Generali finishes eighth in Transat Jacques Vabre Imoca class

Generali finishes eighth in Transat Jacques Vabre Imoca class

Isabelle Joschke (Germany) and Pierre Brasseur, on Generali, have finished eighth in the Imoca class of the 13^th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre after crossing the finish line in the Bay of All Saints in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil on Tuesday, November 20, 2017 at 13:08:01 (UTC), 16 days, 00 hours 33 minutes and 01 seconds after leaving Le Havre, Normandy, France.

Generali covered the theoretical course of 4,350 nautical miles at an average speed of 11.33 knots but actually sailed 4,657 nautical miles at an average speed of 12.11 knots. It finished 02 days 16 hours 56 minutes and 15 seconds behind the winner, St Michel-Virbac.

Eighth place for Generali does not reflect the commitment shown by Isabelle Joschke and Pierre Brasseur. In the race within a race between the generations of boats, Generali, a 2007 VPLP-Verdier design finished second to Bastide Otio (fifth overall). 

Joschke and Brasseur made a brilliant start to the race, sparing nothing to keep in touch with the leaders on their older boat, which is formidable in the light airs but lacks the power, particularly compared to the foilers, in the stronger winds. At the crossing of the cold front off the Bay of Biscay, they even held fourth place all day on November 7. That was the beginning of the exciting battle with Bastide Otio. During the race interview that day, Joschke openly admitted her tiredness in keeping a high-speed Imoca going at the front of the race. But it was worth it, Generali made multiple gybes to keep pace, spending nealry a week in sixth place. But their entry into the Doldrums quickly sapped their enthusiasm. Slamming under heavy lines of squalls, they did not hide in text or video, their dismay in seeing several competitors a few miles away . From entering in sixth place, they exited in tenth from the ITCZ. The long coast of Brazil in trade winds allowed them to gain two places back and add some shine back to their Route du Café, their first transat in an Imoca. Joschke and Brasseur may not have got the result they wanted, but in a fleet with five foiling boats they demonstrated, for more than 10 days, that they could sail with the best of them.