FR
EN
Eleventh on the 2021 race into Martinique on an older ‘pointy bowed’ Class 40, Richardson and Thomoson are this time surely the dark horse duo in the 44 strong Class 40 on the 16th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre which starts Sunday.
Since meeting up on the crew of the MOD70 Argo, Richardson, 44, and Thompson, 61, have become a quite formidable partnership. Thompson, the gentle giant of British ocean racing, has long since lost count of the number of Transatlantic passages he has done – and indeed his count up of Transat Jacques Vabre races – whilst the former Olympic 49er class racer turned America’s Cup multihull sailor Richardson has racked up tens of thousands of offshore miles on the big fast MOD70s, but by comparison is relatively new to the demands of Class 40.
That said, since taking delivery of the former Banque de Léman in Guadeloupe after the Route du Rhum, already they have contested the Caribbean 600 (sixth), the Defi Atlantique from Guadeloupe to Horta to la Rochelle (sixth, third on second leg), the CIC Normandie Channel Race (10th) and the Fastnet Race (DNF) which have all been fitted in alongside racing and delivering the MOD70.
Thompson’s best finish on the Route du Rhum so far has been third with Mike Golding in the IMOCA class on Ecover in 2003, finishing sixth in 2005 with Will Oxley on Skandia. He raced with Dee Caffari in 2009 finishing eighth into Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. And this will be his third time racing Class 40.
“We have potential, yes I would say we have potential but so far don’t seem to have troubled the French predictions like Tip & Shaft (French grand prix sailing newsletter) which is just fine by us. That is a nice thing.” Chuckles Thompson, “ The other teams are so much more full time than us, and we are one of the first scow bows. But Credit Mutuel is one of the first scow bows too and does well. But I think this race should suit us. In saying that though the standard goes up and up, both in terms of teams and boats. But, hey, there are a few of us older guys in the fleet. Vincent Riou (2005 vendée winner with Aurélien Ducroz that shows he just loves sailing. Then there is Kito de Pavant as well, it is a great field.”
With the course, again, heading to the Caribbean rather than across the Equator to Brazil, he expands, “The race is very different now for the Class40s in particular because it is much less reaching, this is now a much more downwind race. We turn right at the Cape Verdes and it is guaranteed VMG downwind from there, normally you are south of any low pressures and you are not going anything but downwind. And our boat is good for moderate airs downwind as it has very little rocker, it is very flat. Many of the other boats are more all round with more rocker, so if we have any advantage it is in that. Heavy air downwind we are a bit more nose divey.”
Cracking the top ten from fleet with such strength in depth would be a good result for them, “Potentially, top ten would be good. Llast time we were in an older boat with a pointy bow we were 11th, so top ten would be our goal, but if you are in the mix in the top 10 then there is always the chance to do better. I don’t think we will be the quickest in the southern part of the course. In the first half it is about staying up with the top group and not damaging the boat and then the performance of the boat and the fact Al is a great driver and I can drive well too and we tend to do a lot of driving will help with the downwind stuff.”
And with ten new boats built since 2022 and more and more top ex Figaro French racers in the fleet as well as the strong Italians, they positively relish the increased level of competition.
“ It is good there are no changes planned for the class in the near future. And all the new guys, the ex Figaro racers coming in is fantastic. I think for them it is a better way for them to move towards a Vendée Globe campaign.” Highlights Thompson who already finished fifth in the 2008 Vendée Globe, laughing, “ I am not headed in that direction, I’m going the other way! Alister would like to do some IMOCA racing – maybe The Ocean Race – would be great. I am just so glad to be here racing against all these great people.”
Richardson, who most recently was with the Italian Luna Rossa America’s Cup team, enthuses, “Brian is an offshore legend, he has such a wealth of experience and is a good navigator. We are in a faster boat this time and did incredibly well last time on an older boat. The dream is to be in the top five. I think most of the top boats now are pretty sorted, only the very new ones might have problems. It’s a big ask to be in the top five.”
The boat is and backed by Tquila, a London based global intelligent automation consultancy, and they run to a modest budget compared to the top French teams, Richardson explains “Most teams are on about €400-450,0000 a year to run the boat for four or five events. Brian and I look after the boat ourselves, we do all the boat work to minimise the budget, because we have to make the budget work. But we know everything about the boat.”
