13.12.2006
BERNARD STAMM TALKS ABOUT LIFE ON LAND AS SIR ROBIN AND DALTON CLOSE WITHIN 3,000 Nm
Bernard Stamm (SUI) is not resting on his laurels after an historic victory in the first leg of the VELUX 5 OCEANS. The Defending Champion commented, "It is a nice buffer to have, but it is also a trap in some ways. Despite my two index adversaries retiring (Golding and Thomson), it is still a race and Kojiro Shiraishi is a serious competitor who is sailing well, even if I have three days over him."
"We could stay here three months, they would be filled without problem," - BERNARD STAMM
The skipper of Cheminées Poujoulat continued, "The fact that the race has lost some of the interest doesn't lift any pressure. I must reindex in race mode, motivated and concentrated. When I found out that ECOVER had dismasted after rescuing Thomson, that's when I started to make mistakes. It was probably down to a combination of things, tiredness of course, but I am sure that the feeling of no longer being chased led me to loose concentration. The upcoming leg (Fremantle to Norfolk, 14,200 miles) is longer still, I will use it to build up race experience."
The Cheminées Poujoulat team is in Fremantle and despite the length of the stopover, the work doesn't stop. "We could stay here three months, they would be filled without problem," explains the perfectionist Bernard Stamm. Philippe Péché has joined the team and is looking after the rigging, ropes and sails in particular. "There are some sails we can repair on site and others, such as ORC or the big spinnaker that we need to replace."
With a week's rest under his belt, Stamm surmised "I am tired and obviously I have a number of deficiencies. I will need to build myself up. We have also developed to get my body back into shape. As I lost quite a lot of weight, I also lost a lot of muscle tissue. I am going swimming, rowing, weight lifting? in the morning and afternoons I am either on the boat or in front of a computer doing administrative work. All in all, my days are well filled and I no longer have time to do more touristy stuff with the family. It is very sunny and hot here, but it is quite quiet, seeing as we are only two competitors on land. I feel a bit like I'm in a boat yard in Caen. When everything is sorted with Cheminées Poujoulat, I will enjoy the weather and if I have time, I would love to see some of the countryside with Catherine and the girls."
Meanwhile out at sea, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (GBR) and Graham Dalton (NZL) are now both within 3,000 miles of the finish. Both are experiencing problems on board but have lost speed trying to ride over the top of a high pressure system. Whilst Dalton is expected to stop into the Kerguelen Islands, Sir Robin is still reviewing his options. Further to the north, Unai Basurko (ESP) has picked up some stronger breeze and hopes to arrive in Fremantle before the new year.
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