Gitana : écurie de course au large fondée par le Baron Benjamin de Rothschild

Friday 27 November 2020

Gitana Team’s Maxi-soundbites from the ocean, Season 1 - Episode #1

Batten down the hatches, pin back your ears, and above all buckle up before you allow yourself to be carried away by the force of the ocean, the howling wind and the power of the elements aboard the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. Tuned into the noise, Yann Riou, the on-board media man, aims the mike at the partners joining him in this extreme sailing synonymous with the Jules Verne Trophy. It’s a wonderful invitation to an audio journey sharing the extraordinary daily life of these six crewmen engaged in the quest for the speed record around the seas of the globe.

Season 1: Descent of the Atlantic
Episode 1: Welcome to the on-board discomfort

And things get going with a bang, straight into a descent of the Atlantic, which begins with all the sails aloft, snatches of conversation turned inwards at an average of over 30 knots! Behind the numbers, words snapped up inside the cockpit, just like the noises captured up on deck in the heat of the action in this top-flight navigation, show the reality of a race against the clock at a furious pace. In this opening episode, David Boileau and Morgan Lagravière give us an audio account of their first anecdotes relating to the intensity of this competition at the cutting edge of oceanic performance. And it begins briskly offshore of Portugal. We can hear the swell roaring, the waves breaking, the gusts of wind whistling, the boat rushing and accelerating over the crests of the waves, leaving no respite for the men on deck enjoined to hold on tight. Welcome to the on-board discomfort!

David Boileau: gliding flight… controlled fortunately
“I’d just drained the water from the bilge. I wanted to make sure the galley hatch was closed properly, because the water can come in there and I was laid on top of the galley to close the handles when the boat buried into a wave. I was holding on tightly to these handles but I let everything go and ended up pretty much in the berth compartment. Mid-flight, I fortunately managed to catch hold of the companionway rung (…) I could have hurt myself. However, I had a bit of luck on my side and managed to recover myself as I was flying through the air!”

Morgan Lagravière: watch out for decelerations!
“I’m making the most of a wonderful spectacle. I’ve just woken up, the colours are lovely, with white on the surface of the sea. That’s indicative of wind. And looking at the boat’s speedos and anemometers, we’re creaming along! In the bunk, but especially in the outside cockpit, you sometimes find yourself in positions where, despite the fact that you’re holding on, you end up going over the top of the object you were pressed up against. Even during training on this boat, we rarely experienced decelerations like this. You have to be careful. A silly injury can occur just like that and that’s hard to deal with in this environment, you really have to watch out.”