UpWind by MerConcept: Return of experience on La Route des Terre Neuvas!

Departing on Friday, August 16th from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, France, the all-female crew of the Ocean Fifty Upwind by MerConcept arrived on Thursday, August 22nd at 8:14 PM in Saint-Quay-Portrieux (Côtes-d’Armor). Italian skipper Francesca Clapcich and her two crewmates, Swiss sailor Élodie-Jane Mettraux and French sailor Anne-Claire Le Berre, finished 8th in the inaugural edition of the Route des Terre-Neuvas. Upon arrival, they cheerfully and enthusiastically shared their experience of this express transatlantic race.

A SUSTAINED PACE

Our three sailors covered the 2,130 nautical miles (3,400 km) of the course between the French overseas archipelago and Brittany at an average speed of 17 knots (31 km/h). “We’re really happy to have made it here with the boat! We encountered some pretty extreme conditions, and with the discomfort of this trimaran, it quickly became complicated. Fortunately, it only lasted six days,” commented Élodie-Jane Mettraux. “We discovered a ‘sea-friendly’ boat that handles all conditions, particularly in swell and strong winds. We’re still getting to know the vessel, but we managed to maintain a good pace. It’s very positive.”

The UpWind by MerConcept crew kept up the pace against well-equipped competitors determined not to make any concessions. While the favorites, equipped with more modern boats, quickly took the lead, a race within a race unfolded in the middle of the fleet between Mon Bonnet Rose, Upwind by MerConcept, and InterInvest, as Anne-Claire Le Berre explained: “There were two divisions in the race, and we were battling well with our two competitors, crossing paths at sea, which was quite stimulating, until we broke the boat’s daggerboard. Unfortunately, we hit something, probably a large piece of wood, reported the collision using the ‘hazard button’ system implemented by the team (an alarm to alert other teams and nearby boats), and are currently investigating to determine exactly what happened. The daggerboard was lifted into the well, creating a water leak, and we had to slow down. We repaired it as best we could, but it was wiser to let them pass and finish our race safely. We also chose to prioritize safety and decided not to participate in the races scheduled this weekend in Saint-Brieuc, to depart earlier for the MerConcept shipyards.”

INSIDE THE MEDIAMAN’S LENS‘On this transatlantic race, each Ocean Fifty hosted a media crew member to capture the daily life of the sailors from the inside. Onboard UpWind by MerConcept, Guillaume Gatefait, who has extensive experience in this role, having completed numerous races in Ultim or Imoca, will nonetheless have a lasting memory of this experience on the Route des Terre-Neuvas: “I have rarely encountered such challenging conditions to work at sea. We experienced connection issues at the beginning of the race, and then humidity became a constant onboard. This didn’t make it easy to work with electronic equipment. It was quite a challenge in terms of creating content, but we never lost our humor or good spirits. It was a great experience with three incredible sailors. I found them really impressive. It was a beautiful human adventure!”

After having the Atlantic as their playground, the second part of the season will take the Ocean Fifty to the Mediterranean for the last two competitions of the year. Engaged in the next America’s Cup, Francesca Clapcich will hand over the helm of the trimaran to Élodie-Jane Mettraux and Anne-Claire Le Berre for Act 4, the Med Max Occitanie from September 21st to October 6th, before joining them for the final Act in Sainte-Maxime at the end of October.