After the victory of Charles Caudrelier, Wednesday, November 16, in Pointe-à-Pitre, the question of the approval of the flying boat of François Gabart, second, arises again.
by Jean-Louis Le Touzet
Prophetize the resumption of a dialogue within the class of the Ultimate after the signs of good will exchanged by the first three skippers (Caudrelier-Gabart-Coville) to have crossed, Wednesday in Guadeloupe, the finish line of The Route du Rhum, still seems doubtful at this stage. Thomas Coville, third, exhausted in the pontoon, summed up his state of mind a few minutes after cutting the line: “It is a privilege to play such a match with such athletes.”
In Truth, the three major stables (Gitana-Sodebo-Banque Populaire) have not been softened by tropical humidity. Intratable vis-à-vis François Gabart and his Trimaran “Svr-Lazartigue”, to whom they always criticize and still not have respected the gauge by installing Winches under the bridge plan, giving it an supposed aerodynamic advantage.
Obviously, this “aerodynamic” asset did not skip, the hierarchy on paper – with the exception of Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire), forced to a “stop” in the first days To repair his central drift condemning his chances of victory – has been respected: 1
The athletic and maritime performance of Charles Caudrelier on a remarkably developed boat does not suffer from any dispute. François Gabart, reddish but delighted with the outcome of this transatlantic fight: “It was still better with us [this Route du Rhum], right?” He said maliciously.
Gabart: “The future, frankly, I don’t know”
The derogation granted by the justice to François Gabart to compete in the race ended at the time of the line crossed. Does he think of withdrawing from offshore racing? Would he do the work required by the rest of the ultimate class? Leaving the competition to devote yourself to your company of eighty employees, Merconcept, in Concarneau (Finistère)? “To stop the open sea is a binary way to see things,” he replied. “The future, frankly, I don’t know, and it does not matter basically. I liked to animate this race with Charles and it made me really happy. And then I am no longer the same competitor as four years ago … We’ll see. “
The esteem between runners, which was believed to be disappeared at Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine), on November 9, as the tension born of the architectural controversy which ravages the class of the ultimate is strong, seems to have found its place between Coville, Caudrelier, Gabart. Witness the friendly discussion between these last two, welcoming each other on the pontoon for the intensity of the fight.
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