The first leg of the 2023 Pro Sailing Tour concluded in dramatic fashion on Sunday with the leading two trimarans separated by less than one minute after 42 hours of high-intensity racing.
Erwan Le Roux on Koesio – racing with French Olympic sailor Audrey Ogereau and America’s Cup crew Devan Le Bihan – took the 350-mile offshore leg win by just 44 seconds, successfully fending off Pro Sailing Tour newcomer Pierre Quiroga on Viabilis Océans in a light airs duel to the finish line off Bonifacio in Corsica.
Thibaut Vauchel-Camus racing Solidaires En Peloton – ARSEP followed almost 14 minutes later, ahead of Christopher Pratt’s Wind of Trust and Luke Berry on Le Rire Médecin-Lamotte, both also making their PST debuts.
A delighted Le Roux said: “The final stages of the leg were incredible, and what is clear from this first leg is that the newcomers to the class are good. They were already at a high level, so it is no surprise at all as I know the teams are talented.
“Along the way there were plenty of regroupings and restarts, and on the whole, we managed our rest time and hours on the helm well, which enabled us to stay clear-headed to the end.”
The high-performance foiling trimarans got off to a fast start from La Seyne-sur-Mer in south-eastern France last Friday on a course that took them around the islands of Gallinara, La Giraglia and Monte Cristo, though the breeze became increasingly unstable as the leg progressed, resulting in the nail-biting finish in Corsica with wind-free patches littering the course.
“Anyone could have won this stage,” said runner-up skipper Pierre Quiroga. “There were some random elements involved, but this is the Mediterranean so you are never locked into a position until the end. We just gave it our all.”
The next leg in the three-week contest will see the fleet race from Bonifacio to Alghero in Sardinia, with the start at 14:00 CET on Wednesday May 17.
The ‘Final Rush’ to the finish in Brest will start from Alghero at 11:00 on May 21, with the fleet setting off on a 2,000-mile race through the western Mediterranean and the Gibraltar Straits, and then north across the Bay of Biscay.
THE TEAMS
Koesio (Erwan Le Roux)
Architect: VPLP, constructeur : Persico (Italie)
Boat launched: Octobrer 2020
Solidaires en Peloton – ARSEP (Thibault Vauchel-Camus)
Architect: VPLP, constructeur : Enata (Dubaï)
Boat launched: January 2018
Viabilis Océans (Pierre Quiroga)
Architect: VPLP, constructeur : CDK
Boat launched: September 2017
Previously: Leyton (Sam Goodchild), Ciela Village (Thierry Bouchard)
Wind of Trust (Christopher Pratt)
Architect: VPLP, constructeur : CDK
Boat launched: 2009
Previously: Groupe GCA-1001 Sourires (Gilles Lamiré), FenêtréA Mix Buffet (Erwan Le Roux), FenêtréA Cardinal (Erwan Le Roux), Crêpes Whaou 3 (Franck-Yves Escoffier)
Le Rire Médecin – Lamotte Immobilier (Luke Berry)
Architect: Guillaume Verdier, constructeur : JPS Chantier Larros
Boat launched: 2009
Previously: Primonial (Sébastien Rogues), Réauté Chocolat (Armel Tripon), Actual (Yves Le Blevec).
PROGRAMME
12 May La Seyne Sur Mer, France – Bonifacio, Corsica
14 May: ETA Bonifacio, Corsica
17 May: Bonifacio (Corsica) – Alghero, Sardinia (including a around Corsica)
18 May: ETA Alghero
21 May: Start of the Final Rush – Alghero to Brest
27 May: ETA Brest
For further information: www.prosailingtour.com
