The Tour de France a la Voile fleet left the docks in Sète this morning at 0600 in order to start the second Mediterranean offshore race to Marseille. But once again there was not enough wind to start right away and therefore, the boats motored for nearly four hours.

At 0943, the race committee set up a start line off Port-Carmargue, 18 miles away from Sète and 57 miles from Marseille. After three general recalls, it was Dieppe Seine Maritime, helmed by Franck Cammas who had the best start. At the top mark, two miles from the start line, overall leader Ville de Genève Carrefour Prévention, skippered by Etienne David, had taken the lead ahead of students Cap Université-St-Quentin en Yvelines and Nantes-St-Nazaire. “The wind shifted to the left during the first beat. We anticipated that shift and therefore went far to the left and gained a lot thanks to that,” explained Jean-Marc Monnard, helmsman onboard the Swiss boat, during the radio chat.

Later on, at the Beau Duc buoy, which lies 30 miles from the finish, Ville de Genève Carrefour Prévention was still in the lead ahead of Cap Université-St-Quentin-en-Yvelines, but it was Cassis Mauguio Carnon that had climbed to third place. According to those who have local knowledge, the passage of the Rhone’s mouth, just after Beau-Duc, could be a difficult one. The first boats are currently crossing the finish line, the results of which are as follows.

Results (top 10)

1. Paprec Recyclage-Normal Sup Cachan-ENSAE / Sébastien Petit-Huguenin

2. Région Ile de France / Jimmy Pahun

3. Cassis Maugio Carnon / Bernard Mallaret

4. Brest Grandes Ecoles-ENSIETA-ENST Bretagne / Tangi Mahé

5. Nantes-St-Nazaire / Pierre Loïc Berthet

6. Cap Université-St-Quentin-en-Yvelines / Jean-Marie Gout

7. Panther Team GBR / Rob Greenhalgh

8. Ville de Genève Carrefour Prévention / Etienne David

9. Team Bienne Voile / Lorenz Muller

10. CSC Essec / Hervé Gautier