| Mini favourite in La Rochelle |
Having won virtually everything in the Mini 6.50 class this year, and finished second in the 2001 Transat 6.50 Charente Maritime/Bahia (formerly known as Mini Transat) it's not surprising Frenchman Corentin Douguet has been branded race favourite for this year's event which starts from La Rochelle on Saturday.
For 31-year-old Douguet, winning three of the class's premiere events (the Mini-Pavois, Mini-Fastnet and Transgascogne) on E. Leclerc/Bouygues Telecom earlier this year was no easy game but he's proved that, whatever the conditions, he's going to take some beating during the gruelling 4,000-mile dash across the Atlantic to Brazil.
Today in La Rochelle, on the eve of the Transat 6.50 prologue, Douguet was busy making final preparations to his one-year-old, but well used Manuard design. This powerful-looking boat is one of seven of the same designs from the drawing board of Sam Manuard. The beamy section aft indicates her potential offwind speed and, according to Douguet, she really starts to power up in a breeze above 15kts. And in really windy conditions she's arguably the fastest on the water.
But it's not just her slinky, underwater shape that takes all credit for her speed, it's the canting keel/water ballast system that Douguet believes is the key. Unlike any other Proto design (development class) in the fleet the new Manuard designs all run the same system of canting keel, and water ballast situated either side of the hull. Manuard explains: "The other boats have ballast or swing keels, or swing keels with water ballast in the centre of the boat. With these new Manuard designs the water can be shifted from one side of the hull to the other which makes them incredibly powerful on a reach and upwind. For downwind sailing I just empty the ballast to make her lighter. The compromise is good but it is a lot of hard work. The difficult part is working out when and where to shift the ballast. Make a wrong decision and it all goes to pot."
Keeping ahead of the game on such a sensitive boat on a short distance race is one thing but keeping on top of performance during this epic 4,000-miler is not going to be easy. Sleep deprivation is one of the main concerns but Douguet believes he has the system under control, adding: "Yes, she's a powerful boat - probably the most powerful in the fleet - and it's going to be tricky but I have well-planned reefing system. Basically the first reef goes in when winds reach anything above 18kts."
For Douguet, who's spent the last five years competing on the professional racing circuit including the Figaro and Mumm 30 - Tour de France, stepping back into the Transat 6.50 class is very exciting, Douguet concluded: "It's a highly competitive and rewarding class. I may be branded race favourite but I can assure you nothing in this class is clear cut. There are any one of 12 competitors in the fleet who could win this long, complex race, so it's difficult to predict at this stage.
Ready to go? "Totally, I wish we could start the race tonight or tomorrow because I'm ready in my head and my boat is fast and as prepared as it'll ever be."
Sue Pelling, Yachting World, 13 September 2005
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