Alain Stettler and Philippe Seguret

Overall winner of the Translémanique en Solitaire, Alain Stettler considers the simplicity and ease of handling of his Melges 24 to be his greatest asset.

The 53rd edition of the Translémanique en Solitaire lived up to all expectations, delivering a high-quality race that was intense, fiercely contested until the very last second, and full of twists and turns.

After a start in very light conditions, the westerly wind gradually picked up, reaching 25 knots and allowing the fleet to make rapid progress towards Le Bouveret. On the return leg, a light south-westerly wind prevailed before being replaced during the evening by nocturnal thermal breezes.

Already victorious last year, Thunersee Yacht Club member Alain Stettler once again demonstrated his excellent understanding of Lake Geneva, securing a convincing victory at the helm of his Melges 24. Thirteenth at the halfway point, he ultimately finished 14th in the overall elapsed-time ranking, 1 hour and 22 minutes behind Philippe Seguret, the winner on elapsed time. After 16 hours and 38 minutes of racing, this narrow margin was enough to earn him the Challenge Tuiga, awarded to the winner on corrected time and created to celebrate the best performances regardless of the size or price of the boats.

“I am very happy with this second victory,” said the winner. “For me, racing on Lake Geneva is a real adventure. You have to transport the boat by road and then discover the lake… I had always dreamed of competing in the Translémanique en Solitaire; it was on my bucket list. We have nothing like it on Lake Thun.”

Alain Stettler attributes his victory to the simplicity of his boat. “It is an easy boat to sail: I only have a jib and a spinnaker, so there is never any hesitation when it comes to the equipment. Around me, I saw competitors changing sails, switching from symmetrical to asymmetrical spinnakers, and they were often struggling when the wind became strong.”

Although Alain Stettler is still relatively new to Lake Geneva, he is a highly experienced sailor, with two pre-Olympic campaigns in the 470, international Melges 24 events, match racing and Swiss Sailing League competitions. “I am pleased to have won on corrected time,” he concluded. “But what I really prefer is elapsed time. For that, I would need someone to lend me a Psaros 33…”

The Psaros 33s, meanwhile, dominated the race, taking the first six places in the elapsed-time classification. The winner, Philippe Seguret, skipper of Pro Yachting Nivose, crossed the finish line at 12:46:15 a.m. He finished 3 minutes and 43 seconds ahead of Luc Munier on Carpediem Cube, with Nicolas Baudu on Eole 7 a further 9 minutes and 34 seconds behind.

“I am very happy; it was a superb race,” he said. “The run towards Le Bouveret was really intense. I buried the bow several times and took on quite a lot of water… On the way back, I kept an eye on my closest rival, Eole 7. But towards the end of the race, I was genuinely frightened when Luc Munier suddenly appeared right alongside the shore. He nearly overtook me, but I just managed to cross the finish line ahead of him.”

Finishing second for the second consecutive year, Luc Munier was delighted with the tactical move that allowed him to take second place from Nicolas Baudu, just in front of his house in La Belotte. “It’s true that I know the area well,” he confirmed. But the most exhilarating part of the race was undoubtedly the run towards Le Bouveret. “It was spectacular, and really ‘hot’. At one point, the wind reached 25 knots and I decided to drop the spinnaker; I realised I was no longer twenty years old… The passage around Le Bouveret then proved, as usual, to be completely unpredictable.”

And that was precisely where the race was decided. Alexandre de Weck, skipper of Katana, was then comfortably in the lead, but became stuck for a long time in a windless patch just a few cables from the mark, watching his rivals sail past one after another. When he finally found some wind and rounded the mark, his competitors had disappeared into the distance.

Fierce one-on-one battles unfolded throughout the fleet and across every category. The most popular class, and probably also the most hotly contested, the Surprises, was won by Marius Lanz ahead of Arnaud Machado and Renaud Stitelmann.

Olivier de Cocatrix, sailing Magicopapacarlo, won the TCF2 class, while Christian Monachon, aboard his 6.5 SI Ondine, took victory in TCF4. Finally, Charlotte Frei, sailing her 6.5 SI Gwinn Gwenn, won the Challenge Ella Maillart, awarded to the fastest woman on corrected time.

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