D35: Artemis Racing on Day 1 of the Grand Prix Les Ambassadeurs Beau-Rivage Palace

by Paul Cayard

The first race in the D-35 fleet for Artemis Racing - we won it!

The wind did not arrive until 1400 so there was just one 20 mile "long distance race" finishing at Societe Nautique de Genève. The wind was 8-10 knots from the east and we were doing 18 knots downwind under gennaker.

The D-35 is a one design, 35 foot catamaran, raced on Lake Geneva. It is very well endowed with sail area, which is needed in the normally light winds of Lake Geneva. There is a fleet of 12 identical boats containing some great sailors like Michele Desjoyeaux on Foncia, Ernesto Bertarelli on Alinghi.

The D-35 is the "Ferrari" of sailing on Lake Geneva. With Artemis Racing Chairman Torbjorn Tornqvist's decision to enter the America's Cup, sailing the D-35 in his home town has real appeal.

There are 7 events in the season, the Beau Rivage being the first. The "big" event is the Bol d'Or June 18, in which boats of all types and sizes race around the entire lake. The Bol d'Or is about 100 miles in with the light and fickle winds of the lake, it often is an over night race.

Artemis Racing
Vulcain Trophy

D35: Jour 1 - Paul Cayard sur Artemis Racing frappe fort au Grand Prix Les Ambassadeurs par le Beau-Rivage Palace

En début d’après-midi, au large de Rolle, un premier départ spectaculaire a lancé officiellement la première régate du Vulcain Trophy présenté par Business & Decision. Après une attente ce matin, les marins sont allés jusqu’à Rolle afin de prendre le départ du parcours côtier. Un départ décisif qui consacre Artemis Racing de Torbjorn Tornqvist, barré par Paul Cayard


Artemis Racing D35. Image copyright Philippe Schiller/www.myimage.ch

par Aurélie Fontanellaz

Ce matin, le vent a voulu tester la patience des marins engagés dans le Grand Prix Les Ambassadeurs par le Beau-Rivage Palace. Le Comité de Course avait prévenu les teams qu’il faudrait attendre avant de pouvoir régater. Les parcours "banane" du matin n’ont donc pas pu avoir lieu. Dès 14h, un départ qui a été fiévreux était lancé dans la baie de Rolle. Les Décision 35 sont partis sous gennaker, et la majorité d’entre eux bâbord.

Le premier spectacle de la saison était des plus intenses. Le parcours a ensuite emmené les dix teams à Nyon, puis à Versoix avant que le canon ne retentisse pour le vainqueur Artemis Racing. Dans les premiers bords, il était à la lutte avec Foncia de Michel Desjoyeaux et Alinghi d’Ernesto Bertarelli. Ce trio de tête a pris ses distances avec le peloton avant de se faire rattraper. Les cartes ont été redistribuées et c’est finalement de Rham Sotheby’s qui termine à la seconde place. Philippe Cardis visiblement content de son classement : "C’était très intense aujourd’hui, nous aurions pu terminer à la 2ème place comme nous aurions pu finir à la 6ème. Les deux premiers se sont distancés et après, nous sommes tous restés en paquet. Cela s’est donc joué à très peu pour que cela marche. Nous sommes contents, nous avions une bonne vitesse et nous avons bien navigué à la fin."

Alinghi d’Ernesto Bertarelli complète le podium en montant sur la troisième marche. Au port, Yves Detrey revenait sur leur régate : "Nous avons encore beaucoup de marge pour notre progression. Nous pouvons encore faire beaucoup mieux, du reste nous ne gagnons pas. C’est toujours pour nous une défaite lorsque nous savons que nous n’avons pas bien navigué. Et aujourd’hui, c’est le cas. Donc même si nous sommes troisièmes, pour nous, quatrième place (ndlr : Foncia a été disqualifié). Il y a mieux à faire demain, mais nous sommes plus à l’aise sur les parcours bananes."

En quatrième position, Veltigroup de Marco Simeoni s’est battu dans le peloton et a remonté une place sur le dernier bord avant l’arrivée. Juste derrière, le CER barré par Jérôme Clerc étaient troisième à Versoix, avant de se faire dépasser durant une manoeuvre et terminer à la cinquième place. L’équipage des jeunes a montré sur la ligne de départ qu’il ne reculerait pas devant leurs aînés. Okalys-Corum de Nicolas Grange a réussi un joli départ lui permettant de rivaliser avec Artemis Racing et Foncia. Il termine sixième à la SNG juste devant Nickel barré par Fred Moura, septième.

