The 2018 Bol d’Or Mirabaud: A Birthday Edition Rich in Events

The Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) is delighted to welcome some 3,000 sailors getting ready to dispute the 80th Bol d’Or Mirabaud and is offering them a program that will be rich in surprises for this jubilee.

Above all, the 2018 edition will take place under the banner of competition, but it will also be festive and accessible to all! The festivities start Friday evening, with activities of interest to competitors, followed by a concert by music group The Two, presented by our artistic partner, the Montreux Jazz Festival aboard the Neptune, tied up to the SNG honor dock.

During the whole weekend, competitors and the public may purchase the Bol d’Or Mirabaud comic book, which retraces 80 years of the celebrated Lake Leman regatta’s history. Several artists will be on hand for book signing throughout the weekend. The “Bol d’Or: 80 Years of History in Images”, consisting of extracts from the comic book, and period photos, continues along the right bank (Mont-Blanc Rotunda) and on the left bank (Général-Guisan quay and Molard dock) until June 17.

Rodolphe Gautier, president of the organizing committee, specifies that “the Bol d’Or Mirabaud is much more than a sailboat race. Our team has worked all year to offer participants and spectators a weekend of nautical festivities, on the water as on land. Today we are ready to celebrate the 80th edition of this exceptional event thanks to the work of many.”

Saturday morning will be focused on competition. Considering the port expansion construction at the Nautique, competitors are invited to leave the port starting at 6:30. This is always popular with spectators. The start of the race will be at 10:00 as usual, offshore from the club.

The competitive stakes of this 80th edition are many and will be captivating to follow. They are detailed in the press kit, that can be downloaded here. The main elements to remember: winners of all regattas this season so far, and current title holder, Alinghi (Ernesto Bertarelli) is the biggest favorite. Ladycat Powered by Spindrift Racing (Dona Bertarelli) and Syz & Co (Jean Psarofaghis) are poised to win the Bol d’Or and the Bol de Vermeil trophies for keeps, an honor bestowed on the crew that manages to win three times in five years (in the overall scratch ranking and in the monohull rankings respectively).

Besides the regular Bol d’Or Mirabaud sailors, several famous sailors will participate in the regatta. Among them are Loïck Peyron, guest of honor, Jean-Pierre Dick, Bernard Stamm and many others.

This year, competitors and spectators will discover a temporary layout of the port, due to the SNG enlargement construction project. “Soon we’ll be able to accommodate a greater number of participants in a new, high quality infrastructure,” enthusiastically states Yann Petremand, president of the Société Nautique de Genève Sailing Circle. “This year, we’ll have a to adapt and do our best. Leaving the port will be difficult and returning will require skippers and their crews to be very careful. We thank participants in advance for their understanding.”

As each year, the race can be following live on our LIVE platform, on YouTube, Léman Bleu and Radio Lac. Onboard cameras will enable experiencing the BOM as if you were in it!  Real-time updates will be provided at key moments of the regatta, depending on conditions. Additionally, the start will be rebroadcast on the RTS Sport mobile app. Finally, the public will be able to follow the race on BOM social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat) using #BOM18.

Nicolas Mirabaud, executive committee member at Mirabaud, title sponsor of the event, reveals that, “celebrating an 80th birthday edition is really something. I say this as someone from an organization that will celebrate its bicentennial next year. This jubilee edition is a fabulous adventure, filled with emotions and connections. On the occasion of this jubilee edition, Mirabaud will launch its Instagram account (@mirabaudgroup). There’s nothing like it to share the passion that motivates us each day.”

Spectators will be able to watch the start of the competition from the Société Nautique de Genève, open to the public Saturday and Sunday, as well is from other locations we invite you to discover here.