Bertrand Le Gallic and Bertrand Bonneville, co-owners of a Diam24 od since last year, approach their first sailing season with large smiles. Formula 18 sailors to date, they were seeking another boat on which to sail with a crew. « The more we discover the Diam24, the more pleasantly surprised we are » Their objective : performance on an amateur level for the pleasure of competition on a fun support.

From their Formula 18 experience, they have kept the desire to participate in long distance races «  the format and the conviviality of this kind of competition are what we are looking for and we will continue to participate in these events on Diam24 » and the two Bertrands are also competitors.

Their first race, the Spi Ouest France, was « a real treat » even if the race finally only lasted one day. The professionnal atmosphere of the Grand Prix de L’Atlantique was not so much to their taste, but the Orpi team know how to keep up their high spirits, appreciate the good side of things and look to the future.

A pro-amateur ranking
Their objective is to gradually grow in power, participating in all the major events of the racing circuit, in order to participate in Tour de France à la Voile in one or two season’s time. « We have performance objectives, but it’s the amateur ranking that we aim. It’s great that professional sailors participate in the racing circuit, it highers the standards, but there should be a double ranking, pro and amateur, for all the events, which would be more rewarding for all »

Communication objective
Co-owners of their trimaran, they also wish to finance their racing seasons through sponsorship. « A large support-prop along with a well mediatized racing circuit enables us to put dedicated communication in place. For the time being, help has been local, but the idea is to develop on a national scale and exploit the support in public relations, etc. »
A particularly well thought out program, to be able to fully appreciate the boat …..

There’s not a lot to say
« The Diam24 suits us perfectly for several reason. To begin with, the boat is sound. We have sailed in 20 to 25 knots under spinnaker in Pornichet, and it was a pleasure. It reacts well, which is reassuring. The fleet is very varied, which is also interesting. The boat is simple to build up and dismount …. There’s not a lot more to say. »

© Photo credit: Bruno Bouvry