D35 Team Nickel (Fred Moura) training on Lake Geneva in March 2011:


Le départ était primordial aujourd’hui et d’une grande complexité. Zen Too de Guy de Picciotto se classe ainsi huitième. Ladycat de Dona Bertarelli occupe la neuvième place à la fin de la première journée. Foncia de Michel Desjoyeaux a été éliminé suite à une décision du Jury. Il est donc classé DNS pour cette première manche du Grand Prix Les Ambassadeurs par le Beau-Rivage Palace.

Vulcain Trophy

WMRT: Iehl and Marinho on Cusp of the Quarter-Fi​nals after Epic Match Race France Qualifying Session

Damien Iehl on Day One at Match Race France. Image copyright Gilles Martin-Raget/www.martin-raget.com

by Audrey Lakai

French sailor Damien Iehl and the Portugese wildcard Alvaro Marinho put in sublime performances on the opening day of the 2011 World Match Racing Tour at Match Race France to top the scoreboard and close in on a place in the Quarter-Finals.

Throughout the pre-season, Damien Iehl expressed his determination to prove himself amongst the world’s elite match racers and he more than backed that up in the first Qualifying Session. In his first match against Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar, Iehl won what proved to be every team’s favoured side (the left). He was in complete control as the boats headed down the first run building an unassailable 8 length lead.

Amongst both Iehl and Marinho’s victims was fellow Frenchman Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Extreme Team Morbihan, a man who grabbed the headlines in the morning with victories against three Tour Card Holders tipped as title contenders - Williams, Francesco Bruni (ITA) Mascalzone Latino and Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners Racing Team. A defeat for Iehl against Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing and against Bruni for Marinho were to be the only blemishes on their 5-1 scorelines.

Commenting on his performance, Iehl said: “It was a perfect day today – we’re just one point away from the Quarter-Finals. We hope to race the same way tomorrow but we'll take it one race after the other. We worked a lot this winter and we're happy to be Tour Card Holders which brushes off some of the pressure. It’s good to strategise… but the story says that when you're strong at the beginning you don't pass the Quarter-Finals so we need to be careful. ”

An elated Alvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team, added: “I can say this is our best day on the World Match Racing Tour. We need to keep [this up]. We are one of the less experienced crew here but to have a couple of nice wins against those guys is rewarding.”

Commenting on his performance, Iehl said: "It was a perfect day today – we're just one point away from the Quarter-Finals. We hope to race the same way tomorrow but we'll take it one race after the other. We worked a lot this winter and we're happy to be Tour Card Holders which brushes off some of the pressure. It's good to strategise... but the story says that when you're strong at the beginning you don't pass the Quarter-Finals so we need to be careful. "

An elated Alvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team, added: "I can say this is our best day on the World Match Racing Tour. We need to keep [this up]. We are one of the less experienced crew here but to have a couple of nice wins against those guys is rewarding."

There is still all to play for between the other Tour Card Holders here competing amongst the 12-strong competition. The likes of Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat, Gilmour, Williams, Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing and Radich are all bunched together each needing around 3 wins to make it through the Quarter – Finals.

the Race Committee continued to pack flights in knowing the Mistral is expected on Sunday and as Radich anticipated, the pre-starts proved critical throughout the day. For Gilmour they plagued him – hitting the pin against Pace was just one of a handful of pre-start penalties he picked up which defined a day of frustration for the four-time World Champion.

A skipper hoping for a rich vein of form in the Second Qualifying session is a dejected Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team who posted a scoreline of 0-6. A combination of missed opportunities and decisions that could but didn't go their way has all but eliminated them from the regatta. The dismasting his team endured in practice is proving to be a bad omen.

"We hopefully had the worst day of the season today",reflected Hansen. "We definitely have to shape up. In the last few races we learnt how to trim the boat better, get more speed and place the crew weight better. There is no problem with the boat because we won a regatta in November in the same boat [J80]. It felt as if we were doing this for the first time in our life."

All the Tour Card Holders felt they had something to prove on the Tour this year. After Qualifying Session 1 they still have an opportunity to do just that as there's all still all to play for at Match Race France.

