Edmond de Rothschild Group leads the way to Cascais.

The rhythm of the European Tour is steady and only allows the sailors a short amount of down time. After two days of City Races, including a particularly animated one yesterday in a fine breeze of around twenty knots, the five competing crew headed back offshore today bound for Cascais, Portugal. It was at 1400 UTC that the fleet of trimarans powered off under overcast skies in a 15-18 knot SSW’ly wind. The authors of a very good start, Sébastien Josse and his five crew concluded the three-mile coastal course around Dublin Bay at the front of the pack, thus racking up a three-point bonus for this performance.

Declarations from the crew before leaving the port of Dùn Laoghaire

Sébastien Josse, skipper of Edmond de Rothschild Group: “We’re very focused as we know that this first night at sea will be both intense and important. The first tricky stage will be at the Fastnet, where we’ll have to negotiate our way through a front. Tonight we should have 25 to 30 knots of breeze and a 2.5m swell, so we’ll have to keep an eye on the gear and the guys. During the start of the course, the idea is to find the right compromise between attacking, resting and positioning ourselves for the next stage. However, we’re already aware that the first few hours won’t be at all restful!”

Antoine Koch, in charge of the navigation and strategy in the offshore races: “The overall strategy and the way the weather phenomena link together hasn’t altered since yesterday. However, we still have a few uncertainties and we’re going to have to watch the way certain systems evolve and adjust our course as we go along. Initially this relates to the timing of the passage of a front level with the Fastnet. We don’t yet know if the latter will roll through before or after us at the South-West tip of Ireland and what wind we’ll be left with at the back of this system. The second critical point, which will influence our trajectory offshore of the Bay of Biscay, is whether or not there will be a zone of transition without wind as we make landfall on the Portuguese coast. In the first leg, we pretty much stuck to the planned course, despite the fact that the race lasted 3 days and 12 hours. That would suggest that the forecasts were very accurate. Here the situation is more complicated.”

We get it. The theoretical 1,215 miles, which make up the second leg between Dùn Laoghaire and Cascais are likely to be action-packed, with at least two key transitions. This complexity is heightened by the fact that a final decision hasn’t yet been made as regards the last few miles of the race along the shores of Portugal. Basically, depending on when the MOD 70 fleet arrive offshore of Cascais, Race Management reserves the right to shorten the course or otherwise. However, for the time being, the MOD Edmond de Rothschild Group and its rivals will initially have to make towards Caiscais and then set a course to the South towards the Lagos mark, situated 17 miles off Cape St-Vincent, before heading back the way they came to conclude the race. This final section of the race could well reshuffle the cards and upset the hierarchy established offshore. Whatever the final scenario chosen, the men of Gitana Team and their rivals are expected into Portugal on Wednesday.

Order of passage at the final windward mark of the coastal course

1. 1. Edmond de Rothschild Group – 3 points *
2. Spindrift Racing – 2 points *
3. Race for Water – 1 point
4. Musandam – Oman Sail
5. Foncia

Standing in the European Tour (before leg 2 from Dublin – Cascais)

1. Foncia – 12 + 50 + 3 *+ 10 = 75 points
2. Spindrift Racing – 11 + 46 + 1*+ 12 = 70 points
3. 3. Edmond de Rothschild Group – 10 + 42 + 2*+ 11 = 65 points
4. Race for Water – 8 + 38 + 9 = 55 points
5. Musandam – Oman Sail – 9 + 34 + 8 = 51 points

* corresponds with the points’ bonus awarded to the top three boats at the end of the coastal section contested in Kiel on 2 September and in Dun Laoghaire on 9 September.

The crew of the MOD Edmond de Rothschild Group

Offshore : Sébastien Josse (Skipper), Olivier Douillard, Florent Chastel, Christophe Espagnon, Antoine Koch, Thomas Rouxel

The European Tour in five legs

The second event in the Multi One Championship, after the Krys Ocean Race (a transatlantic race between New York and Brest contested in early July), the European Tour comprises five legs: the five competing crews set off from Kiel bound for Dun Laoghaire (Dublin) on 2 September, prior to setting sail for Cascais (Portugal) and Marseille (France), not to mention Genoa (Italy), where the finish will be decided on 2 October 2012 and with it the name of the winner of this first edition. In total there are over 5,000 nautical miles to cover in five weeks!

Kiel (Germany)
Kiel City Races: from 31 August to 1 September
Leg 1 – 1,188 miles: Kiel – Dun Laoghaire (Dublin), start Sunday 2 September

Dun Laoghaire (Ireland)
Dublin City Races: from 7 to 8 September
Leg 2 – 1,215 miles: Dun Laoghaire (Dublin) – Cascais, start Sunday 9 September

Cascais (Portugal)
Cascais City Races: from 14 to 16 September
Leg 3 – 558 miles: Cascais – Cascais (Around Portugal Race), start Monday 17 September
Leg 4 – 1,071 miles: Cascais – Marseille, start Thursday 20 September

Marseille (France)
Marseille City Races: from 28 to 29 September
Leg 5 – 672 miles: Marseille – Genoa, start Sunday 30 September

Genoa (Italy)
Finish of leg 5: Tuesday 2 October
Closing race: Wednesday 3 October