After 8 hours sailing, the race leader is nearly in view of  Groix island whilst the latecomers  approach the Glenans. The leaders have set a fast pace and already covered about  75 nautical miles out of the total 220 so a third of a the race. So we find  Fabio Muzzolini on the 945 outstripping by 2 nautical miles the Maxi (séries) belonging to Hugo Dhallenne on the 979 and Jean-Marie Jézéquel on the 1016. After them come two more Maxi’s, Anne-Claire Le Berre’s 1005 and Basile Bourgnon’s 975 are bumper to bumper. For the proto’s, Emmanuel Renaud’s  753  is in 2^nd position at 4 miles from the leader tailed by  Nolwenn Pébelier on the 787.

Withdrawals :

Victor Turpin’s 850 had a broken  bowsprit and  returns to Lorient.

David Bellanger’s 867  encountered  piloting problems and went back to Douarnenez.

Tanguy Aulanier’s 896 had power issues and is  going to  Lorient or La Trinité

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Under a huge sun hidden behind a cloud with  12-14 knots of wind, the whole fleet got off to a clean start for  the 16^th Marie-Agnès  Péron Trophy at 13:00 today Thursday.

The 914 skippered by Brieuc Lebec was first to go around the starting marker  followed by Lennart Burke on the 943 and Jean-Marie Jézéquel on the 1016. Over on the Prototypes the 850 outstripped  Fabio Muzzolini on the 945 and Nolwenn Pébelier on the 787.

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On the eve of the big day, we report that a series of withdrawals have been announced in the last 48 hours. For various reasons a dozen sailors have had to give up the chance to take part. We note in particular the absence of Ambrogio Beccaria and Chaffoil who were the big favourites for the Trophy. However, this reshuffles the cards and opens up other possibilities for the podium.

So, for the  departure which has now been postponed until  13:00 tomorrow, Thursday,  there will no more than  49 skippers, including 7 women.

The race briefing will be held this evening at 17:00.

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After having had a problem with the keel of the 800 during the Duo Concarneau which immobilised the boat at the boatyard, Irina Gracheva found a way to line up at the start line.

Irina, could you explain why it’s important to you to do the MAP ? And how do you approach the race?

« For me situation for MAP is tricky now. The race is important for many reasons. My personal reason – I really love Douarnenez and the atmosphere in Winches club. It’s always friendly, we feel welcome and I was in love with races here from first time I arrived in 2018. Sport reason is to finalize my participation in French championship en solitaire. It is personal result and I am allowed to continue with another proto. Now I am on first position in Championship and I would like to make everything to keep it. This year was very difficult for any foreign competitor and I already put all my efforts to get good boat, to sail fast and strong, to be in France for all races. And MAP for me is very important race to be sure I did everything what I could. My boat for MAP is an old proto, build 2003, with old original sails. Boat didn’t race from 2008. We don’t expect to arrive fast, but I see it as very nice opportunity to sail boat in his original state and to feel same as sailors in 2003-2008 did feel. And I see it as Spirit of Mini. I got this boat from Remy and it was very kind of him. Remy and his wife did a lot during this year to make 433 to be racing boat again, but work to bring him in perfect state is not finished yet »

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Clément Santoro is 31, he’s an engineer- naval architect with Piriou in Concarneau.

He started off in liveabords with  Winches Club in 2007 then did two  Mini seasons while still managing the Douarnenez centre in 2010 and 2011. Next, Clément went off to race in the sailing Tour de France then to Martinique for  the Formula 18 circuit. In December  2019, he bought  Pogo Dancer, the Pogo3 908, then found himself up against the Covid crisis. At the end of a constricted year and after participating in the Duo Concarneau, the  Marie-Agnès Péron Trophy is the first solo race of the season for Clément.

But his enthusiasm remains intact : «  I’m happy to rediscover  the special atmosphere which the  Mini Class has. First I thought I would do the Mini-Transat next year, but looking at the current situation I’m now looking at 2023. »

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From the height of  (very high : 1m95) his 18 years, Basile is the youngest competitor in the  Marie-Agnès Péron Trophy this year. He arrived in the  Mini Class to learn about these small boats which are both technical and fast. And he chose the Series category : « In this category it’s the  skipper who makes the difference ». His boat is a  scow, Raison design, the maxi 975 – Aelig – Edenred.

Basile is far from being a novice and has already completed the Transatlantique Jacques Vabre in doubles with Emmanuel Le Roch on Class40 in 2019. This year  Mini solo, he’s done part of  Sables-Les Acores to Morlaix Bay before retiring with an injury and the  Mini in May where he finished 13th. He also raced the Duo Concarneau again with Emmanuel Le Roch, and they arrived in  8^th position.

If we go back to 2018, you might have noticed him on the pontoons in  Tréboul during the Grand Prix Guyader when he raced on Diam24.

But for the time being he’s concentrating on the  Marie-Agnès Péron Trophy and he really  doesn’t want to get cold during the race. Next the boat will return to the boatyard to be improved and made more reliable. The main focus for  Basile is 2021 and the Mini-Transat.

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Here we are 3 days from departure,  tomorrow the security checks start, guided by Nathalie Monier, President of the Technical Committee, and about half of the boats expected are now filling up the dock in Tréboul.

Nathalie Monier

Today, Monday, the participants number 60 with  8 different nationalities. And the volunteers are busy with the final  preparations under a  typical autumnal drizzle.

The first good news is that Irina Gracheva, first in the prototype classification, has found a boat to temporarily replace the 800 and will line up at the start with the oldest model of the fleet, the 433.

Weatherwise, the other good news is that our specialist, Jean-Jacques Quéré, has told us that things are looking rather good for the Trophy. The departure should get underway with a NNE  wind of 8/12 knots which will die down towards night-time. Then the very high tide associated with the absence of wind needs to be negotiated. The following day, the wind will go over to the SE. An unknown factor exists as far as the depression which is building up offshore of Brittany which will determine the wind’s strength at the end of the race, estimated for the moment between 17 and 20 knots.

Departure expected on Thursday.

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One week from the launch of the Marie-Agnes Péron Trophy the preparations are ticking along. The skippers will be faced with two long, cold solo nights off the south Brittany coast. Indeed the face of the race has changed, and now takes place in autumn instead of June. This will undoubtedly have consequences for the competitors’ physical endurance and state of mind. Covid has reshuffled the season and this will surely bring its share of surprises. We can see from the previous four races that some sailors continue to finetune total mastery of their boats (particular in the prototype category) so the race outcome remains very much open.

We highlight the presence of Ambroggio Beccaria with an impressive record on the 969, Chaffoil (sole foil sailor) which is the hot favourite. We’re also counting on Fabrio Muzzolini who is patiently taking the 945 Tartine in hand, and Victor Turpin on the 850, Fanao’, representing the prototypes. Irina Gracheva has had a brilliant season, but the keel of her boat, the  800 Canopus, gave way during the  Duo Concarneau. Searching for an alternative boat, she’s doing everything she can to line up at the start next week.

For the Series, Léo Debiesse on Pogo 3 dominates this unusual season. The other challengers  to the podium are all sailing on scows (boats with a rounded bow) : Hugo Dhallenne on the  979, Jean-Marie Jézéquel on the 951 and Anne-Claire Le Berre on the 1005 who won the Duo Concarneau with Davy Beaudart. We’re also following Julie Simon on the  963 and Marine Legendre on the 902, Pil Poil.

So see you next week, the departure is scheduled for  15^th October  at midday.

photo : Simon Jourdan

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