Standings After First Qualifying Session:

Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 5-1
Alvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team 5-1
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Mascalzone Latino 4-2
Bertrand Pace (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team 4-1
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing Team 3-3
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 3-4
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Extreme Team Morbihan 3-4
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat 2-2
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 2-3
Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners 2-4
Alexis Littoz-Baritel (FRA) Savoie Mont Blanc 1-3
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team 0-6

Match Race France
World Match Racing Tour

WMRT : Match Race France Jour-1 Marseille

Tapis Rouge pour Iehl et Marinho


Pre-start action on Day 1 of Match Race France. Image copyright Gilles Martin-Raget/www.martin-raget.com

par Sophie Claudon

La brise thermique (7-12 nœuds) de secteur sud a offert unejournée idéale en rade de Marseille aux 12 équipages engagés sur le Match RaceFrance. 9 flights ont été lancés soit 34 matchs courus jusqu’à 18heures : un rythme soutenu avec des duels se jouant souvent à une poignéede secondes. Le français Damien Iehl et le portugais Alvaro Marinho réalisentchacun une belle performance avec cinq victoires et une seule défaite concédée.

Loin de l’ambiancepaillettes et tapis rouge du 64e Festival de Cannes, les skippersn’ont pas ménagé leurs efforts aujourd’hui en rade sud. Casquettes vissées surla tête et crème solaire de rigueur : le beau temps était de la partie. Mais surtout,le vent léger établi a permis d’enchaîner les duels. « On a pris de l’avance sur le programme »,commente le responsable de la commission nautique du Match Race France,Dimitri Deruelle. « C’est parfait. Sion arrive à terminer le round robin demain soir (jeudi), on seracontent ». Quatre coureurs seront éliminés à l’issue du roundrobin.

Damien Iehl etAlvaro Marinho devraient sequalifier, eux, pour les quarts de finale. Ces deux skippers ont pris uneavance confortable aujourd’hui avec chacun cinq victoires sur six duels courus.Départs implacables, bonne lecture du plan d’eau : l’équipage de DamienIehl a bien joué sur l’effet de côte, à gauche. « On a toujours eu le côté que nous voulions »confirme le skipper. « Mais dans notredernier match on est resté à gauche et il fallait aller à droite. On afinalement perdu face à Peter Gilmour » analyse FrançoisVerdier, l’un de ses équipiers. C’est la première fois que l’équipage de DamienIehl est titulaire d’une « tour card » qui permet de participer àtoutes les épreuves du World Match Racing Tour. «On a un peu moins de pression que d’habitude parce qu’on sait qu’on vafaire toutes les épreuves. On s’est beaucoup entraîné cet hiver »confie-t-il.

La journée a étéfructueuse aussi pour Alvaro Marinho. Le coureur portugais doit saparticipation au Match Race France à la « wild card » fournie par leYachting Club Pointe Rouge. « C’est unjour parfait » analyse-t-il. « Je ne peux pas dire que naviguer sur un J80 c’est comme naviguer sur un470 mais ça y ressemble bien ».

Pour la jeunegarde, le bilan est plus mitigé. Le néo-zélandais Phil Robertson, 24 ans, aengrangé trois victoires et trois défaites. Son aîné, l’australien TorvarMirsky, 25 ans, comptabilise deux victoires et deux défaites. Mais rien n’estencore joué. Le vieux briscard Bertrand Pacé le sait bien. « Je suis content de notre résultat, quatre victoireset une défaite. Mais c’était difficile à la fin de la journée avec leclapot », commente le Français.

Les bataillesnautiques ont mis les nerfs des coureurs à rude épreuve. Surtout ceux de BjornHansen qui a perdu ses six matchs aujourd’hui. « La journée a été difficile pour nous »confirme le barreur suédois. « Rien n’amarché dans ces petits parcours ». Manœuvres millimétrées,recherche du contact : tous les ingrédients qui rendent le match race sisavoureux sont là. Les duels n’ont jamais duré plus d’un quart d’heure. Demainet vendredi, une brise thermique modérée est prévue, avant la bascule deMistral attendue ce week-end.

Ils ont dit

Christian Tommasini, président du Yachting Club Pointe Rouge

« C’est une belle édition avec un beau plateau. Notreseul regret est que nous n’avons pas l’autorisation de naviguer tout près desplages du Prado comme l’année dernière. C’est dommage pour le grand public. »

Marc Bouët, l’entraîneur de l’équipe de France de match racing

« L’équipage de Damien Iehl aborde le Match Race Francecomme un « mort de faim ». Avec leur « tour card », laporte s’est ouverte. Ils sont au « taquet » et ont une vraie chancede terminer sur le podium du World Match Racing Tour ».

Les Resultats



Match Race France
World Match Racing Tour

WMRT: Un premier jour de compétition en demi teinte

Match ETM, Jour 1, Match Race France. Image copyright Gilles Martin-Raget/YCPR.

par Nico Heintz

Aujourd’hui nous étions en piste dès 10 heures pour une série de 7 matchs. Nous perdons le premier match contre Bertrand Pacé, il gagne le départ en obtenant une position favorable pour aller sur la gauche du plan d’eau. Jackpot pour lui !

