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At 2:05 pm on Tuesday November 30, Aurélien Ducroz and David Sineau crossed the finish line of the 15th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre aboard their Class40 Crosscall. They completed the 4,600-mile theoretical course in 22nd position in their class. Although the performance was not quite what was expected, the duo, faced with the loss of their max spinnaker off Portugal and then their medium spinnaker off the Canaries, nevertheless showed remarkable fighting spirit and self-sacrifice. Despite their obvious speed disadvantage without their two large headsails, the duo can draw many positive lessons from this transatlantic race. In addition to a fine trajectory and unfailing commitment, the tandem can be particularly satisfied with the exceptional potential of the Class40 Crosscall and its reliability just five months after being launched. This augurs well for the future, and in particular for the Route du Rhum 2022, the Chamonix skipper-skier's next big goal.
Aurélien Ducroz, skipper Class40 Crosscall
Twenty-three days, more than two-thirds of which were spent without max and medium spinnaker. In other words, the wings were cut a little.
"After the Canaries, we had no choice but to sail under light spinnaker. Of course, we had to tack a bit squarely, but we still stayed in race mode," explains the two-time world freeride ski champion.
"From the moment we lost our two big headsails, no more results were possible for us, but we kept on doing the best we could with the weapons we had left. We exploited every wind shift and oscillation. We kept up a good pace despite our handicap, which is both a satisfaction and a huge regret, because it's clear that without the damage, we could have done really well. What's more, the trade winds remained sluggish right up to the end, which was a bit of a double whammy for us, because if there had been between 16 and 18 knots, we'd still have been able to do really well," confirms David, who, after successfully rounding Cape Verde in 4th place thanks to some fine tactical and strategic moves, then naturally suffered his speed deficit.
VALUABLE EXPERIENCE FOR THE FUTURE
Be that as it may, even without two precious sails, the Lift V2 Crosscall not only showed that it had what it takes, but also that the team and its skipper had, in just five months, succeeded in making it remarkably reliable.
"We arrive in Martinique and there's not a thing to do on the boat. Our 22nd place is obviously not the result we wanted. It's hard and frustrating, but it's still a great experience, because I've learned a thousand new tricks and discovered more about this prototype. It's completely crazy and I can't wait to exploit it to the full. Once I realized that we were no longer in a position to compete for the top spots, I immediately set my sights on the Route du Rhum. This transatlantic race has certainly been an invaluable experience for deepening my knowledge of the boat and moving forward," says Aurélien, who is delighted with the extremely promising potential of not only his boat, but also all the Crosscall technology on board, including the brand-new ACTION smartphone, the first of its kind to have crossed the Atlantic.
Aurélien Ducroz, skipper Class40 Crosscall
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