November 12, 2021 – Pierre Le Roy crossed the finish line of the second leg of the Mini Transat Eurochef 2021 in the lead at 9:02 am (local time, i.e. 14:02 UTC+1) after 13 days 23 hours 2 minutes and 9 seconds at sea. The skipper of TeamWork, also wins the general classification of the Mini Transat in the category of prototypes.
Pierre left Santa Cruz on Friday, October 29, and led this second leg between the Canaries and Guadeloupe. After some hesitations at the start because of a high pressure cutting the route to the Caribbean, Pierre quickly opted for a southern route, looking for wind and pressure. And after a week of gybing, looking for pressure to the south while shifting to the west to stay in contact with the fleet, Pierre finally hit the usual trade winds and finally took the lead of the fleet. Displaying good speeds, Pierre went on and did not let go of the lead until he arrived in Guadeloupe this morning.
The French skipper, who was 1 hour 9 minutes and 19 seconds behind Tanguy Bouroullec (winner of the first leg between Les Sables d’Olonne and Santa Cruz de la Palma), put enough distance between himself and his competitors to take the overall victory and enter the big league.
History will also remember that Pierre’s TeamWork prototype was a scow boat designed by David Raison, himself a Mini Transat winner in 2011 under the colors of… TeamWork. David had also won the race with a scow he had designed. At the time, this revolutionary boat had left the connoisseurs septic and had made a lot of noise in the world of ocean racing.
2011 – 2021: 10 years later, TeamWork wins again in the Mini Transat. The story is beautiful
« I am very happy. Until the end, I was afraid of a comeback. I didn’t know that I was first with so much distance. Now I’m free! I gave it my all during this second stage without ever letting go. I wanted to win and I did! It really came down to the weather strategy and not just the speed of our boats. I had a plan before the start and it worked. I trusted myself and I made the right choices. I wanted to win the Mini with panache. I think I checked that box. I hurt myself physically and mentally, especially with the numerous sargasso that caused me problems. I have a big thought for my father who left us when I received the hull of my prototype. I think a lot about him. David Raison, the architect of my boat, has made an incredible boat. From 15 knots, it was always gliding. I really love ocean racing. In the future, I want to sail on bigger boats, do the Transat Jacques Vabre and the Route du Rhum and offer my services in weather routing. Thanks to my supporters and partners, TeamWork, who won a second Transat this year, Arthur Loyd, Oslo and Custo Pol. »
