VIDEO. Capricious winds, dolphins, intense racing: the Med Max is not easy for the 25 crews competing in the Mediterranean

Achille Nebout et Amarris ont perdu la tête au profit d’Alla grande Pirelli. MEDMAX OCCITANIE

Deuxième jour de course sur la Medmax Occitanie – Saïdia Resorts, et les joutes entre leaders annoncés n’ont pas tardé, au sein des vingt-cinq lancés depuis dimanche sur une Méditerranée fidèle à sa réputation de capricieuse.

In Class40, the mischievous winds from the eastern tip of Minorca played a role in level crossings: raised for the leaders, lowered for the followers. At the front, an Italian-French showdown began between Ambrogio Beccaria (Alla Grande Pirelli), celebrating his birthday by leading the race, and a French duo of Achille Nebout (Amarris), Mikael Mergui (Centrakor) in his wheel. Two other Italian top guns, Matteo Sericano (Tyrolit) and Andrea Fornaro (Influence II) were on the lookout for the slightest misstep. A little behind but still in the running, François Verdier (HaPlusPme) and Mathieu Claveau (Prendre la Mer – Agir pour la Forêt) were doing much more than just making up the numbers. At the end of the day, the bows were pointing towards Ibiza.

New route: a island more in the viewfinder

This Medmax will definitely never be an offshore race like the others. After shortening the initial course of the Class40s, deemed too random given the weather forecast, the race committee, faced with the much higher pace of the leaders of these 12-metre monohulls over the last two days, added an island to be rounded by the sixteen duos. Not enough to disturb the dolphins encountered by the crews during their crossing. “That's about a hundred miles more, explains Guillaume Rottée, the race director. That avoids arriving too early in Saïdia, and then the guys are there to sail". A detour of about a hundred miles, therefore, after the gateway to Ibiza, towards the northwest, to go past the largest of the Colombrete Islands, off the coast of Spain. "A superb volcanic island, in the heart of a nature reserve. With pebbles, like in Brittany, with more sun and less tides". After leaving the island to port, the Class40s will, as planned, head for Saïdia.

Ocean Fifty: we're lengthening our stride

The Ocean Fifty, for their part, have launched into a game of poker. After a passage of the Straits of Bonifacio during the night that everyone described as muscular, downwind, with points at 30-31 knots, the descent of the East coast of Sardinia has caused its weight in tactical battle. Faced with a tonic air reinflated by a flow between Sicily and Tunisia, it is upwind that these nine giant multihulls have had to find the solutions.

In this little game, it is the oldest and the youngest of the fleet who have played their cards well. Fabrice Cahierc (Realites), just sixty years old, coming to threaten Koesio's leadership, followed like a shadow by Baptiste Hulin (Viabilis), not yet 28 years old. A nice snub that Thibaut Vauchel-Camus saluted at its true value: “Some have tried the offshore route and it was damn well succeeded by Viabilis”.

The night is still very tactical, with the comeback, behind the leading quartet of Sébastien Rogues (Primonial) and the female duo Anne-Claire Le Berre – Elodie Jane Mettraux, well back in the race. Nothing is decided, the next line due west between the tip of Sardinia and Ibiza should in turn reveal tactics, with a small lull expected in the middle.