Tour Voile Recap
Two weeks, five host ports, twenty eight race starts and 90 sailors filtered throughout the event. The Tour Voile delivered with some outstanding racing along the beautiful french coast and some great opportunities for youth international sailors to experience the intense racing of class Figaro.
Sailing success is normally measured in race results, however for our team DigiLab-RORC during The Tour Voile. It was measured in different ways. We had successfully introduced nine youth international sailors to the elite French racing circuit in the Figaro class and given these sailors the opportunity to grow their skills in all areas of the boat. Creator of the project Joss Cresswell invited me along for the journey serving as a second skipper and coach/mentor for these individuals.
Throughout the tour voile we had nine sailors come and go with mixed sailing backgrounds. Some with racing experience, some with less but all eager to learn and improve their racing skills and what better environment than an event with 30 planned races. Myself and Joss were tasked with creating a fun, professional team culture and sharing our knowledge from our racing history, serving as mentors for these young sailors, allowing them to learn in a non pressurised environment.
From the start of the Tour Voile in Cherbourg to the finish in Larmor Plage two weeks later. we briefed, raced, debriefed, cooked, cleaned and had fun as a team. Joss and I guiding these sailors through boatwork, race prep and race strategy as well as diving into a world of weather and navigation. Typically as a youth in standard keelboat racing, it can be hard to experience different positions on board and learn. Normally a young sailor would have to start on a boat doing the fairly non complicated jobs at the front of the boat and after time on board slowly move towards the back where the controlling of the boat happens. Throughout this Tour Voile sailors got the opportunity to drive, trim, navigate and do bow work. one sailor said ‘The last time I drove a boat was in Optimist’. Just this alone meant our project was a success.
Finishing the Tour Voile two weeks after it started there was a clear proof of concept. Results had improved massively and sailors walked away from the event with buckets full of experience and knowledge. An addition to this, the whole team left with solid memories, new friends and an urge to come back. This project potentially spawning the next influx of international sailors the Figaro class.
A fun two weeks full of racing, laughs and good times, the Tour Voile lives up to the hype. My project continues to land a NZ team on this circuit and continue creating opportunities for internationals in this class.
Words from project leader and skipper Joss Cresswell