During the gruelling Transat 76, Mike Birch and his Val 31, The Third Turtle, caused a real sensation by finishing just 24 hours behind Pen Duick VI. The Val 31 was half the length of Eric Tabarly’s boat! But Mike also finished almost two days ahead of Alain Colas’s giant Club Méditerranée. A boat eight times larger, with 22 times the sail area, 178 times heavier and 70 times more expensive than a VAL! “Small is beautiful” – the Newick legend was on the move. Indeed, in 1976, three Val 31s took part in the Ostar. In addition to Birch, Walter Greene finished eighth in his modified Val, and Rory Nugent 46th following technical problems. Pearly is fitted with a wing, whereas the Val 31s in the Transat 72 were equipped with outriggers. Before being moored in Cannes, this legendary model was anchored off the Smeralda coast in Sardinia…