After a poor start to the event, the British Panther Team surprised all in the Tour de France à la Voile 2002 by taking fourth overall

After a poor start to the event, the British Panther Team surprised all in the Tour de France à la Voile 2002 by taking fourth overall

Rob Greenhalgh skipper of the boat comments on his result. “Fourth overall was our new aim after a poor start to the event. We had a good last race and we sailed really well. It was really interesting to watch how the final race with Jimmy and Pierre-Loic panned out. We were right in the middle of them for the whole race and I think that Panther was a deciding factor in who won the race. I am looking forward to coming back next year, I’ll sail again with a similar team to this year. It has been a great regatta with an excellent atmosphere good sailing and it is definitely worth doing again”.

The other British team, Royal Thames, finished third in the amateur division. “It has been the best event that I have ever done. It is a real test of your sailing, organisation, stamina and commitment. We have all loved it and definitely want to do it again. In terms of racing we did as well as could have been hoped. We were dragged down at the beginning by a couple of bad results and lack of experience but there is no doubt that our sailing has improved”.