish line!”

“I find it amazing to have such an impressive fleet,” added Robin Follin (Solano) on his arrival, in 13th place. “I can’t wait to get back to work because things are moving very, very fast up front and there’s a huge amount of work to do to catch up!”  Work, again and again, just to get this far, and above all to keep learning and improving. And to sweep us along with their contagious enthusiasm and fierce determination to outdo themselves.