La Revue du Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2024

SOCIÉTÉ NAUTIQUE DE GENÈVE
Les M2 Swiss Medical Network (à gauche) et Patrimonium ont brillé dans les petits airs de l’an dernier.
CHRISTIAN WAHL
THE WIZARD OF THE LAKE
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF VERY LIGHT
WINDS IN HIS DECISION 35, THE MOST
DECORATED OF LAKE GENEVA’S SAILORS
STOLE A MARCH YET AGAIN ON THE
TF35 AND M2.
Football, they say, is a very simple game. At the end,
the Germans always win. The same could be said
of sailing on Lake Geneva, where a certain sorcerer
invariably conjures up victory. The 2023 Bol d’Or,
the 84 th in its illustrious history, underlined that
Christian Wahl has the edge over everyone else.
Making light of erratic wind speeds, Wahl once
again found a way to win. “There wasn’t much
in it,” said the man himself. “It was just after
Coppet that we managed to put a bit of distance
between ourselves and the TF35, Realteam,
and the M2, Patrimonium, and slip under
them. That allowed us to take the lead, open
up a little gap and hold on to the end.”
It was 03:17 in the morning when Double You Team
crossed the finish line to the sound of We Are The
Champions. After all, who better than Queen to
salute the King of Lake Geneva? The collaboration
between his crew and the Mirabaud Sailing Squad
proved a resounding success despite the time
constraints, with Wahl, Guillaume Rol, Mathieu
Cadei and Romuald Hausser gelling to perfection
with Laurane Mettraux, Anja von Allmen and Eilidh
McIntyre.
With his third win in five years, the Wizard of the
Lake is the fourth sailor to win the trophy outright.
The first to achieve the feat was Horace Julliard in
1963, aboard the 8m JI Marie-José II, helmed by
Henri Copponex. In 1984, Philippe Stern secured a
third win on the legendary Altair XI, with Philippe
Durr at the helm. And in 2001, a certain Ernesto
Bertarelli, faithfully assisted by Pierre-Yves Jorand,
completed an incredible and yet-to-be-equalled third
consecutive win with Black.
THE SECRET OF HIS SUCCESS
The years may pass but one question remains. Just
how does the dashing sexagenarian do it? “In two of
the three years we’ve stolen victory from right under
the noses of the TF35,” said Rol. “And we weren’t
that far away in 2021, when we led right up to Evian
on the return leg before the TF35 took off. If winds
are very light and prevent the foilers from flying, as
in 2022 and 2023, then Wahl is the best. He knows
the conditions on Lake Geneva better than anyone.
His observational skills and sense of anticipation are
just outstanding. He knows what’s going to happen 15
minutes in advance.”
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