Pour la suite notre objectif est clair : la gauche à la vie, à la mort !

Nous réalisons 3 superbes départs contre Radish, Williams et Bruni, nous partons à gauche, nous nous rendons directement rue de la Paix et touchons 20000 francs. Le tour sera donc bouclé avant eux. Plutôt satisfait de notre début de journée nous attaquons la suite sereinement, mais il en sera différemment.

Nous perdons les départs contre Ielh et Guilmour, ils ont la gauche et donc vous l’aurez compris la poudre d’escampette à leur bord ...

Notre adversaire pour le dernier match de notre journée est le Portugais Alvaro Marinho. Adversaire à notre portée, nous sommes bien décidés à stopper la spirale dans laquelle nous nous engageons.

Bon départ ! Nous avons la gauche du plan d’eau, synonyme aujourd’hui de chemin le plus court pour se rendre à la bouée au vent. Mais lors de notre premier bord de près la gauche n’est plus favorable ; nous retrouvons donc notre camarade pointer le bout de son étrave juste devant nous... Il prendra le commandement de la course, choisit la gauche lors du 2ème bord de près et là... il augmentera son avance : la messe est dite !

Cette défaite nous laisse un goût amère de notre journée qui est finalement pas si catastrophique que ça : 3 victoires sur 7 matchs courus ; demain il nous reste 4 matchs à jouer. Rien n’est perdu mais disons que l’on commence à travailler sans filet.

Le jeu se resserre, les points se distribuent et s’éparpillent. L’objectif pour nous est de ne pas faire parti des quatre derniers du round robin qui seront remerciés et invités à rentrer chez eux ce week-end. Demain nous monterons sur scène lors du flight 14. Il y aura un suivi en direct des course de 13h à 15h sur le site du world tour : www.wmrt.com

Match ETM
Match Race France
World Match Racing Tour

WMRT: Phil Robertson from Waka Racing on Day 1 at Match Race France

Waka Racing
Match Race France
World Match Racing Tour

GOR: Ross and Campbell Field's GOR Class40 Arrives in the UK

Ross, Cameron and Campbell Field's Class 40 arrives in the UK. Image copyright GOR.

by Oliver Dewar

Since announcing their entry in the double-handed, Class40 Global OceanRace 2011-12 (GOR) during the first week in April, Ross Field and his son,Campbell, have been awaiting the arrival of their Verdier Design TykerClass40 ex-Desafio Cabo de Hornos. On Tuesday, shortly before noon,following a five-week journey as deck cargo from Chile via the Panama Canaland Rotterdam, the New Zealand team’s Class40 was carefullymanoeuvred on a 60ft truck through the narrow lanes of Lymington inHampshire on Britain’s South Coast.

Other than the faded red livery – the striking trademark of theyacht’s Chilean team in the 2008-09 GOR – and battle scars tothe leading edge of the keel fin, the three year-old Class40 shows littleevidence of an immensely tough first circumnavigation. Furthermore, theteam has a new carbon mast – built as a spare when the boat waslaunched in 2008, but never used – and a wardrobe of unused sails inaddition to the brand new suit recently delivered by North Sails.


Ross and Campbell Field's GOR Class40 in Lymington. Image copyright GOR.

However, with a busy training schedule planned, the duo require a tight turnaround with a thorough refit and respray at the Berthon Boatyard beforethe yacht’s re-launch and mandatory 180 degree inversion test. As soon as the Field’s Class40 was lowered on to blocks and plastic sheeting in an open-ended shed at the yard’s northern extremity, Ross and Campbell Field, with Ross’s nephew, Cameron, and an apprentice from the yard began emptying assorted sails, lines, cushions and equipmentfrom the yacht’s interior. “We fully expect to be sailing in three weeks,” confirmed Ross, loading the valise life raft into aboat yard trolley. There is a definite sense of urgency and immense purpose behind the project: “We’re going to strip out the interior; take the winches and rope bags off and then get busy sanding,” he continues. The team expect to have the boat resprayed in the space of one week.

For Ross Field, the task of refitting is made easier by the yacht’s location: “I know this place well and really like it here,” confirms the serial circumnavigator and veteran of three consecutive Whitbread Round the World Races. “Berthon provide a good service, have great facilities and are a very sympathetic yard,” he continues. “I’m certain we’ll have the boat launched on time.” During the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race, Campbell was Shore Manager for the Telefónica team - an enormously complex and responsible position that included overseeing the build of the campaign’s two Volvo Ocean 70 race yachts – and he sees no logistic setbacks in the rapid refit of the Class40: “We’ve got a team of five people working on the boat and I’m confident we’ll keep on schedule,” he predicts.

