Sea, Sail & Surf news
Cap Istanbul • leg 3
Isabelle Joschke takes victory in Aghios Nikolaos
First women win in a leg of the single-handed Figaro-Bénéteau circuit
mardi 30 septembre 2008 –
Toutes les versions de cet article : [English] [français]
Victory took place under the cover of darkness, beneath a starry Mediterranean sky, and adds a new page to the annals of ocean racing : indeed Isabelle has become the first woman to achieve such success as a leg victory*, on a Figaro circuit renowned for being demanding and for forging some top solo-sailing talent. This young rookie to the Figaro class sailed a superb course between Sicily and Crete. Inspired, precise, skilful, she kept hold of her lead against a fleet of formidable competitors experienced in the art of battling single-handed on equal terms. At the head of the race for the last 48 hours, Isabelle didn’t give an inch even when she encountered the worst conditions as a brutal low hit the Ionian Sea. Leading at the entrance to the Aegean Sea, and in some favourable winds, she didn’t stumble over the last 120 miles of the course along the north coast of Crete. Her performance then has been absolutely faultless and her victory will certainly create waves in the solo sailing world…
Isabelle Joschke : “I can’t really believe it. I certainly didn’t expect this in my first Figaro season, but that just makes my win all the more pleasurable. I only began to believe I could do it when I was leading the fleet at Antitykhitira. I was then lucky enough to have the necessary wind to keep ahead. In fact the sailing off Crete was a real treat, even though I didn’t sleep or eat the whole day. I had to hang on in there. The key to success ? Strategy first of all. After that I’ve gained a great deal of speed since the first leg and naturally that’s a motivation…”
At 31 years of age, Isabelle Joschke is contesting her first season on the Figaro circuit. Coming straight from the Mini 6.50 circuit, where she excelled for two years, solely victory in the Transat The Transat #thetransat #ostar 6.50 escaped her after breaking gear. Driven by a fierce competitive spirit and very at ease in the open water, she has demonstrated today that she is also a fine regatta sailor and that she has found, at the helm of her one-design Synergie, a circuit which measures up to her talent. “She is tenacious, she really deserves to be in the lead and the position suits her well. She has sailed a faultless course.” confided Nicolas Bérenger yesterday. These words were further echoed by Thierry Chabagny who sincerely congratulated Isabelle on her course during this 3rd leg, marked by some particularly difficult sea conditions.
In Isabelle’s wake, Thierry Chabgny and Nicolas Bérenger battled all the way to the line. The skipper of Suzuki Automobiles thus takes 2nd and that of Kone Elevators 3rd !
Nicolas Bérenger (Koné Elevators) : “I sailed well on this 3rd leg. I’ve stretched out my lead in the general ranking and have ensured myself a two hour cushion between myself and my closest pursuer. Though I prefer to be in this situation rather than that of playing catch-up, I don’t want to get carried away. We’ve seen enough of the Mediterranean to know that you can make up ground just as much as you can lose ground.”
Thierry Chabagny (Suzuki Automobiles) : “I’m not going to make do with what I have. I have to attack for the rest of the race. It’s when you sail in liberated fashion as I’ve done in the past two legs, that you can achieve great things. Even though I think first place in the final ranking is out of my grasp, a podium finish is still a possibility. One thing for sure is that if any opportunities arise, I won’t hesitate to seize them. I hope the weather conditions will enable us to try something and have a great fourth leg.”
Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) : “You can’t get carried away in the French Ocean Racing Championship : things can change so quickly in these seas. In relation to Fred Duthil and Erwan Tabarly, I’m in a favourable position as I have a three hour lead over them, but I’ll have to remain vigilant. Nicolas Bérenger looks pretty well set to win the Cap Istanbul
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. If this is the case then it’s imperative that I finish in the top ten in the race in order to get the Championship title. I prefer to have my fate in my own hands though rather than those of someone else.”
