Victory goes to Race for Water

Third day of racing concludes MOD70's inaugural Krys Match in La Trinite

The Krys Match concluded this afternoon in La Trinité sur Mer after three days of intense racing and frequent changes of leader. Overall victory in the inaugural event of the Multi One Championship went to Steve Ravussin's Race for Water after eight races. Ravussin and his seven crew concluded the event a two point lead over Roland Jourdain's Veolia Environnement, five ahead of Michel Desjoyeaux' Foncia.

To kick-off the last day of the Krys Match, the organisers opted for a 22-mile course in the Baie de Quiberon so that the competing trimarans could get the most out of their steeds. Five miles after the reaching start, it was Race For Water and the 77ft Gitana 11-Edmond de Rothschild Group which tacked around the mark off Port Haliguen neck and neck, while behind Veolia Environnement and Foncia were involved in their own tacking duel. On the long leg under gennaker, which took the Krys Match fleet towards the island of Houat, Gitana11-Edmond de Rothschild Group was forced to retire after they blew up their gennaker. In the meantime, the three MOD70s took different options, which enabled Roland Jourdain and his crew to get the edge, rounding the leeward mark ahead. Jourdain and his crew maintained their pace and held onto the lead to the finish line, followed by Race for Water and Foncia.

At 1610 the final race of the Krys Match 2011 began with Gitana 11-Edmond de Rothschild Group back in the competition. The race took between in 10-15 knots, gradually dropping over the course of the day. With each mark rounding, the leader changed, providing a fantastic spectacle off the Kerbihan headland with victory going to the longer, faster Gitana 11-Edmond de Rothschild Group, ahead of Veolia Environnement, Foncia and Race for Water.

Throughout these three days of contact racing, the crews of the three competing MOD70s gained precious experience for the next stage in the MOD70 programme.

Overall winner Steve Ravussin thanking his team and shore crew: "The crew did a fantastic job. The boat is magical and we had fantastic conditions here in La Trinité-sur-Mer. This is a great adventure: the MOD70 Krys Match is the culmination of a beautiful project, but mainly the beginning of a great story. The event was perfectly organized. We had the most beautiful moments in the last days, while sailing with the Race for Water - with peaks at 37.8 knots - but also onshore, with great highlights such as the announcement of the partnership between the Multi One Attitude Foundation and UNESCO (and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission) on water conservation."

He added: “We’re very, very happy, especially with the little crew training we had. For me the MOD70 is a magical, solid and robust boat. It’s a whole different philosophy for this strict one-design. We’re right in the thick of it and today we can see that the Krys Match works! Next meeting in the Krys Ocean Race in New York!”

Michel Desjoyeaux, skipper of Foncia commented: “It’s good to be back racing on a multihull again! It had been a long time coming! With the crew of Foncia aboard the MOD70, the Krys Match was our baptism of fire as we hadn’t really had much of an opportunity to train. On Thursday, we were caught out by the breezy conditions. However, our reflexes are returning quickly! We’re keen for there to be more of us. With three of us it’s great; with a dozen of us, it will be even better!”

Roland Jourdain, skipper of Veolia Environnement said: “I’d really like to congratulate my crew. In human terms, these past three days have gone very well and it helps when we have to learn to deal with the highs and the lows, as we have done over the past three days. We had our best day on Thursday, before dropping down to the bottom of the leaderboard on Friday. Today, we’ve bounced back so that in itself it’s already a success because very quickly you can get caught up in a downward spiral! Competitively, it was full-on, with some top quality races. Congratulations to our rivals! Flat-out flying two hulls, we had an absolute ball! We didn’t win but we’re happy to have racked up so much experience. The trimaran is a discipline that I haven’t practiced for a long time and, with me at the helm, it was a major first. Roll on the next stage!”

Sébastien Josse, skipper of Gitana11 and future skipper of the MOD70 Edmond de Rothschild Group: “Aboard Gitana11-Edmond de Rothschild Group, we really enjoyed ourselves witnessing these fine battles on the water. It was a close-run thing. For us, this Krys Match served as a warm-up. We’re eager to take possession of our MOD70 at the end of the month.”

Marco Simeoni, President of the MOD Ltd: “I’ve just experienced three magical and unforgettable days. This Krys Match was the opportunity for our Krys partner and all the members of the Multi One Championship to share their first event together and show the public and our guests the MOD70. Thank you to all the 32 sailors who put on such a fine show on the water and to all involved with the circuit: boat owners and partners alike for having actively participated in this Krys Match. Thanks to La Trinité sur Mer for playing host to us, to the SNT and to all the volunteers on the water. Thank you to our Race Director Jean Maurel.

"These three days in La Trinité sur Mer had several objectives for us as organisers. First of all, the production of top-class content for improved visibility and optimisation of the MOD70 circuit. On top of that, trialling the race formats was a key factor. Finally, the audiovisual production proving live coverage of the sailing was key. At the end of this Krys Match, the three targets have been reached and I cannot help but be delighted by that!”

The next time the MOD70s will line up will be for the Krys Ocean Race, a crewed transatlantic race setting off from New York on 7 July 2012 bound for Brest in France.

Official standing for the MOD70s:

1) Race for Water skippered by Stève Ravussin
2) Veolia Environnement skippered by Roland Jourdain
3) Foncia skippered by Michel Desjoyeaux