29ème édition de la Coupe du Pétrole de Voile

Équipage CGGVeritas – Bouygues Immobilier

Makeshift Marine Crew Races for Cup

Three days of yacht racing under the hot Camargue sun was the program of the 29th Oil Cup*, held in the Mediterranean Sea off Montpellier, France.
CGGVeritas was up against 17 other teams from various oil & gas and oilfield services companies. Our eager seven‐man crew — a ‘mélange’ of data processors, computer scientists and a human resources manager — arrived in Port Camargue two days early to prepare for the tough race ahead.

Two extremely windy(!) days of training severely tested both our boat and our crew, but allowed for some exceptional sailing maneuvers for the enjoyment of us all.

AND THEY’RE OFF! After the first day of racing, despite great difficulties with our spinnaker*, we finished well, competitively positioned for the remainder of the race.

Unfortunately, following an evening ‘sardinade’*, our helmsman had to forfeit the second day of racing! This, combined with an outbreak of Murphy’s Law — a broken spinnaker pole and several navigational missteps (also the case with most of the other teams) — sent us spiraling abysmally downhill in the rankings!

Throughout the three days of racing, both the wind and the sun kept appearing and disappearing, making sailing uneven and very technically challenging.

AT THE FINISH LINE: Despite our excellent start on the final day, we were unable to finish above 13th place overall. Nonetheless, this did nothing to dampen the great spirits of the CGGVeritas team and our optimism to do better next time — just like the name of our yacht: EVOLUTION.
We thank our sponsors (including CGGVeritas) who enabled us to participate in this race and to enjoy such a tremendous spirit of sportsmanship and friendliness. We are already looking forward to the 30th Oil Cup which will take place at Lorient in Brittany, France.

* Glossary:
• The Oil Cup: http://acpvoile.googlepages.com/home
• Spinnaker ‐ a special sail designed specifically for sailing with the wind 90°–180° off the bow.
• Sardinade ‐ an outdoor barbecue party where you grill small, blue sardines.

Muriel Cardinaux & Team Communication Insite.

Classement général 2008

Historique des participations CGG