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Guest Editorial Is it all about the Benjamins, Bruno? It was nice to see Bruno Peyron congratulate Steve Fossett and the crew of Cheyenne on their new RTW record....and then he had to spoil it by making a petty political point about Cheyenne's not being a 'proper' JV entry. What really sticks in my craw is the way he blandly brushes off the reasons as being down to 'individualism' and 'various personal concerns', rather than the rapacious demands of the Jules Verne society, of which he is a proud member, for money (30,000 Euros to be exact). If he is really concerned, maybe he should lobby the Jules Verne society to ratify Cheyenne's time and hand over the trophy anyway. What neither Peyron, or the other members of the Jules Verne society have explained is where all this money goes? - You pay 11,000 Euros for each attempt, - although the goal posts have been moved this year and for your first attempt you now have to hand over 30,000. - Presumably the trophy has long been paid for, the Jules Verne society runs no websites, and has no other visible infrastructure to swallow up this cash, so where exactly does is go? It's worth noting that in addition to Peyron and Olivier De Kersauson, other prominent members of the society are Titouan Lamazou and Florence Artaud, both of whom have seems to have retired from professional sailing. Could it be that for Jules Verne society, we should be reading 'retired French Singlehanded Sailor's Benevolent Fund'? Banksy |