Global Ocean Race

RC44: World class match racers and first timers take the stage at the RC44 Austria Cup

Vladimir Prosikhin at the helm during his first RC44 Match Race. Image copyright Nico Martinez.

by Jessica Gray

The RC44 class had a mix of world class match racers along with match race novices fighting it out for honours at the RC44 Austria Cup today.

Mathieu Richard (FRA) was runner up at the 2010 World Match Racing Tour, today he was at the helm of the new Aleph Sailing Team’s RC44. He finished the day with two wins, but lost to on form boats – Team Aqua and ORACLE Racing.

It was Russell Coutts steering ORACLE Racing who finished the day undefeated, winning three tough matches against Katusha, with Paul Cayard at the helm, Aleph and Team Aqua.

Chris Bake may have missed the first competitive outing of his newly christened Team Aqua, but Cameron Appleton and the team did a great job with four out of five wins, leaving them at the top of the RC44 match racing leaderboard after two events.

“We went out there just wanting to do the basics right, feel our way in to it, but the new boat is fantastic.” Explained tactician and match racing helm Cameron Appleton (NZL). “It’s almost like we haven't changed boats. We've still got a few things to learn with the new sails, new mast, new everything, but it’s been a good day.”


Winners of the RC44 Austria Cup Match Racing: Team Aqua, sailing their brand new boat. Image copyright Nico Martinez.

Another man who was very pleased with his results today was Russian technology entrepreneur Vladimir Prosikhin, at the helm of his newly acquired Team Nika. The team finished the day with two defeats,but two race wins against Artemis Racing and No Way Back. “This is my first match race ever, my first race in a RC44 and my first race on the lake in these tricky conditions, so I’m completely fresh. Today was just pure adrenaline for me, I enjoyed it so much and I hope it will be the same feeling tomorrow.” An elated Prosikhin said after racing.

The format now changes to fleet racing for the remaining four days of the event. Katusha leads the series, but tactician Paul Cayard is aware that sailing on a lake surrounded by mountains will be full of snakes and ladders. “Leading one event doesn't really mean much here, all the boats are really competitive and very equal. Racing in Lake Traunsee is always very difficult, the conditions are often a bit unstable and you need to take that in to account when you’re doing your tactics, there will be 10 or 12 races over the next few days maybe more, so you just have to try to avoid really bad finishes and try to realise that the race is never be over until it’s over and hang tough.”

The RC44 class also announced a new partnership today with BELUGA, Russia’s finest and most delectable vodka for the 2011 season.

The relationship between BELUGA and RC44 started in October 2010, when the Synergy Russian Sailing Team backed by BELUGA made its debut in RC44 Championship Tour. Two months later the finale of the 2010 Championship’s was celebrated with a BELUGA party.


Katusha and ORACLE Racing match racing at the RC44 Austria Cup. Image copyright GEPA pictures.

ORACLE Racing won the RC44 Austria Cup in 2010. Who will come out on top on Lake Traunsee will play out over the next few days.

For live video for each day's racing, click here

Match Racing Series Total
 (after two events)
1 Team Aqua (GBR) Chris Bake / Cameron Appleton - 8
2 ORACLE Racing (USA) Steve Howe / Russell Coutts - 7
3 Katusha (RUS) Gennady Timchenko / Paul Cayard - 6
4 Team Ceeref (SLO) Igor Lah / Michelle Ivaldi - 6
5 Artemis (SWE) Torbjorn Tornqvist / Morgan Larson - 6
6 Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) Daniel Calero /Jose Ponce-4
7 No Way Back (NED) Peiter Heerema /Tom Slingsby - 3
8 Peninsula Petroluem (GBR) John Bassadone / Inaki Castaner-3
9 Synergy (RUS) Zavadnikov Valentin / Evgeniy Neugodnikov - 3
10 Ironbound (USA) David Murphy / Peter Evans - 3
11 Team Nika (RUS) Vladimir Prosikhin / Tomislav Basic - 2
12 Aleph Sailing Team (FRA) Hugues Lepic / Mathieu Richard - 2
13 AEZ (AUS) Rene Mangold / Christian Binder - 1

RC44

RC44: Match Racing on Traunsee, Austria

RC44s Artemis and Katusha. Image copyright Irene Ganser.

by Paul Cayard

Today was match racing on Lake Traunsee. 5 flights were held in 7-10 knots of wind.

