Rejält offshore
Gänget på franska J/122 Pen Azen (bilden från 2007) är tuffa killar. Nu vann de RORCs Cowes-Madeira Race. 1.500 distans på 8 dygn i rikttigt tufft väder. Nästa vecka kör man race hem igen! Inget för mesar.
Only five yachts made it around Ushant but the yacht race was still to have one final twist to decide the overall winner.
“We had a very good battle with British Soldier they are very clever.” commented Pen Azen’s Skipper, Philippe Delaporte.” We were just behind them for the first six days of racing. They were about 8 to ten miles ahead of us at Cape Finesterre but later there was a surprise; a small low pressure system that was supposed to have gone about level with Lisbon, about 100 miles offshore. We managed to get to the right side of the system and the breeze was 15-20 knots at an angle of 140-150 so it was excellent for us, very good surfing by the time we got off the coast of Gibraltar we were 20 miles ahead of British Soldier.”
Pen Azen’s decision to go offshore paid off and may well have been the defining moment in the race as Philippe Delaporte’s J/122, Pen Azen was declared overall winner of the RORC Cowes Madeira Yacht Race, on corrected time. The win also puts the French boat on top of the RORC Season Points Championship for 2008.
