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2009/04/24-17h00
The "Lanterna*" in their sights...
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| Groupama 3 on the "Subsidiaries Route" |
| The green trimaran belonging to the insurer-banker Groupama is now just 30 miles from its objective: the superb Genoa. The
crew of Groupama 3 is expected into this mysteriously charming city devoted to the sea this Friday afternoon.
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Due to the conditions encountered during the delivery trip between the two Italian cities of Venice and Genoa, the `breaking-in'
of the ten men aboard, led by Frédéric Le Peutrec, has been guaranteed! The past 24 hours have been a fine example of this.
Yann Riou testified to this when contacted by telephone this lunchtime:
"We've really had a
bit of everything over the past 24 hours! A whole score of manoeuvres, calm conditions and motoring, was rounded off with
a storm accompanied by hailstones as big as pigeon eggs and lightning. The violence of it and the hellish noise it made were
really impressive! This morning was fantastic with a fabulous sunrise between the island of Elba and Italy. This was followed
by two hours sailing downwind under gennaker with a fine thirty knot average speed! That enabled us to cover a fair bit of
ground all of a sudden and we're now just 30 miles from Genoa... motoring! The atmosphere aboard is good; everyone seems happy
with the wide range of conditions we encountered, which gave us a thorough work out throughout the delivery!"
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Stopover in Genoa until Tuesday 29th April
After the maritime subsidiaries of Groupama Turkey (Istanbul) and Groupama Greece (Athens), it's now the turn the Italian
subsidiaries to play host to the 105 foot trimaran and its crew: Venice last weekend, Genoa over the next few days. In the
homeland of Christopher Columbus and the famous violinist Paganini, the employees and clients of the insurer-banker will have
the chance to discover the full potential of the maxi trimaran Groupama 3 during a series of outings out on the water.
*The Lanterna is the symbol of Genoa. Standing 117 metres tall, overlooking the Ligurian sea, it is the oldest
lighthouse (almost a thousand years of history) of those which are still in operation.
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