Martinique Cata Raid 2024: Day 1

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All images by Pierrick Contin. Pics & report below sent by Martinique Cata Raid media.
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Martinique Cata Raid 2024 Day 1

Adapting

Adapting will certainly be the theme of this week’s Martinique Cata Raid. The race director had planned to send the competitors on a ‘long distance’ race, but the weather decided otherwise. This morning in Le Robert, the water was swept by the famous squalls characteristic of the trade winds, gusting to over 35 knots. As a result, the 28 crews finally set off to sail two constructed courses.

There was a lot of enthusiasm this morning in front of the Wind Force sailing club in Le Robert, and impatience too, impatience to finally take to the water. Everyone was almost shy about their ambitions, preferring to focus on doing well and, above all, having fun! It’s true that our racers enjoy sailing here in Martinique in fantastic conditions, but nobody’s fooled! As soon as they’re out on the water, it’s a free-for-all and a rag-tag battle.

Indeed, the first race of the day got off to a fast and furious start in conditions that were invigorating to say the least. The programme included two loops of around ten miles, taking the competitors upwind close to the îlet Loup Garou, before a reaching leg and a return leg under spinnaker.

While no fewer than 10 boats returned to the Club with various problems such as broken sticks, lost bolts and other minor mishaps, on the water, the big names were out in force and “it was hot”, confided Nicolas Gillet/Nicolas Poix (Socoveam – Anmizi), with a big match between 6 to 7 boats”. “It’s more than hot, it’s downright war, no one wants to give anything up!” smiled Matthieu Marfaing in the double-handed race with James Melvin (Cirrus- MMSailing). They managed to pull away from the pack on the last tack to win the first round.

After a short break, the second round was launched on the same course for just one lap. The American crews Ulli Gollwitzer/Liam Walz (Zhik Machine) were determined to get back on track after an abortive first leg, and they attacked the line on the port side. Christopher Green/Jean Boulogne shared the same inspiration, with success, since both crews were on the port side of the line. However, daring was not enough. After 50 minutes of racing, three boats were neck and neck across the line: Gurvan Bontemps and Fred Moreau (French Caribbean – Stickerman) won ahead of Nicolas Gillet/ Nicolas Poix (Socoveam – Anmizi) . Benoit Touchot and Pi erre-Yves Durand (Rhythm) completed the podium in the second heat.

Youth and enthusiasm

Abel Kingue, 15 years old and the youngest in the race, returns to the Wind Force beach in Le Robert with a smile on his face: he has just returned from his first F18 race.

Yesterday, the young man was just about to switch on his computer to follow his lessons at the CNED when his mother poked her head in through the doorway to suggest he take part in the Martinique Cata Raid. Without missing a beat, Abel jumped at the chance to fill in at short notice for Stéphane Kieffer’s team-mate, who had pulled out of the competition. He’s young, enthusiastic and fresh, and above all he’s already built up a solid background. We’ve been living on a boat for 4 years and I started sailing at the age of 6 in the La Nautique club in Narbonne, mainly windsurfing, but I’ve also done a bit of opti a nd everything in competition: I need adrenalin!

Yesterday was Abel’s first experience of the F18: “I’d already tried it once, but it was a quick test, but today was great, I had a blast, I loved it! There was quite a bit of wind and for a training run, we sailed really well. I can’t wait to see how we do in real competition.”

On board, the experienced Stéphane Kieffer, helmsman, is keeping a close eye on things: “We went through our paces yesterday. At the helm, I’m attentive to every manoeuvre because there are a lot of things he has to learn on board”, but Abel is learning fast. “At the end of the day, we were able to link up the tacks and gybes quite fluidly. I’m delighted to have him with me this week.

They said :

Gurvan Bontemps/Fred Moreau (French Caribbean – Stickerman)

It was quite a challenge to go and look for the buoys outside Robert Bay. We knew we were going to get some pretty heavy seas very quickly with strong winds, so we weren’t disappointed! We were a bit frustrated with our first race: we were in the lead but when we got out to sea, we couldn’t find the second mark, which dropped us back in the rankings. On this second run, we tried to do things right, with some good manoeuvres and put in a good performance.

It’s been 5 years since we sailed together on this boat, the last time being in the Martinique Cata Raid in 2019, so we had to find our bearings again. We’re starting to get back into the swing of things, and the race is long with lots of legs, so we’re going to try to do as well as we did today.

Nicolas Gillet/Nicolas Poix (Socoveam – Anmizi)
It’s been a great first day and we’re almost surprised to be here! There really is a better level of competition than last year with several boats in the lead. We’ve been consistent. We’re doing really well upwind with the others, and on the reach I think we’re the fastest as we pass the green mark in the lead every time. We’re not really the fastest here. We’ve got a lot to look forward to, but we need to keep things simple, enjoy ourselves and work on our spinnaker tack!

Uli Gollwitzer/ Lian Walz (Zhik Machine)
Liam is a really excellent sailor with a lot of experience on Olympic circuits. He suggested I start on the port side. It was an incredible start! It was hard to believe that we were ahead of the whole fleet. After that, there was less pressure and we had a favourable angle on the line, but I think that those who started on the starboard side had more wind. The conclusion of this day is that Liam really wants to go faster than I feel comfortable at the helm. We’re feeling really good for the rest of the week, and we’ll certainly be doing better and better, so we’re goin g to make up

Programme for the week:

Saturday 20 January: Opening drink

Sunday 21 January: Training day 

Monday 22 January: Constructed course

Tuesday 23 January: Long distance

Wednesday 24 January: Constructed course 

Thursday 25 January: Rest day

Friday 26 January: Long distance

Saturday 27 January: Constructed course and prize-giving ceremony

Rankings and more Photos On the race website here

Videos on the Youtube channel