Two races and two times on Podium
What a race: CIC Med Channel Race 2026
Race webpage: https://www.med-race.com/en/
Official race photos: https://www.med-race.com/en/photos/
Official race videos: https://www.med-race.com/en/videos/
What I remember most is the intensity.
Not one single moment — but the feeling of being under pressure for almost an entire week.
From the very first miles out of Marseille, the race exploded into a relentless battle. Tack after tack along the coast. Wind shifts nobody could fully predict. Rain squalls during the night. Ten boats compressed within only a few miles, fighting for every gust, every wave, every tiny advantage.
But this race really started weeks earlier for us — after the Paprec 600 Saint-Tropez.
That race taught us an important lesson: offshore racing is not only about pure speed. It’s about managing energy, sleep, stress, and emotions over days. During the Paprec, we sometimes reacted too much to our competitors, letting their moves influence our decisions and rhythm onboard.
For the CIC Med Channel Race, we wanted to change that completely.
Our goal was simple:
stay calm, trust our preparation, and sail our own race.
And honestly, I think that changed everything.
Even when the fleet compressed around us, even when we lost the lead in transitions or got trapped in light wind near the Maddalena islands, we stayed focused on Stella Nova. On our speed. On our manoeuvres. On managing fatigue before reaching the limit.
Sometimes we were leading. Sometimes we lost everything in one bad transition.
At Bonifacio, the fleet regrouped in almost no wind. A few hours later, we were charging down the Sardinian coast in more than 20 knots, completely soaked, exhausted, transferring ballast, changing sails, trying to stay sharp with almost no sleep.
And still… the fight never stopped.
That’s what made this race so special.
Nobody gave up. Nobody disappeared. The pressure stayed insane from the first day until the final miles into Marseille.
When we rounded Menorca, we found ourselves back in the lead after an aggressive spinnaker move at exactly the right moment. But even then, there was no time to breathe. Phénix was always there. Sometimes only a few hundred meters away after more than 800 nautical miles of racing.
I will never forget that final night.
Pitch black. Full speed. Both boats side by side. Every manoeuvre feeling like it could decide the entire race. You stop thinking about rankings at that point. You just push. Harder and harder.
In the end, we lost only ten minutes after more then 1,100 nautical miles.
Of course it hurts.
But honestly, I am extremely satisfied with the progress we made.
This race proved to us that we learned from our mistakes. That we are becoming stronger as a team. More mature. More disciplined. More confident in our own sailing.
It proved that Stella Nova can fight at the very front. And it proved that our preparation, teamwork, and mindset are strong enough to compete with the best.
And maybe most importantly:
it reminded us why offshore racing is so addictive.
Because somewhere between exhaustion and adrenaline, you feel more alive than anywhere else.
