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Mikaël Créac’h<br />
Rival<br />
It is difficult, in just a few lines, to summarise these incredible<br />
years of regattas with the <strong>Mariquita</strong> and her crew. It goes well<br />
beyond anything I had experienced before – beyond a simple<br />
duel on the water. More a combat that took place on land,<br />
in order to convey the spirit of a bygone era: those maritime<br />
codes of ethics, traditions embodied by classic boats such as<br />
<strong>Mariquita</strong> and Moonbeam IV. Each of us had an equal desire<br />
to outgun the other, to pass on the tradition, to demand the<br />
best of the crew, so that they could, in turn, also uphold those<br />
codes.<br />
I have been sailing since my earliest childhood when I started<br />
learning the ropes on my father’s fishing boat in Brittany.<br />
Obviously, I had no idea of what was going to happen to me<br />
so many years in the future – of what I was going to feel. For<br />
me, the <strong>Mariquita</strong> is not only the opponent to beat, I have<br />
learned more than I could ever have wished by sailing in such<br />
company – vastly beyond the well-known Franco-British<br />
maritime rivalry.<br />
First of all, the <strong>Mariquita</strong> became an example for me under<br />
the command of Jim Thom. I refined my outlook on the<br />
classic races, became more demanding – more aware of the job<br />
that had been entrusted to me. Observing, analysing … long<br />
periods sitting on the bridge of the Moonbeam IV in the port,<br />
watching ‘my neighbour’: the details of the <strong>Mariquita</strong>, its crew<br />
at work, their reactions, their relationships. All these details,<br />
details which sometimes altered my way of doing things. I owe<br />
a lot to Jim. Without knowing it, he made me look at my<br />
own way of running these boats. In particular, I learned how to<br />
take the best from how others work, without altering one’s own<br />
intrinsic style, but taking from others in order to progress and<br />
try to excel. This mix has been beneficial to me and I believe<br />
that now, starting on my 10th year on the Moonbeam IV, I<br />
have found a good balance as captain, to lead a crew on this<br />
type of yacht in the best possible way.<br />
And then the crew changed on the <strong>Mariquita</strong>. It is never easy<br />
to take over the command when you are following a sailor who<br />
has made history. The torch has been passed on to George, and<br />
John and his friends have become the happy owners. This is a<br />
challenge for both parties. As for me, I am analysing it all! And<br />
I am telling myself that we have an advantage at the present<br />
time. It’s the second season for George as boss, even though he<br />
knows the boat well, taking over the captaincy of it is not the<br />
same story and new owners who are surely going to take some<br />
time to understand the boat.<br />
History has proved me wrong … Right from the first season,<br />
this new pairing has led me a merry dance! Obviously to my<br />
great joy … First of all, we have got closer together – something<br />
I had not managed to do with Jim. So, I was able to meet<br />
the new crew, the men against whom we were going to race.<br />
Friendship very quickly prevailed and this new alliance has<br />
once again given me the chance to learn and progress. Don’t<br />
we get to know our rival better by having a few beers with him?<br />
I discovered a new <strong>Mariquita</strong> … a different competitor. While<br />
retaining the ethos of which I spoke earlier, now carried on by<br />
George, the <strong>Mariquita</strong> had changed! I had met the opponent<br />
who most resembled me: John … courteous and polite. John<br />
… a hard taskmaster, a person who does not let anything pass!<br />
An astonishing cocktail which makes for the perfect competitor<br />
on the water.<br />
These past three years’ sailing with the <strong>Mariquita</strong> have been<br />
incredible, magic … hard, sometimes taking me to the utmost<br />
limits. No gifts, no excuses … no mistakes. Once again, I<br />
have made progress; it turned out that John was an excellent<br />
helmsman, a helmsman who doesn’t break under pressure,<br />
who fully commits. So, again, I took my lesson ‘from the other<br />
man’. No, no excuses! It’s the best man who wins the day.<br />
And these victories have been shared. The <strong>Mariquita</strong> and<br />
Moonbeam IV are the very epitome of all a yachtsman dreams<br />
of – to lose or win for the sake of a few seconds, in close touch<br />
… always. Without this rapport, there is no regatta! A good<br />
example is that of the Panerai in Mahón. Three days of sailing<br />
various laps, whilst being less than 100 metres from each other<br />
for hours and hours. For me, these images represent a dream<br />
come true … actually reliving a King’s Cup! My only wish now<br />
would be to encounter the <strong>Mariquita</strong> in Mediterranean waters<br />
again … Not just to have a few beers with George, John and<br />
the crew – and to talk about the past! No, not just that. My<br />
dream is of tightly tacking combats … of long tacks under a<br />
billowing sail … of priorities ripped away. Some words stronger<br />
than others, when it gets to the utmost limit.<br />
The voice of John yelling out at the first initial sighting of the<br />
preliminary start of the regatta:<br />
‘BONJOUR ... MES AMIS FRANÇAIS!’<br />
So, if the cold waters of the north which I know so well are<br />
starting to get to you, I will give you a date here and now for a<br />
second round in a few years, so that we can check that what I<br />
am writing today … is indeed still true!<br />
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