Info presse Welcome On Board / www.capistanbul.com (Translated by Kate Jennings)
Leg 3 rankings / Marzamemi - Aghios Nikolaos
1 Synergie 19 Isabelle Joschke Arrivée le 29/09/2008 à 21:18:40 en 03j 05h 37min 40s
2 Suzuki Automobiles 92 Thierry Chabagny Arrivé le 29/09/2008 à 22:16:32 en 03j 06h 35min 32s
3 Kone Elevators 68 Nicolas Berenger Arrivé le 29/09/2008 à 22:25:55 en 03j 06h 44min 55s
4 DCNS 97 97 Christopher Pratt Arrivé le 29/09/2008 à 23:34:37 en 03j 07h 53min 37s
5 Cercle Vert 4 Gildas Morvan Arrivé le 29/09/2008 à 23:41:40 en 03j 08h 00min 40s
6 Le Comptoir Immobilier 3 Gildas Mahe Arrivé le 29/09/2008 à 23:45:47 en 03j 08h 04min 47s
7 Distinxion Automobile 10 Fréderic Duthil Arrivé le 29/09/2008 à 23:57:10 en 03j 08h 16min 10s
8 Athema 18 Erwan Tabarly Arrivé le 30/09/2008 à 00:00:15 en 03j 08h 19min 15s
9 Financo 1 Nicolas Troussel Arrivé le 30/09/2008 à 00:17:09 en 03j 08h 36min 09s
10 DCNS 62 62 Romain Attanasio Arrivé le 30/09/2008 à 00:24:58 en 03j 08h 43min 58s
General rankings after leg 3
1 68 Kone Elevators Nicolas Berenger 07j 17h 32min 10s 00s
2 25 Espoir Région Bretagne François Gabart 07j 19h 45min 25s 02h 13min 15s
3 4 Cercle Vert Gildas Morvan 07j 19h 47min 33s 02h 15min 23s
4 30 Capitol Marc Emig 07j 19h 51min 23s 02h 19min 13s
5 3 Le Comptoir Immobilier Gildas Mahe 07j 19h 58min 08s 02h 25min 58s
6 97 DCNS 97 Christopher Pratt 07j 20h 18min 47s 02h 46min 37s
7 92 Suzuki Automobiles Thierry Chabagny 07j 20h 23min 54s 02h 51min 44s
8 31 Docteur Valnet Aromathérapie Laurent Pellecuer 07j 21h 34min 41s 04h 02min 31s
9 7 Luisina Design Eric Drouglazet 07j 21h 50min 34s 04h 18min 24s
10 47 Baïko Antonio Pedro da Cruz 07j 22h 13min 11s 04h 41min 01s
11 26 Theolia Robert Nagy 07j 22h 19min 17s 04h 47min 07s
12 10 Distinxion Automobile Fréderic Duthil 07j 22h 57min 28s 05h 25min 18s
13 18 Athema Erwan Tabarly 07j 23h 03min 25s 05h 31min 15s
14 1 Financo Nicolas Troussel 07j 23h 06min 47s 05h 34min 37s
15 19 Synergie Isabelle Joschke 07j 23h 23min 50s 05h 51min 40s
16 40 Banque Populaire Jeanne Grégoire 07j 23h 32min 18s 06h 00min 08s
17 94 Macif Gérald Veniard 07j 23h 42min 04s 06h 09min 54s
18 9 Gedimat Armel Tripon 07j 23h 42min 55s 06h 10min 45s
19 62 DCNS 62 Romain Attanasio 08j 00h 44min 57s 07h 12min 47s
20 2 Défi Mousquetaires Thomas Rouxel 08j 00h 57min 14s 07h 25min 04s
21 35 TS Régate Créteil Val de Marne Paul Meilhat 08j 01h 28min 43s 07h 56min 33s
22 79 L’Esprit d’Équipe Eric Péron 08j 03h 12min 07s 09h 39min 57s
23 32 AGIR Recouvrement Adrien Hardy 08j 03h 19min 50s 09h 47min 40s
24 33 Degrémont Suez Environnement - Source de TaleJean-Charles Monnet 08j 04h 02min 07s 10h 29min 57s
25 13 M@rseilleEntreprises Jean-Paul Mouren 08j 04h 04min 22s 10h 32min 12s
26 86 Entreprendre (Lafont Presse) Matthieu Girolet 08j 06h 55min 23s 13h 23min 13s
27 65 Nanni Diesel Louis Maurice Tannyère 08j 16h 21min 16s 22h 49min 06s
Dans la même rubrique
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