{"id":8847,"date":"2025-07-30T16:49:43","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T15:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.guillaumeverdier.com\/?p=8847"},"modified":"2025-08-25T16:49:57","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T15:49:57","slug":"bonafous-scores-her-first-imoca-class-win-in-the-rolex-fastnet-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.guillaumeverdier.com\/en\/bonafous-scores-her-first-imoca-class-win-in-the-rolex-fastnet-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Bonafous scores her first IMOCA Class win in the Rolex Fastnet Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

he French sailor Elodie Bonafous\u2019 spectacular start to her career in the IMOCA Class continued today as she followed up second place in the Course des Caps earlier this month with her first victory in the Class in the Rolex Fastnet Race.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Racing with French veteran\u00a0Yann Eli\u00e8s, alongside Basile Bourgnon and Gaston Morvan of France, Bonafous, 29, reached the finish line off Cherbourg in the early hours of the morning just eight minutes ahead of second-placed J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Beyou and his team on Charal.<\/p>\n

Bonafous\u2019 crew on board Association Petits Princes-Qu\u00e9guiner had taken two days, 14 hours and 7 minutes to complete the highly technical 695-nautical mile classic course from Cowes on the English south coast to Cherbourg, via the Fastnet Rock off the southwest tip of Ireland.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s course was mainly upwind to the Rock and then downwind on the way back, as the six IMOCAs that completed the race sparkled close to the front of a Fastnet fleet of nearly 450 boats.<\/p>\n

For Bonafous this result confirms her status as a major player in the IMOCA Class on board her new Guillaume Verdier-designed foiler in the run-up to the next Vend\u00e9e Globe in 2028, and now places her at the top of the IMOCA Globe Series Championship for 2025.<\/p>\n

Eli\u00e8s described Bonafous\u2019 debut in the Class as an\u00a0\u201cexceptional\u201d\u00a0<\/em>start to her first season.\u00a0\u201cThere are several reasons for that,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>he explained from on board the boat this morning as it made its way back to Concarneau in Brittany.\u00a0\u201cFirst we have a great boat, which is super-versatile. Second, we have a great skipper who learns really fast and we also have a great team that delivered us a boat that worked well.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNow we just have to keep a cool head,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>he continued,\u00a0\u201cbecause it\u2019s only the early-season races and not all the teams in the circuit are here. Overall, on this Fastnet Race I think the weather conditions favoured the boat a bit, since it\u2019s quite versatile.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Eli\u00e8s said moderate winds made for a kinder start to the race than two years ago and getting round the Fastnet Rock in the lead was key as the wind softened for the boats behind. He said the battle with Charal was a real classic with Beyou and his crew finding extra speed at times with differing sail set-ups. But in the closing stages he reckons Bonafous\u2019 team made slightly better choices, in terms of placement in the tide, to close out the win, with their boat also going slightly quicker in light winds.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s say they deserved the win just as much as we did,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>he said of Beyou\u2019s crew.\u00a0\u201cWhat made the difference was the forecast and final stretch conditions, which were light winds, played more to our advantage \u2013 that\u2019s the boat\u2019s strength.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

And Eli\u00e8s, who has sailed with many different skippers down the years, gave a vivid insight into the personality of Bonafous as a skipper and sailor on the water. He said she sulks when the boat gets overtaken, but says that is a good thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s normal that it hurts when you lose, it means she cares,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>he explained.\u00a0\u201cAnd at the same time, her management style is kind and smart because she knows how to put the right people in the right roles, especially in a crew setting and she trusts them and lets them take the initiative. I think she’s really up to the role of skipper,\u201d\u00a0he added,\u00a0\u201cshe\u2019s still the boss, but it’s all done with intelligence and mutual respect.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Source\u00a0@IMOCA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

he French sailor Elodie Bonafous\u2019 spectacular start to her career in the IMOCA Class continued today as she followed up second place in the Course des Caps earlier this month with her first victory in the Class in the Rolex Fastnet Race. Racing with French veteran\u00a0Yann Eli\u00e8s, alongside Basile Bourgnon and Gaston Morvan of France, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179,178],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-en_news","category-en_newscast"],"yoast_head":"\nBonafous scores her first IMOCA Class win in the Rolex Fastnet Race - Guillaume Verdier<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.guillaumeverdier.com\/en\/bonafous-scores-her-first-imoca-class-win-in-the-rolex-fastnet-race\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bonafous scores her first IMOCA Class win in the Rolex Fastnet Race - Guillaume Verdier\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"he French sailor Elodie Bonafous\u2019 spectacular start to her career in the IMOCA Class continued today as she followed up second place in the Course des Caps earlier this month with her first victory in the Class in the Rolex Fastnet Race. 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