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| Interview of winners of the Transat AG2R La Mondiale |
| Wednesday, 13 June 2012 | |
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BORY-S RKN, Satanas et Why not, the top winners of the Transat AG2R La Mondiale on LiveSkipper, agreed to discuss the best moments of the race and their strategy decisions. Hop aboard for the sailor's briefing to (re)discover this legendary race with three great players: So we can get to know you a bit better, could you introduce yourself in a few words? BORY-S RKN : To introduce myself a bit, I discovered and then started virtual races on 2008 with the VDG on a different platform than LiveSkipper. Satanas : Hello, my name is Daniel, I'm retired, sixty-two years old, and I live in {{Charente Maritime most of the time. Why Not : I'm 52, I have 2 children and a wife who gets bugged when she sees me spend my time in front of a computer screen. I'm a family doctor. I love my work and devote most of my time to my practice. In my youth, I participated in lots of dinghy regattas on a national and sometimes international level. What brings you to play LiveSkipper ? BORY-S RKN : I learned about LiveSkipper through a friend who had mentioned it briefly a while back, maybe even a few years ago. After a few tentative tries back then, I didn't really get the hang of it, and I can't really tell you why, but I guess I wasn't really trying much either! Then recently, I was back on the website, and I practiced on a few races, and that's when I became a devotee. I love the realism of this beautiful platform you created! Satanas : I got started virtual sailing with a famous Vendée Globe on a competitor's website. I thought the concept was excellent at first, but pretty soon I was annoyed by how it was managed. After quite awhile, I discovered LiveSkipper which corresponds much better to what I expect from a game like this. Why Not : I came to LiveSkipper because some very good players from a competitor's game mutinied. We got back together, we connected, and now we've been with you for quite a while, hoping you'll have the privilege of organizing the Vendée Globe ! Do you have any secrets for winning this race? Any strategic decisions, a particular meteorological study, etc.? BORY-S RKN : I don't have any secret for winning this race. The only decisive thing I can say is that a few hours after I went through the door, I was still hesitating between the North or the South run; I had fallen back a few places, and what I didn't want was to follow behind the front-runners and stay back there incapable of making a run for the top. My intuition was to head north, and I liked the idea, since few players were making that somewhat quirky decision. So I told myself, you've got nothing to lose and maybe everything to gain! Satanas : For the AG2R, after the door, I was looking to separate from the logical route but pursuing an option that would still maintain the route (anti-hurricane position, tradewinds that were light but especially polar winds which don't really favor tailwinds). I really wasn't expecting such success! Why Not : On the AG2R, I completed my first regatta with you, and the beginning of the race was quite laborious since it's not easy to manipulate everything quickly and effectively. At the buoy, that is 36h before, I had watched the weather, and no clear option was really becoming apparent: go down, well the front-runners were doing that, or try the "northerly route" which by the way had been the winning option a couple of years ago in a competitor's game. At what moment did you know you would make it to the podium and what were you feeling? BORY-S RKN : I was also very lucky to have gotten favorable weather conditions, especially on the final days of the race. That's when I knew I might make it to the winner's podium, and the further in the race I went, the more the pressure was mounting, with shorter and shorter nights, waiting for a change in the weather to fine-tune my night trajectory. Satanas : For the end, Bory who had a very fine race, couldn't get overtaken by conventional means Hervé014, in clear acceleration, was too late. Still, you never know until the finish line is crossed. Why Not : It's my first podium, even though a couple of years ago, I almost won the Jules Vernes, it was only in the last 48 hours that I was defeated because of the anti-cyclone in the Azores which cost me the day and a half lead I had over the future winners crossing the equator. The Trans-Atlantic brought in some very good new players. In your opinion, was the challenge and the level different from other races? BORY-S RKN : The challenge level was quite real between the veterans and the new players who were very experienced in virtual racing. Satanas : The quality of the participants is clearly increasing, so there is really no room for error when you want to make it to the top. Why Not : The level of the players is difficult to evaluate because here the competitors are very strong, but I think your main competitor has a denser field and the top50 is certainly harder to break into. I think that soon the defection of a lot of players will level everything out. What would you say to those who are still hesitating to join us on LiveSkipper ? BORY-S RKN : For anyone hesitating to join the community or who is still not convinced about the platform, I would tell them to try a few races or challenges like I was able to do and LiveSkipper will become a total addiction! Satanas : There are some details that come up regularly on the forum, but otherwise, our game environment is super, with definite realism. Why Not : LiveSkipper is much closer to real navigation. As soon as people try out your site, very few will ever want to leave. |
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