History...
Baron Bich
« "One day my wife will write my biography" he would invariably say.
After taking so much pressure I felt it was my duty to stir the memories of his past. First out of my conscience and also out of a desire to incite hope in others. It is always possible to start from nothing and end up with something. »
Laurence BICH's book
History
The time came to put all the training to test
The time came to put all the training to test; in 1970 Marcel Bich launched his first challenge for the America's Cup.
The boat he challenged with was called "France" because he
loved his country. Despite never having won the great race and being the
genuine underdog in a world he knew little about, despite being the first
non-English speaking challenge, he had the courage and determination to
make a claim on the America's Cup.
Marcel Bich loved sailing and competition but above all he loved a really tough
challenge. He had tapped the American market with sheer determination
and had succeeded in business thanks to his belief in a revolutionary
pen, launched in 1950 at a time when such an objective was claimed to
be unthinkable. This pen then went on to become the number 1 ballpoint
pen.
But the America's Cup is not a market, and taking on the superpower on
water is a whole other story. America held the oldest sporting trophy,
unbeaten for over a century. And yet Marcel Bich dared to tackle this
monument in sporting history. He was a discreet man with an iron will,
enormous potential and much style which seduced Newport; yet at the same
time, he was very wary of conforming and taking the beaten track.
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