We had an ok day on Katusha with a score of 2 wins 2 losses that felt very frustrating as we were winning the two we lost.

Our first race against Puerto Callero we led the entire way. In our second race, against Oracle, the start was slightly to their favor but they could not tack and cross us. As they approached on port, we dialed them down and they got penalized. We then squandered the lead and they got enough distance on us to do their penalty turn at the finish line.

Race 3 was against our team mates on Artemis. The start was fairly even but we were able to get out ahead enough to tack and cross them and that was about it.

In our last race, we had a slight collision in the prestart with Cereef, them to windward, our shroud against the leech of their main. Both boats flew flags but no penalty was issued. From there it was close to the top mark. At the top mark, Cereef on the inside luffed us head to wind and we both parked. As they bore away we followed and had a better set and rolled them. They gybed and parked. We stretched, and gybed once our air was clear. Their side was hugely favored and they crossed ahead the next time. The course was one sided for the second lap and that was that.

Artemis had a very good day with owner Tornjorn Tornqvist steering his boat to a 2 win and 3 loss day. That a nice result for him. More owners are starting to steer their boats in the match racing now which is good.

The wind died at 345pm and that was it for the day.

Aqua won the day with 5 wins.

Cayard Sailing
RC44

Delta Lloyd Regatta 2011: 603 Boats Pre-Entered for Delta Lloyd Regatta

Last year's winning 470 duo Conti & Micol in action. Image copyright Sander van der Borch.

by Diana Bogaards

Two weeks prior to the Delta Lloyd Regatta 2011, the Dutch World Cup for Olympic and Paralympic sailing in Medemblik, the organization received 603 entries. Including six winners of 2010 and a new record of 61 nationalities. The debut of the Paralympic Sonar class takes a little longer, due to lack of registrations. Meanwhile, the match racing crews continue their training sessions on the IJsselmeer, despite the loss of Olympic status of their class in 2016.

'We obviously followed the ISAF Mid Year Meeting in St. Petersburg with great interest,' said Arjen Rahusen, Chairman of the Organizing Committee. 'We look forward to the return of the catamarans and to even more high performance spectacle with skiff sailors. On the other hand, we regret the loss of the keel boats. As an organization we will miss the audience-friendly action of the match racing.'

This week, the Olympic Dutch match racing squad trains in front of the Regatta Center Medemblik. Coach Mikael Lundh commented: 'The decision by the ISAF Council does not change anything for my team. They can be competitive in anything. We are focusing on this Olympic programand we already had all variations on the program, as that makes you a bettersailor. This means that a few girls will compete in the Round Texel Race and Annemiek Bekkering, reigning European Champion in the 29er and 29er XX, will dothe Kieler Woche in the 29er.'

Lundh also believes that investment in the four Dutch Elliots certainly remains important for the future: 'They can continue to sail those in the commercial market in the context of corporate events, as well as training boats. There is now a small shift towards high performance, but keelboat sailing should remain part of the Dutch federation. 'Next week, the Dutch match racing teams will line up against their Australian sparringpartners in Medemblik.

Title defenders

The current list of participants includes several big names, including the Brazilian golden helmsmen in the Star Torben Grael and Robert Scheidt. They will compete against the winners of last year, the Norwegian duo Melleby and Pedersen. The other defending champions are the Australians Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page in the 470 men, their fellow countrymen Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen in the 49er, the Croatian Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic in the Finn, Tom Slingsby (AUS) in the Laser and Marit Bouwmeester (NED) in the Laser Radial.

Tracing & Tracking & Live TV coverage

In the final weekend of May 29 and 28 all Medal Races will be broadcast live, both by direct television images as well as tracing and tracking. The system follows the positions of the boats and shows them on a map on the Delta Lloyd Regatta website by using 2D and 3D visualization. Therefore, ultramodern GPS technology is used. Not only the position is shown on the website but also speed, rankings, routings, buoy times and distance.

ARMA Rental Sailors Home

This year will be the first time that the Delta Lloyd Regatta offers a central location next to the Regatta office where sailors, crew and public can meet. This is the perfect location for sailors to have a drink and grab a bite, prior, between and after the races. Furthermore, free WIFI will be offered to all laptop users as well as ongoing news and updates concerning the progress of all matches. The highlight of this week will be 'Super Friday' 27th May with live performances on stage.

Medemblik Nautiek

On Saturday May 28, the Delta Lloyd Regatta will be part of Medemblik Nautiek, which combines water recreation and International sail-boat racing. During that dayit is possible to take part in various activities spread around the city. There is a boat show exhibiting new and used boats, a nautical market, water-games for children and live music the whole day. In short: International water sports combined with attractive and exciting water inspired entertainment situated in a historical city. Visit Medemblik for unique entertainment.

