MARSEILLE

Marseille certainly proved to be an eventful stage! The most amount of wind, the least amount of sailing, one of the most amounts of drama!

We hit trouble as soon as we got within 5 miles of Marseille really, an interesting route provided by Gmaps sent the Van and 8m trailer down a mountainous narrow road. After 75-100m of 15% descent- the van was stuck, and the trailer/boat with it. I was sitting, waiting for the van’s arrival in the paddock and after rushing up the mountain, greeted with the distinct smell of clutch and some slightly agitated French motorist; we managed to work out a plan. We Tied the back axle of the trailer to my Renault and towed the trailer back up the hill, before driving the van back out too. Plan seemed to go well, a bit of traffic diversion, sweating and some more clutch aroma and we were back on the road! It’s not going to be something I will forget in a hurry - certainly one of the most concerning situations of this event. I had visions of the flashing blue lights of the Gendarmerie etc, so we were lucky to get out cleanly.

The Mistral was blowing pretty hard, so we lost the coastal raid and the guest races to the breeze. Good news for us really, the additional rest day means a lot to us; a team that doesn’t have any shore crew or decent accommodation. We had a little team trip to Decathlon, bought a kite and a rugby ball.  Built the boat, walked around, slept/recovered so it was a welcome reprieve from the manic pace of the Tour.

The Mistral eventually moved on, and the following day was significantly lighter.  However our Marseille curse struck again with main halyard lock problems that forced us out of the first race.  It seemed like we couldn’t get a break! A quick trip to the shore to alter the rig and we were back out. Second race- we fought hard at the start and maybe fought a little too hard as we were rewarded with an OCS. We did get a great photo though- looks like we smashed it! We debriefed it on the boat, but ultimately OCS’s do happen if you’re trying to push the start. We’ve done 50 or so starts this regatta and this is our first OCS, so in percentage terms we can take those numbers. The day continued in a frustrating fashion, but we came in well with an 8^th in the last race. We were up there and fighting the whole time, both myself and everyone else were really pleased with this result it’s more towards what we’ve been working for.

Back on shore though the Marseille curse continued. We discovered some more structural issues with the hulls and after draining 60ltrs of water from our STBD hull we were left frustrated at a problem that occurred which was out of our hands and not from our cause. Such is life, and we implemented a fix. I can’t believe how quickly the tour has gone.

NICE

Nice was a tough stage for us. The end was in sight and so much was behind us, exhaustion really began to kick in and I think it reflected in our results. This was not the best timing as unfortunately.  The result of a mixed inshore day in Nice, but on double points cost us a few places in the overall rankings. We finished on a good note though with our second to last race yielding a 3^rd in our group! It was really nice to see us sail a race cleanly, consistently and effectively. I really feel it is something we deserved in that race, as we sailed a good race all round, didn’t make too many mistakes and we absolutely raced our hearts out. I think it is a nice reflection of the progress we have made too over the regatta- we hope to see a few more of those sorts of results next time round!

The last day in Nice was bittersweet. I was gutted to lose a significant amount in the general classification, so close to the end but also exceptionally proud of everyone and the effort we have all put in to get round this event- around 65 races in total! There was definitely a tinge of sadness in packing the boat down for the last time on Nice’s famous Promenade des Anglais but certainly overshadowed by relief that we would not have to set it up again in a few hours! The Tour also really know how to send you off- every team is called on stage to receive a huge cheer from the crowd. It’s amazing how the public get behind this event! Then a big magnum of champagne and some medals for the team members are handed to you and you are cheered through the crowd as you exit to your chosen soundtrack- it’s unforgettable and will certainly stay with me for a while. It gives you a real sense of pride and it certainly helped with the results blues I had from the last day’s slip.

We had a great party in Nice too- all the sailors, shore crew and event staff got stuck in and had a great de-stress night on the dockside of the main marina in Nice- we owe a big thanks to both the sailors and the OA for being so welcoming to ‘Les Anglaise’. If anyone is thinking about coming to do this event- just do it! If we at Team Maverick SSR can be of any help to some newcomer internationals like us then please let us know.

The objective for this regatta for us was in essence to learn how to be competitive and build a foundation for the future of the team at the Tour Voile. So not about results or race wins, but about learning, progressing and challenging our perceptions of how to be successful in the competitive Diam 24 fleet. I certainly think we have achieved that, personally speaking I’ve learnt a lot both on and off the water. I’ve identified things that I have done well and also badly, and I’m sure the same is true for all the others who make up Team Maverick SSR. The event is all encompassing from the on the water intensity, to the onshore logistics and personal management and we are now just beginning a review process that will set us up for next year. It will take a couple months to put together in its entirety but we are going to make sure we can set ourselves up to go forward and improve the campaign in all aspects for the next year, in line with our 5-year plan for the Tour Voile.

So, lots to do for next time round! We are going to publish the good the bad and the ugly of our review in the hope that some outside opinion and discussion can benefit us and you guys reading. I’m really excited for the team and now the dust and emotions around the event have settled. I’m really proud of everything the guys have achieved this year- it’s such a huge effort and the event has left each one of us a bit broken.

It’s all over! What an incredible experience. There were certainly a few times where I thought I could well be writing an ‘it’s over!’ blog sooner! This event has not been without its trials and tribulations but we got through them all as a team in the end. Writing it all in one place seems a little scary but with the rudder falling off, the rig falling down, the hull cracks, the burning clutch on a Marseille mountain etc., it goes to show how lucky I am to have such a great team of guys around to help myself and each other get through was an exceptionally rewarding, but gruelling event.

I’ve fallen into a bit of an addiction with the competition and the fleet and I hope that I get to give the event many more goes with this team. I couldn’t ask for a better, kinder, more progressive group of people to race with and I’m confident we can develop this into something seriously competitive in due time.

Stay tuned- we’ve got a little more content still to push out to all you lovely people soon and the story by no means ends here- we have our hull repairs to surmount, some refit work and team building to be done and a great year of Diam 24 sailing to plan too which we cannot wait to share with all you guys following along. I’m sure the rest of the stories I’ve missed in my blogs will surface on here in the near future too.

À demain!

Piers HS