Tags
Alinghi, bol d'or, Bol d'Or Mirabaud, D35 Catamaran, Geneva sailing race, lac leman race, Lady Cat
This weekend is the Bol d’Or sailing race to the end of the lake and back. If you haven’t gone down to the lake on race morning to see the start, go this year. It’s a sight to behold with over five hundred boats lined up near Genève Plage before Saturday’s start at 10:00 am.
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- Photos from Bol D’Or Miribaud
If the wind is right, the gun goes off and the spinnakers unfold. The colors are magnificent. If the wind is non-existent, then you watch the boats slowly make their way 72 kilometers toward La Bouveret. The D35 Catamarans are up front, the family boats in the back while the competitive Grand Surprises, Toucans and Esses make up the middle. The beauty of the race is that the winds on lac Leman are unpredictable.
The first race my husband entered was in 2009. It is still on record as the slowest race since the Bol d’Or’s inception in 1939. The boats barely moved against the pull of the Rhone. The winners, who are not used to all-nighters, came in at 5:33 am while only 64 boats crossed the finish line by Sunday evening.
2011, on the other hand, was extremely exciting and nerve-racking with storms rolling through the area pounding rain and wind across the lake day and night. Team Alinghi team won its first D35 catamaran victory at a record speed of 6 hours and 25 minutes. I happened to be at the Société Nautique when they moored their boat. I still chuckle about a woman in her 80s yelling “Ernesto, je t’aime! Je t’aime!”
Photo by Eyemage /The Daily Sail.
2014 winds were high again with a constant bise. Lady Cat cruised to a record crushing finish of 5 hours and 38 minutes. The waves were the big challenge as we watched two catamarans capsize less than 300 meters from the finish line.
Photo © Chris Schmid / Spindrift racing.
The race starts at 10:00 and only the Venti know when it will finish. You can find more information about the program here and follow the race online using the links embedded in their website.
We are a group of international women living in Geneva, Switzerland. If you would like to join the AIWC, please visit our website at http://www.aiwcgeneva.org/
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