Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret will line up tomorrow on board ‘Mirabaud’ for the start of the Barcelona World Race: the double-handed non-stop yacht race around the world.
Placed third overall in the previous edition of the event, the Wavre/Paret duo are one of the most experienced teams taking part in this year’s Barcelona World Race. The pair are all set for their second circumnavigation together: the eighth and third round-the-world tour for Dominique and Michèle respectively.
“This race is made for us”, explains Dominique. “We both love double-handed sailing and one of our great shared passions is round-the-world racing on high-performance boats. Finally, our main sponsor Mirabaud has offices in Spain, so taken together, these three elements make the Barcelona World Race perfect for us.”
Dominique and Michèle are the only mixed team taking part in this edition of the race. They also share their lives together off the water and Michèle feels that being a couple gives them a competitive advantage: “We really complement each other, which is a real bonus,” she explains. “We don’t always have to talk to be able to understand what the other is thinking,” adds Dominique. “We can react more spontaneously and intuitively adapt our watch system depending on what the atmosphere is like on board or how tired we are. Life for the other teams is generally a lot more mechanical.”
The last few days of December have been given over to provisioning the boat. In order to reduce the weight on board, and therefore increase the theoretical performance, Dominique and Michèle have only loaded enough food for twelve weeks, giving them a total of 1.2kgs per day. Their calorie intake has been precisely calculated and gradually increases as the pair head towards the southern ocean, reaching 8000 calories per day by the time they enter the Roaring Forties. As they sail back North again, through the Atlantic, over the equator and back into the Mediterranean to the finish, their rations will reduce again. The two sailors have allowed themselves a few luxuries for the start of the trip in the form of fresh fruit, vegetables and…chocolate!
The Barcelona World Race is sailed in the IMOCA class: 60ft monohulls similar in appearance but in reality very different. “Some boats are optimised for light airs, other for heavier conditions”, explains Wavre. “Mirabaud is a very versatile yacht and performs well in all conditions, however, we don’t know the precise performance of the other competitors. We feel we have a secret weapon but our opponents will obviously also be trying to maximise their potential.”
The star-studded line-up of competitors, including Michel Desjoyeaux, Loïck Peyron, Jean Le Cam, Jean-Pierre Dick and many others, will undoubtedly mean a tooth-and-nail fight all along the 24,000 nautical mile route.
Antonio Palma, Associate and CEO of Mirabaud comments: “the 31st of December is the start of an incredible adventure but also the culmination of an intensive period of preparation that started back last Spring when we announced the partnership between Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret and Mirabaud. We’ll be avidly following every step of the race and wish Dominique and Michèle good luck and fair winds.”
Moderate winds of up to 15 knots are expected for the start of the Barcelona World Race, which will be followed by a short inshore leg along the coast designed to give the many visitors expected a chance to see the boats in action. The yachts will then pass the first gate off Gibraltar before heading south on their tour of the world. The first boats are expected back in Barcelona in approximately three months time.
