A Century of Friendship and Brotherhood

On June 14, 1917, 200,000 American soldiers set sail from New York to the Old Continent to defend freedom alongside their allies. On June 25, 1917, the first division infantry Big Red One landed in Saint-Nazaire and was shortly followed by 2 million men.

Since the troops landed on French soil, there have been 100 years of cultural exchange with North America. On June 15, an unusual race called THE BRIDGE seeks to pay tribute to the American soldier whose support for the Triple Entente helped end the unprecedented World War I involving 50 countries around the world.

Celebrating this century of friendship and brotherhood between France and the United States of America, the race will begin at the bridge of Saint-Nazaire to the bridge of Verrazano in New York, and will bring together four trimarans ranging from 30 to 40 meters and the most prestigious transatlantic liner, the Queen Mary 2.

The Queen Mary 2, at 345 meters long and weighing over 75,000 tons, is the last true transatlantic ocean liner. Its cabins, the spa, the concert halls and the promenade decks all forged the reputation of excellence of this cruise liner, taking about 3,000 passengers on an unforgettable centennial trip.

The Queen Mary 2 will be challenged by some of the largest trimarans and accomplished skippers in the world: Thomas Coville (Sodebo), François Gabart (Macif), Yann Guichard (Spindrift 2) and Yves Le Blevec (Actual).

Before even starting, the Queen Mary 2 knows she will arrive to Manhattan in the early morning of July 1st, after 6 days at sea, welcomed by the lights of the Statue of Liberty, the timeless symbol between France and the United States.

The legendary “liner” with 157,000 horsepower and 26 knots cruising speed, will maintain a consistent tempo through the 3,300-mile route. When the multihulls arrive is in the hands of Mother Nature.

According to statistics, only exceptional weather, which occurs one out of ten times, would allow the trimarans, capable of reaching a speed of 35 knots and more, to steal the show in the prestigious New York Bay.

Either way, it is expected to be a very exciting race between the invited maxi-multihulls on the journey between East and West bridges of Saint-Nazaire and Verrazano.

Details: http://thebridge2017.com/en