Delta Lloyd Regatta

Rolex Big Boat Series: New Events Raise the Bar

J105s pass Alcatraz. Image copyright Rolex/Daniel Forster.

by Barby MacGowan

With San Francisco receiving extra attention from sailing fans courtesy of the America’s Cup, it comes as no surprise that the Bay will be bustling with additional activity this fall when the 2011 Rolex Big Boat Series gets underway. Scheduled for September 8-11 and hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club, the event is in its 47th year and shows no signs of slowing down. With the Farr 30s having designated the event as their world championship and the sport boat division returning for its second year, the Rolex Big Boat Series is perfectly positioned to give serious racers their chance to shine at the West Coast’s premier event.

"With the America’s Cup now coming to town, there is a whole new energy on the water and people are more eager to sail in the same venue,” said Chairman Norman Davant. “We are forecasting an excellent turnout.”

The Rolex Big Boat Series will also be the focal point of a newly created four-regatta series for IRC 52s and 40s, providing a venue for East and West Coast competitors to continue their established rivalries, or begin new ones. The Rolex Big Boat Series will be the second race of the series which starts with the Aldo Alessio Ocean Race (August 26-28. The third and fourth events in the series are the new West Coast Shootout (September 24-25) and the Great Pumpkin Regatta (October 29-30), considered a San Francisco classic.

“We announced the four-regatta series back in March 2011, and it promises to be a great way to bring even more enthusiasm to the Bay and attract East Coast competitors,” added Davant.

One of the movers and shakers in the Southern California IRC 52 fleet is Manouch Moshayedi (Newport Beach, Calif.), owner of Rio. “It’s a great regatta, with consistent wind, and both the city and St. Francis Yacht Club are fantastic,” said Moshayedi, whose fleet is expecting about 12 boats come September. No stranger to the regatta, Moshayedi previously competed on his IMS 50 M-Project; this will be the first Rolex Big Boat Series in which Moshayedi will race on Rio. “The IRC 52 is a new boat for me, and as far as I can see it’s the most fun boat on the water today but also very technical; therefore, training and practice are crucial.”

Having raced as a class at the Rolex Big Boat Series for over a decade, the J/120 fleet will also be back to continue its tradition of making the event a final hurrah of the sailing season. “We are a very competitive fleet, and there are superb sailors that come to this event,” said Donald Payan (Hillsborough, Calif.), who has been attending the regatta since the 1980s and was the J/120 class winner in 2010 on Dayenu. “It’s all about consistency. Any little slip can drop you from first to fourth in the blink of an eye. There is a premium on execution, and like a tango, every step has to be right.”

Many sailors return year after year for not only the strong competition but also the overall atmosphere of the event. “The Rolex Big Boat Series is a fun regatta to be a part of,” said Payan. “It’s a family reunion for the sailing community, and with the America’s Cup activity coming to the Bay we are going to see more people showing up to sail and view.”

The local J/105 fleet has also brought some serious talent in previous years, including Bruce Stone (San Francisco, Calif.), president of the San Francisco Marina Harbor Association and class winner in 2010 aboard Arbitrage. Stone predicts that like most years, weather is everything, and an early September date can dish up anything from gales to zephyrs. “The past few years have had some interesting conditions with either foggy days or some lighter winds, which made the tide calls quite significant,” said Stone, who has been participating in the regatta since 1985 and looks forward to another spirited year of racing. “It’s a wonderful event, with great race management and a perfect venue, which brings out more competitors so we have a full line-up of the best J/105s on the San Francisco Bay.”

More about Rolex Big Boat Series

The Rolex Big Boat Series annually attracts many world-caliber sailors, all of whom are eager to win one of the six specially engraved Rolex timepieces given to winners of the St. Francis Yacht Club’s Perpetual Trophies. From its inception, the Rolex Big Boat Series has showcased top sailing talent and boats. From the glory days of SORC, IOR and IMS to today’s Grand Prix and One Design classes, the Rolex Big Boat Series has continued to be the West Coast’s premier regatta where the best of the best meet for four days of challenging racing.

About the St. Francis Yacht Club

The St. Francis Yacht Club was founded in 1927 and has been host to many of the most prestigious national and international championships in sailing. With over 40 regattas on its calendar annually, and as home to the West Coast’s premier regatta, the Rolex Big Boat Series, the St. Francis Yacht Club is widely regarded as having the top racing program and race management in the country.

