Sharing smiles

Barcelona World Race Departure

 At 13:00, the red monohull sped into the lead under full cow-decorated sail, in a six to eight knot northeasterly. It was a calm but conspicuous start, since the Spanish public and the European media were there in number today. As for their 13 contenders, the Groupe Bel crew will pass this evening’s festivities at sea; a perspective that suits them perfectly, especially since they are finishing 2010 in style!

 

They were impatient to put to sea, impatient to get into “racing” mode, and this they have done, with panache! Kito and Seb set sail today from Barcelona and treated themselves, as well as their family, friends and supporters, to the pleasure of a start in the lead. They got off to a flying start, since the two skippers turned round the “North marker” in pole position a little under a minute ahead of Michel Desjoyeaux and François Gabart on Foncia. They then hoisted their well-known “Spi-rate” spinnaker, a red balloon sail decorated with a huge Laughing Cow® wearing a pirate’s headband.

KITO DE PAVANT BY VHF AT SEA JUST AFTER THE START :

" There’s not much wind, but it’s stopped raining! We got off to a super start, we have the right canvas (choice of sails hoisted), the yacht is speeding along and we have had a good fight with Michel (editor’s note: Desjoyeaux). It’s perfect like that; I hope that the wind isn’t going to drop so that we can get away from Barcelona. This start was magnificent seen from Groupe Bel. We are really going to try and tell a wonderful story over the next three months round the world. We’d better get a little work done now, because there’s some cleaning up to do.”

BEFORE CASTING OFF THIS FRIDAY MORNING

Kito de Pavant: “Naturally there’s lots of emotion this morning. There are lots of people on the pontoon and now I’m beginning to understand why I’m leaving for this great adventure. It’s always the same on these occasions. There's a mixture of lots of different feelings. We’re leaving for a race that isn’t commonplace after all! You can feel that there’s real emulation around this race. I know that Groupe Bel will be followed in lots of countries across the world. The course is fantastic. Five centuries ago, they were exploring the world, and we’re going to re-explore it! There a nice symbol in this and I’m impatient to see the world in a different way. To sail round-the-world with “tall Seb” beside me is a tall order, but it’s wonderful! We trust each other implicitly. I know that I am going to be able to rely on all his qualities.
There’s going to be some serious racing very quickly, since things will not move very fast until we get to Gibraltar. This should take roughly three days, and afterwards the weather is looking complicated too. The charts are not indicating much wind, and then a low should when we pass Gibraltar. In the meanwhile, there’s not much light this morning for a start in Barcelona!”

Sébastien Audigane :“Things are starting to go boom boom in a big way! It’s time to say goodbye to everyone, my wife and my friends. We’re leaving on an uncommon race, with 90 days at sea crossing deserted oceans. Yes, there is some apprehension. In an hour we will be out at sea and I feel that it’s going to be rather good. We won’t have much wind on the starting line, and there’ll be some rain which doesn’t bother me since I quite like drizzle. Now, if there’s a wish to make, it’s that we return to Barcelona in early April. I don’t really like the New Year festivities every year very much. I look for an excuse to be at sea, and I’ve done it again. I am going to spend the 31st and the next 90 days with a super skipper by my side. We have a tall order to take on!”

The Barcelona World Race in short
Two-handed non-stop round-the-world race on board IMOCA 60 foot monohulls.
Start at Barcelona on 31 December at 13:00
Second BWR event organized by the FNOB (Fundació per la Navegació Oceànica Barcelona)
Course: 25,000 miles (46,300 kilometers) passing between the two islands of New-Zealand
15 duos registered: 30 sailors, 8 nationalities, 3 women
Project website : www.sharingsmilestour.com
Official website: www.barcelonaworldrace.org