This year the season gets underway for the 60-foot IMOCA boats with the Douarnenez Grand Prix, an event that is always popular with the public and skippers alike. This first occasion to do battle is also an opportunity for them to see how their boats measure up against the others after the winter refits.
Marc Guillemot, the skipper of Safran, is a regular at this event, which according to him is "a good opportunity to see how we do against each other on speed runs." Only just back in the water, (today, Tuesday 26th April), Safran will shortly be on her way to Douarnenez. Marc Guillemot and Yann Eliès will meet up there with at least three fellow competitors: PRB, which is more or less her sistership (and also a VPLP - Verdier designed boat), which is skippered by Vincent Riou; Arnaud Boissières’s Akena Verandas will have Gérald Véniard, the Figaro racer from La Rochelle, on board, while Marc Thiercelin’s DCNS 1000, which is due to compete in the Transat Jacques Vabre, will have the skier Luc Alphand aboard as co-skipper.
With Douarnenez Bay as the setting, the speed runs and races will take place from Thursday 28th April to Sunday 1st May. This is an excellent way to prepare for the next big dates on the calendar for the IMOCA class and another step on their way to the 2012 Vendée Globe.
