This is another one that fits squarely into the “I bet that you didn’t know that this race was happening” category. I can’t blame you. There is a lot going on in France and they are pulling big fleets of balls-to-wall boats heading offshore for ‘adventure and new stories’ as the race organizer puts it. It’s the L’Aventura 2026.
As the website dubs it, the race is “the new major race of the French Elite Offshore Racing Championship. Double-handed on a Figaro Bénéteau 3.” It’s an offshore race that takes in some of the sights of the Eastern Atlantic.
Let’s start with the boats. The Figaro Bénéteau 3 is the first ever production one-design foiling monohull. It looks like your basic Figaro but has two retractable foils sticking out from each side. These foils are different from the IMOCA foils. For a start they are upside down, or downside up, depending on your perspective. The foils on an IMOCA serve a different purpose.
They are there to fly the boat and do an amazing job of it. The foils on the Figaro Bénéteau 3 do two things.
They act like a centerboard to stop the boat from drifting sideways and they also provide some lift which in turn reduces displacement, both of which add to overall performance. The design was done by the architectural firm of Van Peteghem Lauriot-Prévost (VPLP) who designed the last two boats that won the Vendée Globe. In other words they are a pretty cool little boat designed by one of the world’s best.
The race is a bit funky with the start in Port Bourgenay, a coastal town in the Vendee region of France. I had to look up where it was and for those among us geographically illiterate, it’s north of La Rochelle and due west of Nante.
The first leg crosses the Bay of Biscay, sails down the Portuguese coast and then out into the Atlantic rounding Madeira before heading for Lagos which is on the bottom of Portugal. The five-day stopover will allow time for a few fights as the French and Portuguese dispute who has the best wine. (I vote Portugal.)
After the restart it’s 40 miles to the Cabo de sao Vincente Lighthouse and then straight north to Ile d’Yeu. Yup I guess that you haven’t heard of it either. It’s a small island off the French coast near Port Bourgenay where the race started from 2,383 miles earlier.
I bring this race up because there are 20 boats competing which by any measure is a pretty good fleet. Since they are sailing double-handed that means 40 keen sailors, most of them French, but among them is a sole American, Erica Lush. It’s her birthday today so wish her well. Erica has been working the French racing circuit for a long time honing her skills. She is, according to those who have sailed with her, “a talented and driven sailor.” Solo sailor Tim Kent, who has sailed a lot with her, says that she’s “got IMOCA in her blood.” She is sailing with her French co-skipper Laurent Bory.
This is not her claim to fame but it’s worth noting that her Dad is the famous Tony Lush who showed up for the very first BOC single-handed challenge in 1982 and was rocking the groove until his keel started to wobble and then fell off and the boat sank. Tony was rescued by fellow competitor Francis Stokes.
The boats started this past Sunday and the fleet is navigating moderate headwinds in the Bay of Biscay and it looks like more of it ahead until the trade winds kick in once they round Cape Finnisterre. – Brian Hancock
Title inspiration thanks to Crowded House.
