(Lake Geneva, Switzerland)- The Bol d’Or Mirabaud, organized by the
Cercle de la Voile- Société Nautique de Genève, is the most prestigious
inland lake regatta in the world. Started in 1939, it welcomes monohulls
and multihulls each year on Lake Geneva, starting in Geneva,
Switzerland. 567 boats (about 2,500+ sailors) were racing this year;
over 17 nations were represented amongst the entries. The 79th Edition
of the 123 kilometer (66.5 nautical mile) race track from Geneva to Le
Bouveret and back- essentially an east to west and back course attracts
some of Europe’s and the world’s top sailing talent.Nicolas Mirabaud, executive committee member of Mirabaud & Cie SA, title sponsor of the event, was delighted about the ever-widening breadth of this regatta. “We’ve supported the Bol d’Or Mirabaud since 2005. Year after year, we contribute alongside the organizing committee to its evolution and we’re very satisfied over its growing success with the public, in particular beyond the borders of the Swiss lakes region!”
The
forecast could not have been better for the thousands of sailors. Some
years, it can be a complete drifter. No question, this year had the
ability to set records. The forecast was for a sustained "bise" wind of
15-20 knots from the northeast and radiant sunshine. That meant a long
beat to the first turning mark at the east end of the lake, then a “turn
& burn”, pop the kite and blow home! At least, that was the plan
imagined by just about everyone in the fleet.Almost all competitors of this exceptional Bol d’Or Mirabaud edition completed the race sooner than expected, giving them the choice of their bed, or the Societe Nautique Geneve terrace for an “after-race refreshment” where they could be exchanging war stories from the regatta with other crews.
In
the end, the little boats killed the “big boats”- all those things with
racks, trapezes, foils and what not. Who was the giant killer!? A
J/70 one-design speedster, no less!! In the “small” TCF4 class, the
winner boat-for-boat and on handicap was the J/70 CDE.CH, helmed by Marc
Stern. Incredibly, they were 105th in the overall real-time ranking of
567 boats! They clearly relished the long upwind beat and the
planing-mode conditions back home! Plus, taking 2nd in their class was
yet another J/70, Frederick Hedlund’s AGERA 3! Here was the clincher, when the dust settled and all fleet results were in, the Overall Handicap winner in the ACVL handicap ranking for the 500+ keelboats that sailed the race (excluding multihulls) was Stern’s J/70 CDE.CH!! And, third was stablemate Hedlund’s J/70 AGERA 3! The ACVL ranking is based on handicapped time; each boat is assigned a coefficient based on its characteristics, which is multiplied by the actual race time. Apparently, never in the history of the Bol d’Or Mirabaud has a one-design won and taken two of the top three positions overall, not even the 100+ Surprises that have been sailing on the lakes for years! For more Bol D’Or Mirabaud Race sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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