Time for reflection

Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret are now well rested and have taken advantage of the relative luxury of hot running water to shower.  Dominique has also been catching up on a lack of fresh food by ordering a good Argentinian steak at every meal!  Now that they are back on dry land, the focus will soon switch to the analysis of their race and the unfortunate dismasting.  “Since we arrived in Mar del Plata, we have been very tied up with the administration and customs required to get the boat back to Europe, so we haven’t had a huge amount of time to really sit down and go over things, although clearly we’ve been thinking a lot about our last three months at sea.”
The most important point to note is that Mirabaud was always up there in the running and was battling for a podium place when they lost their mast.  The two co-skippers never let up the pressure and gave their all in conditions that were at times extremely difficult.  “This course has been rather particular,” confirms Dominique.  “Several key events all played a role in our race.  In general, I think we sailed well and I don’t have any major regrets in terms of the strategy we chose.  We did a good job of keeping the boat in good shape ready for the final Atlantic leg and the sprint up the Mediterranean to the finish in Barcelona.  But we also had to deal with situations which took their toll on us, starting with the boarding party from Moroccan customs at the beginning of the race.  The St Helena High didn’t do us any favours either and we arrived just at the wrong time and had no option but to sit and wait it out.  Following that, the ice gates designed to protect us from the risk of bergs, forced us into an area of high pressure that stopped us in our tracks, just like a motorway toll station!  It was a real stroke of bad luck and our strategic options were very limited.  Finally, we also had to deal with Michèle’s health issues, forcing us to ease up on the speed, and then the dismasting just as Michèle was on the road to recovery and the boat was truly shipshape.”
“There is definitely a certain sense of frustration but I will keep some great memories of a good race, during which we stayed in the game and also enjoyed ourselves.  It has also brought Michèle and I even closer, and we’ve proved that Mirabaud is a super boat, good in all conditions and exceptional when she finds her groove.”