Record SNSM - Victory for Groupama 2

Saint Nazaire, France - With a narrow margin of only 6 minutes, Franck Cammas and the crew of Groupama 2 won the ORMA class over Pascal Bidégorry and the crew of Banque Populaire in the Record SNSM. The 560 mile course took 2 days 1 hour 58 minutes and 14 seconds to complete - not the times usually seen in multihulls. But the course, with its light winds and strong currents, was a favorite of the competitors, as it allowed tactics to shine in a variety of conditions.

Said Cammas: “We made some mistakes, but we never gave up. Up against a high class adversary in the form of Banque Populaire, we really had to fight, especially after getting stuck for 3 hours at Ushant during the climb up towards St Malo. I am proud of my crew. We didn’t sleep much and didn’t eat much, but we won and that’s why we came here”.

Jean-Baptiste Levaillant (mainsail for Groupama 2) added: “It’s a really fine course. Not only were we able to admire the Breton coast, but we also appreciated the highly technical and very tactical nature of the course. In the end it was very open too as, despite the slight errors we made, we managed to get back with Banque Pop.”

Navigator Stève Ravussin agreed: “Even for a specialist of Lake Geneva, the light airs weren’t easy to handle as there’s considerable current here. At Ushant, we weren’t making any more headway. After battling for two hours, we ended up in the same spot. That's very rare on a multihull."

- YC for YachtPals

Video: Franck Cammas and the crew of Groupama 2 at the Record SNSM (French video).