Thursday, July 26th 2012: After a start in first position and a very physical trip down the St. Lawrence River edge-to-edge with the five first boats of the fleet, Aurélien Ducroz took the lead of the race for the third time. « Latitude Neige – Longitude mer » takes this morning control of the fleet on the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean and slides downwind towards Saint-Pierre et Miquelon with an undamaged boat and a crew as motivated as ever.

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THE FRENZIED RACE DOWN THE ST.LAWRENCE RIVER 

The trip down river was as intense as expected. The current made it particularly difficult to go past the last buoy.
Logbook, Wednesday, July 25 : « After 48 hours in the St. Lawrence River and a crazy pace, we went past the last buoy of Percé yesterday in the evening. These first days of racing have gone pretty well with some very good periods and some others not so good... The rhythm required by the St. Lawrence River was very hard to follow, with many maneuvers, little rest and sleep. For now, we are going to get some sleep!!!!! Well, it's still a long race and we are as motivated as ever!!!!!! »

SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY CLOSE TO THE ALTANTIC
The Class40 fleet is fighting close. Latitude Neige - Longitude Mer chose a crafty tactic with a line further south due to a small low pressure system passing over the area. Aurélien and his team have been able to take advantage of the new breeze to overtake the leader. Aurélien Ducroz, Thomas Le Breton and Eric Péron, who already showed good speed and brilliant tactics on the very first part of the St Lawrence descent, are the new leaders of the race.

LASTLY "THE GRAND LARGE": After a very intensive first part of race and tactical operation to be among the first boats to reach the Atlantic, the sailing will take a real Transatlantic rhythm. The endurance will be the motto. After 4 days, the trio should spare their efforts because the maneuvers take a lot of energy and the way is still long until St Malo... Aurélien, Eric and Thomas will use their athlete skills.

NOTES :After the Mini Transat 6.50 in September 2011, it is the first Class40 race for Aurélien (with a 12.5-meter boat). The Transat Québec St Malo, only continuous west-to-east Atlantic crossing is the first race of Aurélien in this category. 3 700 kilometers of maritime adventures with an arrival in St Malo expected between August 4th and 6th.

Download the route and more info: transatquebecstmalo.com - PRESS KIT AURELIEN DUCROZ

Chamonix, 17th july 2012

Spitzberg - May 2012 Download the photo here

Polar expedition to Spitzberg in front of Warren Miller cameras

Aurelien continues to explore cold seas searching for the wildest, nicest and highest mountains. Few days after he returned from the Lofoten Islands, he was already gone for the extreme north of the European Arctic. Filming will take place there for 15 days under the expert supervision from Warren Miller, the famous American ski filmmaker.

Aurelien is honored to be part of this new production and adds his own spice to the movie : « Making a film with Warren Miller is a great opportunity. More than just a video, he’s making a real ski movie. I wanted to personalize this filming and rather than going filming the helicopter drop-offs in Alaska for example, I suggested the combination of my two passions: skiing and sailing. They agreed with it and Spitzberg is a magical place to me. We sailed among icebergs and glaciers covering large parts of the island. Our only vehicles, if we can say so, were the boat and the skis… It’s a whole new dimension of our adventure that should give some fabulous footage.”

It’s the first time Aurélien gets that close to the North pole. Jackie Paaso, an American professional freeskier and newly part of the Helly Hansen Team, is going with him. Warren Miller’s film is going to be released next winter. In the meantime, Aurelien will come up with pictures and an extraordinary adventure to share.

L'Odyssée du Flocon à la Vague : from June 8th to 10th in Biarritz

From June 8th to 10th, Aurelien will be in Biarritz along with Bixente Lizarazu, Mathieu Crépel, Samantha Davies, Guy Forget and many others, to support the Association Flocon à la Vague. A sport challenge is organized in order to promote eco-friendly actions such as water protection. The champions will compete against each other. Challenges will be based on knowledge or sports depending on the category (snow, ocean, river). They will be tracing the movements of the water under all its state. www.dufloconalavague.org