Bermudes 1000 Race: they’re off!

It was at 1700hrs local time on Thursday 9th May that the start was given for the Bermudes 1000 Race, the first event in the 2019 Globe Series.
It was at 1700hrs local time on Thursday 9th May that the start was given for the Bermudes 1000 Race, the first event in the 2019 Globe Series. Conditions were ideal for the seventeen sailors competing (13 men and 4 women), with a twelve-knot westerly wind. Ahead of them, 2000 miles of sailing to Brest after rounding the Fastnet Rock to the south of Ireland and a waypoint off the Azores. The weather in this race looks like being a mixture, so could be fairly complicated with the first boats expected to finish in just over a week from now.
© François Van Malleghem
A 12-knot wind and a residual swell of less than a metre with sunny periods. They were the ideal conditions for the seventeen skippers in the IMOCA class on Thursday in Douarnenez for the start of the second edition of the Bermudes 1000 Race. Some skippers like Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ), Sam Davies (Initiatives Cœur), Sébastien Simon (Arkea Paprec) and Maxime Sorel (V&B-Sailing Together) were a little aggressive as they crossed the line. Others were more cautious, not wishing to take any risks at the start of the race. The sailors made their way out of Douarnenez Bay sailing close-hauled and carrying out several tacks. At the buoy indicating the shallow waters around Basse Vieille off Cape de la Chèvre (in the Crozon peninsula), British sailor, Sam Davies was leading the fleet.
“Unpredictable weather with a lot of surprises in store”
Once they had passed the Cape off Crozon at the tip of Brittany, the sailors were able to point their bows towards Ushant and open up the sails. The wind is set to drop off during the night and they will have a strategic choice to make – whether to go east or west of the Ushant TSS. This is just the first of a series of hurdles, as conditions look varied and complicated throughout the race. “The unpredictable weather means there will be plenty of surprises in store,” explained Sébastien Simon shortly before the start of the Bermudes 1000 Race. “We’ll be scratching our heads trying to make the right choices,” added Damien Seguin (Groupe Apicil), while Arnaud Boissières (La Mie Câline-Artipôle) pointed out, “I’m expecting a lot of manoeuvres and sail changes. It looks like we’ll be going through all the sails.”
The sailors’ impressions before the start of the Bermudes 1000 Race:
Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ): “Sailing solo is something I’m about to discover on my new foiler, which seems to be highly competitive. We are setting off in fine conditions, which will allow everyone to build up their confidence. My main goal is obviously to complete the race. But knowing me, I’m sure I’ll get caught up in the race aspect too. Getting to the podium would be a great result, the icing on the cake.”
Denis Van Weynbergh (Eyesea.be): “This is my first major solo attempt aboard an IMOCA. It feels like playing a match in the Champions’ League. The boat is ready and my little team of volunteers has been working hard. I’m tackling this race feeling very happy with the aim of finishing and learning from the experience.”
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•••Championship ranking
01 | ![]() | Boris HERRMANN
SEAEXPLORER - YACHT CLUB DE MONACO | 236 pts | |
