As the weather continues to howl and pour here in the Northern hemisphere, we might spare a thought for the crews who have braved the mixed bag of conditions in this year's Sydney-Hobart race, including that intrepid team of Frenchmen led by Gery Trenteseaux on 'Courrier du Leon'.
Those WSC members who have met Alexis Loison will recognise his cheerful face as prepares to undertake another big challenge; this time he was (for a change) not alone, the team also including Francois Lamiot and Pierre Ghewy from the Fastnet crew, as well as Jean-Pierre Kelbert, designer of 'Courrier', 'Night and Day' and 'Raging Bee'.
With a string of recent successes including the last two Fastnets, JPK boats are rapidly becoming a legend in European IRC racing – and now Antipodean, it seems, as it seems likely at time of writing that 'Courrier' will be placed second in IRC 4 and third in IRC overall behind two NSW boats, 'Quikpoint Azzurro' and 'Balance'.
Our congratulations to Alexis and team 'Courrier', whom we hope to see in Weymouth for the Transmanche in 2016!
If you want to watch how quickly a JPK can be built, try http://www.jpk.fr/?mode=actualites !
Steve Fraser
Submitted on 30th December 2015