The 2018 edition of LA DRHEAM CUP – Destination Cotentin drew to a close on Sunday in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin on France’s north-west coast. A big hit in terms of sport, it was also a festive extravaganza, to the great delight of the organisers and partners, who have already set a date for two years’ time.
Though the rain and the wind that coloured play on Sunday in the race village for LA DRHEAM CUP – Destination Cotentin prompted the organisers to cancel the big nautical parade, which was set to round off festivities in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, good humour prevailed and all the children who were supposed to take part in the parade were instead treated to a series of guided tours of several boats that competed in the race, in the company of the skippers themselves. During the two days preceding this, a sizeable crowd packed into the race village, with some 13,000 people coming through the gates on Friday and 23,000 on Saturday, demonstrating the success of this DRHEAM CUP – Destination Cotentin.
“It’s really satisfying” commented the Mayor of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Benoît Arrivé. LA DRHEAM CUP – Destination Cotentin is a stellar event because it’s a race – indeed I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the great skippers we’ve had the pleasure of welcoming here -, as well as the moment of sharing, which has attracted numerous tourists and enabled us to promote our city and see Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in a whole new light. I was keen to get the boats right into the heart of the city, which we succeeded in doing, and that’s something that we hope to continue doing in the coming years as we imagine tomorrow’s city. All our objectives have been reached, which is very satisfying and an excellent challenge. Indeed, I’d like to thank all those who have helped us, the council staff on site, the volunteers and the local community fabric, without whom none of this would have been possible here”.
This satisfaction is widely shared by Jacques Civilise, creator and organiser of LA DRHEAM CUP – Destination Cotentin, who feels fulfilled on every level by this second edition which, in sporting terms, gathered together 76 boats (with 67 crossing the finish line). In the end, LA DRHEAM CUP 700 was won by Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (Solidaires en Peloton-ARSEP), whilst LA DRHEAM CUP 400 saw Charlie Capelle (Acapella-Soréal-Proludic) take victory.
The race notably crowned Thibaut Vauchel Camus (Solidaires en Peloton-ARSEP) in the MULTI50 category, Sam Davies (Initiatives Cœur) in IMOCA, Yoann Richomme (Veedol) in CLASS40, the crews of Amanjiwo 2 (Sébastien Harinkouck) in IRC – who also won the Overall IRC Trophy -, Acapella-Soréal-Proludic (Charlie Capelle) in MULTI2000 and Bretagne Télécom (Nicolas Groleau) in the large Open monohull category…
“The main theme of the race is the DRH concept, Development of Human Relations, with a triptych of competition, sharing and festivity. The competition aspect was very satisfying since we had an exceptional line-up, a fantastic female double on the podium in the IMOCA category, all the racers are happy and congratulated us and all those competing in the DRHEAM 700 said that they couldn’t imagine a better way to qualify for the Route du Rhum. The sharing aspect also worked very well, both on shore with the Rêves de Large operation, which was a great success once again during the DRHEAM TROPHY in La Trinité-sur-Mer, and at sea, where thanks to the various courses we devised, the fleets often crossed tacks. Finally, the festive element was in full swing throughout, from the start in La Trinité-sur-Mer with welcome drinks organised for the children on Friday, then in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin and the Morbihan department on the Saturday and Sunday, at the finish in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, with a big concert that gathered together 12,000 people in the Place du Théâtre on the opening night of the race village and a wealth of entertainment put in place by the city, the local urban area, the Manche department and the Normandy region. This DRHEAM CUP -Destination Cotentin has been an absolutely idyllic occasion”.
An idyllic occasion, which is set to be extended, since organisers and partners have already expressed a wish to continue: “We’ll assess the situation with Jacques Civilise and our teams, but given the success of this edition, we’re keen to continue. We said from the outset that a one-shot solution had little appeal for us. The link between the two start and finish venues has real meaning and it’s down to us to continue it so that the DRHEAM CUP – Destination Cotentin becomes a great classic on the marine landscape”, confirmed Benoît Arrivé. Jacques Civilise concludes that “We can actually set a date for 2020, as the elected representatives have said over and over again that all their objectives have been reached and they have shared their desire to support us for the next edition. We’ll begin to work on this subject from September!”
The date is set.