Tour de France à la Voile 2003
July the 6th
Not time to rest!

The Tour de France à la voile proves once again what a demanding regatta it is. The full on schedule leaves the competitors with very little time to rest. The 37-Mumm 30 fleet, which had left Cherbourg at 6:00 a.m on Saturday, arrived in the evening night in St-Quay Portrieux (Brittany) after a 90-mile offshore leg. This morning (Sunday), the crews were back onboard to sail a 6,2-mile inshore race before to kick off tonight, at 21:00, to head for Camaret (Brittany). This most intensive week-end saw Cap Sport, skippered by Frenchman Xavier Lecoeur, get the overall leadership back. Defending champions, Pierre-Loïc Berthet and his crew onboard Bouygues Telecom stand in second place overall. Julien Farnarier¹s Antibes-NEC and Jimmy Pahun¹s Région Ile de France share the third place with an even number of points. The latter snatched another victory last night in St-Quay-Portrieux as he came home in first. Pahun and his crew quickly got in the lead and then kept in extending it.

Though they still stand in 8th place overall, the Italians of Joe Fly Sailing Team keep on improving. Federico Michetti¹s and his crew came home in 4th in the 90-mile offshore from Cherbourg to St-Quay-Portrieux and snatched a most promising second position in today¹s inshore race. ³I¹m very happy and proud. It proves that we have a wonderful team with a wonderful atmosphere², said Federico Michetti. ³We have a good feeling onboard. We push hard and it has started to pay in the last 5 legs. But it¹s very tiring², added the Italian skipper. If it wasn¹t for two bad results in the first two races, Joe Fly Sailing Team would stand in a better place. No doubt, with Vasco Vascotto joining the crew, the Italians should become a real threat for the leading French teams. Vascotto, a former Mumm30 World Champion, has just arrived today from Porto Cervo where he won the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds onboard Nerone.

As for the Aussies, things are not going quite as well as they wish. Southern Sun Team Australia, skippered by Melbourne¹s Mike Smith and Kirwan Robb have dropped from 10th to 12th place overall after a disappointing 16th position in yesterday¹s offshore race. ³We just have to try harder if we want to succeed in our aim of finishing in the top 10², commented Michael Smith. The Aussies improved in Sunday¹s inshore race as they came home in 10th. But it¹s not enough to get back to the 10th place overall. Fore sure, they¹ll do their best to bounce back.

The early stage of this Tour de France à la Voile 2003 is even more disappointing for the British student crew onboard Southampton Institute Alfa Laval who stand in 33rd place overall and in 8th place in the student ranking.