Dominique Wavre and Michele Paret sailed Mirabaud into Le Havre on Friday after a three-day delivery from La Rochelle. Since then they have been gradually getting into race mode and while they are not quite in “the zone” yet, outside influences serve as a reminder that the countdown has begun!
Dominique and Michele can’t but notice the hubbub around them: requests are piling up and there is a constant flow of visitors past the yacht. Meanwhile, in the background the hard work must continue – there are details to be seen to and final checks to be done… The tension is rising.
“The checklist is getting smaller and smaller as the time ticks by,” said Dominique. “We are focusing on the details now and make no mistake there are plenty of them! Yesterday afternoon Michele was up the mast putting anti-chafing measures in place on the spreaders. Our rigger, Gildas, is working on the running rigging putting visual markers in place and I have started entering waypoints for the start and first stages of the race. We have good weather so we are getting ahead while it lasts.”
We will continue at this pace during our last week ashore and the closer we get to the start, the busier we will become. Dominique and Michele were relaxed enough however to watch the Rugby World Cup Final on Sunday: “A real shame for France!” … But their minds are on another competition and all eyes are turned to the West and the English Channel, Finisterre and Azores…
“Our primary objective is to sail well and be satisfied with our choices, manoeuvres and routing. If we achieve this objective then the results will follow and we can aim for a place on the podium. I personally prefer to set these sorts of goals than chase results.”
