The two skippers won the most demanding regatta on Lake Geneva, on corrected time and real time respectively, at the end of an eventful race, contested in sometimes Dantean conditions.
Geneva, August 25, 2024 – The 51st edition of the Translémanique en Solitaire kept all its promises. Bringing together no fewer than 125 competitors, it took place in extremely varied conditions that represented a major challenge for all competitors, with light thermal breezes during the first half of the race, followed by sustained conditions, thunderstorms and rain on the return leg.
The Translémanique crowns the best sailors on Lake Geneva. It is raced in real time, but also on corrected time, according to a formula designed to allow different sailboats to race on equal terms, regardless of their characteristics or cost. Bruno Engel was the overall winner in this category, at the helm of a classic 5.5 m JI built in 1966. Engel crossed the finish line after 23 hours 13 minutes of sailing, 21st in the real time rankings – a formidable performance.
“I’m extremely happy with this victory,” he said at the end of the race. “Two months ago, during the Bol d’Or, we almost sank due to keel damage. The boat was repaired and put back in the water last Tuesday. Given the forecast conditions, I was a little worried, but as I was well placed at the halfway point, I decided to carry on. The gale in the middle of the night was brutal and I took on a lot of water. Early in the morning, I stopped off Excenevex to pump water. Then I set off again, as the sun came up and I saw that I was still on course. I’m really glad I hung in there.
Bruno Engel is ahead of two “legends” of the Translémanique: Renaud Stitelman (61) and René Mermoud (76), who count no more their participations (and victories), both in the Surprise class. Already winner of the 5 Jours du Léman this summer, Stitelman benefited from his perfect knowledge of the lake; he sailed without instruments, and without lighting his sails, “by feel”.
The real-time ranking, which crowns the fastest and most spectacular monohulls on Lake Geneva, was dominated by the Psaros 33s, which occupy the top seven places overall. Already in the lead at the halfway mark, Philippe Seguret (PRO YACHTING NIVOSE 1933) crossed the finish line at 3h49’28”, after 18 h19′ of sailing. He was nearly an hour ahead of Guillaume Girod (Raijin), then Nicolas Groux (MSC).
Among the most spectacular events of the race was the capsize of Serge Vittet’s Vite, which waited on its capsized hull before receiving assistance from one of its competitors, Alain Widman. 41 participants withdrew from the race.
After Christian Monachon’s victory last year aboard a 6.5m SI built in 1932, it was once again a classic yacht, built in mahogany in 1966, that won this year’s Translémanique en Solitaire. The regatta also saw the emergence of inter-generational skippers, with Miguel Vieira Batista, 19, and René Mermoud, 76, coming in fifth and third respectively.
Classic yachts and carbon-fiber prototypes, young wolves with long teeth and old hands with the “science of Lake Geneva”: the Translem is the queen of Lake Geneva regattas.
Photo ©Danielle Engel