Saturday, July 25th, the last day of competition for the sailors. The uncertainty of the final winner before the ultimate event, the Nautical Stadium, kept the public on the edge of their seats. However, the racing conditions led to the cancellation of the regattas, despite having started. Leader yesterday, Spindrift is declared the winner.
The doldrums, the fear of sailboats. By that, understand a very weak wind. And at noon, the starting time for the Nautical Stadium rounds, it was barely blowing. Not at all, in fact. Awkward for gaining speed. Especially for this type of race based on speed. Then, 30 minutes later, an easterly wind picked up. The boats seemed possessed, as if taken with a wild desire to fly. “We couldn’t dream of anything better!” exclaimed Frédéric, a pilot on a press boat.
The ingredients were there for a grand finale: a strong wind, the top three in the overall standings separated by just three points (50 to be distributed this afternoon), and a Promenade des Anglais filled with people. While waiting for the start of the first race, the skippers were circling their sailboats offshore. The first race, short but intense, was looming and its participants were lining up along the starting line. When the start signal was given, the gusts propelled the sailboats straight ahead. Heading towards the beach to turn starboard, then rounding several buoys to return to the finish buoy near the coast. They would reach the shoreline in no time.
A brief but (too) intense finale
The Nautical Stadium is contested in two qualifying races instead of three and one final, due to a lack of time. The leaders enforced the hierarchy during the first regattas. The public was going to see Spindrift, Groupama, and CombiWest face off in the Gold final, which gathers the 15 fastest crews. At least, that's what seemed to be written.
Because the wind swept away this scenario with a gust. Its presence brought in strong swells. The waves raged against the skippers, who had to maneuver carefully. In these conditions, the competition experienced a coup de théâtre at the start of the last qualifying race. As the siren sounded, the sailboats prepared to sail. Suddenly, a formidable gust struck them and pushed them against each other. The Engie crew didn't survive it. Amidst minor collisions and the waves, their boat rose very high before capsizing. Capsizing and end of the Tour.
The race direction eventually called everyone back to the port (causing quite a stir). “The conditions were borderline for Diam 24 type boats,” explained Jean-Baptiste Durier. The director of the Tour de France à la Voile (TFV) assured that the sailors understood this decision. He praised the sportsmanship among skippers: “Groupama directly congratulated Spindrift on the radio for their victory.”