02 | ![]() | Fabrice AMEDEO
NEWREST - ART & FENÊTRES | 217 pts | |
03 | ![]() | Jérémie BEYOU
CHARAL | 212 pts | |
04 | ![]() | Samantha DAVIES
INITIATIVES-CŒUR | 208 pts | |
05 | ![]() | Paul MEILHAT | 206 pts | |
06 | ![]() | Kevin ESCOFFIER
PRB | 195 pts | |
07 | ![]() | Yann ELIES | 192 pts | |
07 | ![]() | Charlie DALIN
APIVIA | 192 pts | |
09 | ![]() | Yannick BESTAVEN
MAITRE COQ IV | 187 pts | |
10 | ![]() | Thomas RUYANT
LINKEDOUT | 180 pts | |
11 | ![]() | Vincent RIOU | 157 pts | |
12 | ![]() | Clarisse CRÉMER
BANQUE POPULAIRE X | 150 pts | |
13 | ![]() | Arnaud BOISSIÈRES
LA MIE CÂLINE - ARTISANS ARTIPÔLE | 149 pts | |
14 | ![]() | Damien SEGUIN
GROUPE APICIL | 147 pts | |
15 | ![]() | Giancarlo PEDOTE
PRYSMIAN GROUP | 144 pts | |
16 | ![]() | Nicolas LUNVEN | 131 pts | |
17 | ![]() | Christopher PRATT | 128 pts | |
18 | ![]() | Stéphane LE DIRAISON
TIME FOR OCEANS | 127 pts | |
18 | ![]() | Sébastien SIMON
ARKÉA PAPREC | 127 pts | |
20 | ![]() | Maxime SOREL
V AND B - MAYENNE | 123 pts | |
21 | ![]() | Armel LE CLEAC'H | 114 pts | |
21 | ![]() | Manuel COUSIN
GROUPE SÉTIN | 114 pts | |
23 | ![]() | Alan ROURA
LA FABRIQUE | 111 pts | |
23 | ![]() | Eric PERON | 111 pts | |
25 | ![]() | Louis BURTON
BUREAU VALLÉE 2 | 105 pts | |
26 | ![]() | Pascal BIDEGORRY | 100 pts | |
26 | ![]() | Charlie ENRIGHT
11TH HOUR RACING | 100 pts | |
28 | ![]() | Davy BEAUDART | 97 pts | |
29 | ![]() | Antoine KOCH | 96 pts | |
30 | ![]() | Romain ATTANASIO
PURE - BEST WESTERN® | 92 pts | |
31 | ![]() | Roland JOURDAIN | 91 pts | |
32 | ![]() | Will HARRIS | 86 pts | |
33 | ![]() | Alex THOMSON
HUGO BOSS | 80 pts | |
34 | ![]() | Jean LE CAM
YES WE CAM ! | 68 pts | |
34 | ![]() | Nicolas TROUSSEL
CORUM L'EPARGNE | 68 pts | |
36 | ![]() | Yoann RICHOMME | 65 pts | |
37 | ![]() | Anthony MARCHAND | 64 pts | |
38 | ![]() | Ari HUUSELA
STARK | 60 pts | |
38 | ![]() | Isabelle JOSCHKE
MACSF | 60 pts | |
38 | ![]() | Miranda MERRON
CAMPAGNE DE FRANCE | 60 pts | |
38 | ![]() | Sébastien MARSSET | 60 pts | |
42 | ![]() | Guillaume LE BREC | 56 pts | |
42 | ![]() | Erik NIGON
COMPAGNIE DU LIT / JILITI | 56 pts | |
44 | ![]() | Alexia BARRIER
TSE - 4MYPLANET | 54 pts | |
45 | ![]() | François GUIFFANT | 49 pts | |
46 | ![]() | Xavier MACAIRE | 48 pts | |
47 | ![]() | Sébastien AUDIGANE | 47 pts | |
48 | ![]() | Benjamin DUTREUX
OMIA - WATER FAMILY | 44 pts | |
48 | ![]() | Thomas CARDRIN | 44 pts | |
48 | ![]() | Kojiro SHIRAISHI
DMG MORI GLOBAL ONE | 44 pts | |
51 | ![]() | Gildas MORVAN | 42 pts | |
52 | ![]() | Clément GIRAUD
L'ENVOL | 40 pts | |
53 | ![]() | Pip HARE
MEDALLIA | 38 pts | |
54 | ![]() | Halvard MABIRE | 34 pts | |
55 | ![]() | Joan MULLOY | 32 pts | |
56 | ![]() | Endt YSBRAND | 24 pts | |
57 | ![]() | Gwénolé GAHINET | 18 pts | |
58 | ![]() | Michael FERGUSON | 16 pts | |
58 | ![]() | Alain GAUTIER | 16 pts | |
60 | ![]() | Tolga Ekrem PAMIR | 12 pts | |
61 | ![]() | Stan MASLARD | 10 pts | |
62 | ![]() | Paul LARSEN | 8 pts | |
63 | ![]() | Hiroshi KITADA | 7 pts | |
64 | ![]() | Pierre CASIRAGHI | 6 pts | |
65 | ![]() |
Denis VAN WEYNBERGH
EYESEA.BE | 5 pts | |
66 | ![]() | Armel TRIPON | 4 pts | |
66 | ![]() | Arthur HUBERT | 4 pts | |
66 | ![]() | Richard TOLKIEN | 4 pts | |
66 | ![]() | Rune AASBERG | 4 pts | |
66 | ![]() | Morgan LAGRAVIERE | 4 pts | |
66 | ![]() | Neal MCDONALD | 4 pts | |
72 | ![]() | Lionel REGNIER | 3 pts | |
73 | ![]() | Pierre QUIROGA | 2 pts | |
... |