11/11/2011 #26

7 th

D+10

.Sun, Sea anD …

the traDe WinDS

.it iS all about poWer

.JuniorS to the fore

poSition_ 31 26.57’ N 45 09.19’ W

SpeeD_ 14.2 nds

breaKfaSt_ chocolate muesli

Meal 1_ omelette

DeSSert_ crème caramel

Meal 2_ pasta bolognaise

DailY loG

“We haven’t had a chance yet to think about

ourselves, it is 20 degrees at the moment, the

weather is beautiful and we are still sitting here

in our fleece jackets,” said Dominique. “We have

worked so hard over the last few days that we ha-

ven’t got round to thinking about our wardrobe,

but it won’t be long before we are forced to pull

out our shorts and t-shirts.”

Dominique sounded happy when we spoke to

him on the satellite phone. The sunshine had

something to do with it for sure, but the main

reason was the way they successful negotiated

the high-pressure that parked up a big part of

the fleet for 48 hours. Dom and Michele caught

up very quickly and were lying in sixth place for

a short time ahead of three of the favourites:

Groupe Bel, Safran and Macif.

The fleet has at last reached the northeast Trade

Winds that should carry them all the way to the

Caribbean Sea.

“We are still a long way off the Caribbean islands,

so it is a bit early to say which way we will be

going,” said Dominique. “Particularly as the Trade

Winds are not yet established and there could

very well be a few more surprises in store for us.

Having said that however, we are edging closer

and I can happily say that the North Atlantic low-

pressures are firmly behind us.”

Virbac Paprec, sailed by Jean-Pierre Dick, who also

won the Barcelona World Race, is currently lea-

ding, followed by Hugo Boss and Alex Thomson.

2 www.dominiquewavre.com

Sun, Sea anD … the traDe WinDS

facebook.com/dominiquewavre

youtube.com/DominiqueWavre

While the IMOCAs are clearly wind propelled,

they are also very power hungry. In addition to

the electrics, the auto-pilot, the cabin and navi-

gation lights, Mirabaud needs power to produce

freshwater for the crew, to cant the keel, to run

the ballast pumps and to send photos and videos

to the race organisers. To power all these dif-

ferent elements, a boat would have to carry gal-

lons of fuel to run a generator. Fuel is heavy and

would affect a boat’s performance.

The Mirabaud duo have gone for an alternative

solution and use solar panels and hydro gene-

rators, which are small propellers that they tow

behind the boat to recharge the batteries. “The

propellers slow us down a little bit, but it is negli-

gible compared to the impact on our performance

that 100 litres of fuel would have,” said Domi-

nique.

PLAY VIDEO

www.dominiquewavre.com 3

it iS all about poWer

Mirabaud & Cie, banquiers privésLaurent Koutaïssoff29, boulevard Georges-Favon1204 GenèveT: +41 58 816 23 90M: +41 79 786 78 93

MaxComm CommunicationBernard SchopferT: +41 22 735 55 30M: +41 79 332 11 76bernard.schopfer@maxcomm.ch

Crédits photosThierry Martinez/MirabaudWavre/Paret

The Société Nautique de Genève Junior Sailing

Team got together on Wednesday evening at the

clubhouse to call Mirabaud and ask Dominique

some questions.

Thirty youth sailors ranging in age from seven to

sixteen attended, plus some parents who couldn’t

stay away!

“What do you eat? How will you get back from

Costa Rica, who will sail the boat back? Do you

get scared? Do you get sea sick?” The Juniors,

who sail Lasers and Optimists all over Europe and

occasionally further afield, jumped at the chance

to bombard Dominique with questions for a good

twenty minutes and the offshore veteran enjoyed

every minute. He loves sharing his passion for sai-

ling, racing and the high seas with young people,

particularly ones that pay so much attention to

the sport.

“I started sailing on a dinghy just like you,” he

reminded the youth sailors. “And if you are com-

fortable helming a dinghy, you will be able to

steer any boat.” Juniors take note!

11/11/2011 - 14:00 GMT

1. VIRBAC PAPREC 3 0.00

2. HuGO BOSS +46.90

3. MACIF +283.40

...

6. BANquE POPuLAIRE +310.90

7. Mirabaud +341.30

www.dominiquewavre.com

JuniorS to the fore

iMoCa ranKinG