This superb family trip came as a great reward for this skipper, who is originally from and based in Granville, in Normandy, France. His 2019/2020 charter season in the West Indies didn’t really go as planned... Here’s the story from the beginning: the brand new TS5 was delivered to Lorient at the end of November. Brieuc allowed himself a delivery trip around Brittany on his way home as a kind of christening of his new boat. Then last November, the skipper set off across the Atlantic, heading for Saint Lucia and Martinique. That’s where he took part, along with our reporter Philippe Echelle, in the Sail and Rhum gathering organized by Marsaudon Composites (see MW171). Barely two months after her first Atlantic crossing, the catamaran dismasted on February 13th (it was a Thursday though...) during a training session off Saint Martin. It was the day before the Caribbean Multihull Challenge in which Addictive Sailing was entered. Interminable negotiations to obtain a new rig followed. Things seem to be getting sorted out at Le Marin, in Martinique.
A strange season in the West Indies…
All that was without taking Covid into account! The work is falling behind schedule, but whatever happens, Brieuc can’t currently operate his catamaran due to the lockdown. In June, a new aluminum mast was in place getting the boat ready for the return transat. Looking a bit worn, the mainsail track was torn off, forcing the crew to make a technical stopover in Bermuda. Brieuc relaunched his machine towards the Azores, trying not to push her too hard - a difficult exercise for this speed enthusiast. Having arrived in Granville after four months on the other side of the Atlantic, the skipper carried out a complete check of the rigging in order to ensure his summer season in the Mediterranean. Unstepping the mast, drilling and tapping 300 holes for the mainsail track, re-stepping the mast... Brieuc will soon have a new carbon mast from a Multi 50. Adapted during this summer, the profile will be installed in October. Addictive Sailing will cross the Atlantic again in November with the ARC. It will remain in the West Indies until the end of April. In May, cruises to the Bahamas accompanied by a shark diver are planned. Note: Brieuc now operates a second multihull in the West Indies - a brand new Outremer 5X Racing.
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A dream sail with his family
It was during this stopover at home that Addictive Sailing offered an unusual family sailing experience in the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel. At the beginning of July, in spite of the tidal range being a little too low for what he had planned, the catamaran set sail towards the mythical island under a large asymmetrical spinnaker. The crew measured 10 feet (3 m) with the depth sounder in the channel, but only 5 feet (1.50 m) outside. The TS5’s rudders are fixed and set at 4’3” (1.30 m). There was no question of taking their time after the slow time out at sea. Having reached the foot of the ramparts, the TS5 struck a pose, with the daggerboards raised in front of the RIB and Laurent Travers’s lens. Laurent is also a nautical professional based in Granville and an amateur photographer... he’s so good that we’ve used his images in this article and on the cover of this issue!
Photos : Laurent Travers and Brieuc Maisonneuve
