eBlue_economy_82nd edition of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud
A radical transition from the turmoil of 2019 and the torments of Covid19: this 82nd edition of the Bol d’Or Mirabaud proved to be calm, pleasant, and sunny.
The wind remained light and the only dramas were related to the arrival time of the wind. A welcome return to Lake Geneva normality! The big winners of the weekend organised by the Cercle de la voile de la Société Nautique de Genève: Ylliam XII Comptoir Immobilier, Raffica and Gaston.
Victory at the end of the suspense for Ylliam XII Comptoir Immobilier
The first six finishers in two minutes; 19 seconds between the winner and the runner-up; catamarans perched on their foils, launched at more than 25 knots in the dark of night a few meters from the shore along the finish line: despite the weak wind – apart from the arrival of the winners – it cannot be said that this 82nd edition did not generate strong emotions!
The big winner, Ylliam XII Comptoir Immobilier, needed 12 hours 49 minutes, and 27 seconds to finally hear the liberating gunshot. The TF35 won with a 19 second lead over Zen Too, skippered by Fred Le Peutrec, and a 25 second lead over Artexplora, skippered by Loïck Peyron.
With these new TF35 catamarans, but also other very spectacular monohulls, the Bol d’Or Mirabaud has clearly entered a new dimension this year.
Bol de Vermeil: Upheaval insight
The Hungarian Libera Raffica won the Bol de Vermeil after 14 h 07 23” of racing. Holder of the Trophy since 2016, and winner in 2019, he will therefore be a candidate again to win the Trophy for good (it would be his third!) next year.
But beware, the lines are moving, the monohull fleet is changing fast!
Thomas Jundt and his QFX foiler led the race for a long time before finishing third, behind Philippe DeWeck’s splendid Luthi 1090 Katana. These three boats had very different performances and played the accordion, taking turns to stand out depending on the angle and strength of the wind at the time.
Behind this fine podium, the usual leaders in the monohull category, led by the Psaros 40 Notre-Dame Du Lac, then the Psaros 33 Carpediem cube and Pétrel, were never able to compete with the leading trio and finished more than an hour behind.
Other contenders, such as the Monofoil Gonet, struggled to break away from the pack in these very light conditions. The fact remains that the landscape is evolving and that the supremacy of Raffica, which remains a “dinosaur” with its twelve crew in unstable balance on the trapeze, will eventually be challenged by more modern yachts.
Finally, let’s mention some individual exploits: Cyril Peyrot’s 18-footer, 43rd overall, the Toucan Jambon Beurre helmed by Philippe Durr, 50th in the fleet, six places ahead of his mate Edouard Kessi on his Tiolu. Hats off to them!
Elapsed time ranking: the revenge of the “small” boats
Benoît-Charles Soreau and his strong team, aboard the Melges 32 Gaston, won the overall elapsed time classification ahead of Constantin Pournaras’ LP820 Unanimus and Philippe Seguret’s Luthi 34 Pro Yachting.
Surprise surprise…
The largest one-design fleet in this Bol d’Or Mirabaud, the Archambault « Surprises » (95 entries), was dominated from start to finish by Miss Tick, skippered by Sarah Jaccaud.
Thanks to his persistence along the north coast, Miss Tick built up an impressive lead and controlled the race from start to finish, even if his lead melted away on Sunday morning. He finally won with a 3 minute lead over VELASCO, helmed by Arnaud Machado, and a few seconds more than Forum EPFL 1 (Yann Payen).
Thunderclap is the Grand Surprise
Carolive too, skippered by Fabrice Rigot, struck a blow in the Grand Surprise category by dominating the race from start to finish and finishing nearly three hours ahead of Bernard Borter’s Little Nemo, the class leader. Blue Moon, skippered by Charles André Haenggli, came third.
Glorious hour for the M2 catamarans
Right from the start of the race, marked by evanescent thermal breezes, the ‘small’ M2 catamarans, accompanied by the ‘old’ D35s Emil One and Zen Too, showed that they are still to be reckoned with in light airs and that they remain formidable yachts.
Emineo, helmed by Olivier de Cocatrix, even crossed the halfway mark in the lead, ahead of Emil One and another M2, Patrimonium.
It was quite a coup, as the first TF35 hydrofoil catamaran, Artexplora, was only sixth.
Off the coast of Evian, on the way back, Emineo had a good fifteen-kilometre lead over the first TF35. It was then that the long-awaited breeze picked up briefly, allowing the foilers to lengthen their stride. Eaten alive off Thonon, Emineo had a great half-day of glory, tarnished by a difficult end to the race and the winning comeback of its rivals, Degroof Petercam Banque Privée, helmed by Fred Moura, winner of the class, ahead of Swiss Medical Network (Didier Pfister) and Patrimonium (Yannick Preitner).
Other awards…
The Sailing Schools Trophy went to CNV, the first 100% female crew was Caroline Cartier, while the Interclub Trophy was won by CER – SOFTIES.
The Sailing Squad
A loyal partner of the Bol d’Or Mirabaud since 2006, Banque Mirabaud innovated this year by offering an innovative web series entitled The Sailing Squad. Five hand-picked young international talents, coached by double Olympic champion Shirley Robertson, had two days to discover their boat, a Psaros 33, and then compete in the regatta, not to mention many other surprises.
Thank you, Mr. President
Rodolphe Gautier, President of the Bol d’Or Mirabaud Organising Committee since 2015, has handed over to Yann Petremand. During “his” six editions, he has notably survived the 2019 storm, managed the Covid19 pandemic and the cancellation of the 2020 edition, and mastered many other challenges with brio.
Rodolphe Gautier has put in place a competent and close-knit team, led by Laurence Zanon, which has enabled him to experience the race from the inside as a competitor at the highest level, onboard his M1 Safram catamaran.
He accompanied the digitalization of the event, contributed to the professionalization of the race organization, created a festive dimension appreciated by all, and allowed the Bol d’Or Mirabaud to take a giant step forward and to deserve the title of world’s leading regatta held on a closed course.