Rolex Big Boat Series

Mirabaud LX takes off with new wing mast

Thomas Jundt's foiling monohull is to feature an innovative new wing mast for the 2011 season. The famous foiler was unveiled on Wednesday evening at the Société Nautique de Genève and is ready for a new season of record breaking


Mirabaud LX 2011 features an innovative new wing mast. Image copyright JuergKaufmann.com / Mirabaud LX.

by Vincent Gilloz

Thomas Jundt, the Geneva based sailor and engineer, unveiled the 2011 version of his experimental foiler, Mirabaud LX, at the Société Nautique de Genève on Wednesday evening.

The radical foiler, in addition to its foils and carbon fibre structure, now features an innovative new wing mast comparable – relatively speaking – to the one that recently won the America's Cup. It also features solid carbon rigging, similar to the “Little America's Cup” C-Class yachts.

“I have been monitoring the evolution of wing masts for years,” said Thomas Jundt. “And now, thanks to significant advancement in know-how and materials, it has become feasible to mount one on this sort of platform. Early trials on Lake Geneva over the past few weeks have been conclusive and we are keen to start the new racing season and to attempt to set some records.”

Mirabaud LX is the second boat on Lake Geneva to feature a wing mast, Philippe Stern tried it 19 years ago on his famous Altair XII.

“Thomas Jundt and his team's ability to develop cutting edge new technologies never ceases to amaze us,” declared Antonio Palma, partner and CEO of Mirabaud. “I look forward to seeing Mirabaud LX sail with its wing mast. The 2011 season promises to be an exciting one.”

Since its launch in April 2008, Mirabaud LX has undergone constant improvements that include new floats, new sails, new foils and numerous refinements to the overall structure and fittings. To date, aside from the Moths (single-crewed), it is the only sailing foiler on Lake Geneva that has accomplished its goal of winning races and breaking records.

Most recently, Mirabaud LX won its category at the 2010 International Speed Week in Weymouth where it notched up an average of 23.24 knots, with a peak of 25.8, over 500 metres. The foiler also shattered the Geneva–Rolle–Geneva record in 2009 with a time of 3h43'47” in the monohull class. An historic victory!

This year, Thomas Jundt will sail with his usual crew made up of helmsman and coach Antoine Ravonel and bowman, Eric Gobet.

Wing masts are aerodynamically very efficient due to their rigidity and shape control, but while they allow for significant improvement in terms of performance, they are also a serious technological and logistical challenge and require time, patience and a lot of talent.

Mirabaud LX technical specifications:

Length overall: 10m
Hull length: 8.5m
Beam overall: 5.4m
Wing area: 17m2
Weight of the wing: 29kg
Upwind sail area: 26m2
Downwind sail area: 49m2
Displacement: 170kg (25kg of foils)

Mirabaud LX

Preview of Audi Match Race, Finland

Qualifier for Womens' EUROSAF Match Racing Championships

by George Tallberg and WIMRA

An international line-up of eight teams from seven countries is in Helsinki, Finland at the Audi HSS Match Race Center, Helsingfors Segelsällskap, preparing for the 2011 European Qualifier Women’s Match Race to be sailed 13-15 May in Elliott 6m keelboats.

Three teams from this event will qualify for The EUROSAF Match Racing Women’s European Championships 2011 in Helsinki in July. These qualifying teams may be from any nation.

Skippers at Audi Match Race Finland:
Katie Spithill (AUS) [ISAF Ranking = 7]
Silja Lehtinen (FIN) [14]
Stephanie Hazard (NZL) [19]
Vesna Dekleva Paoli (SLO) [21]
Rita Goncalves (POR) [22]
Wang Ru (CHN) [133]
Irina Lotsmanova (RUS) [152]
Piret Pomerants (FIN) [no rank]

Audi Match Race

Freshie Racing Announce European Tour

by Freshie Racing media

Freshie Racing is pleased to announce in 2011 we will be heading back to europe to compete in the summer match racing season from June to July. The crew for 2011 is made up of: Peter Nicholas, Jay Halligan and David Castles.

This year our tour has been slimmed down but the team is confident to bring back some of the top results that they achieved last year.

LOCATIONS

March Match Cup, AUSTRALIA, Perth, 14th -15th May
GRADO 3, ITALY, Ravenna, 10th - 12th June
Polish Open A, POLAND, Zlota Gora, 15th-16th June
Slovenia Match Cup, SLOVENIA, Koper, 17th-19th June
Lyon Grand Prix Match Race, FRANCE, Lyon, 26th-27th June
OM Match Race, ITALY, TBA, 1st-3rd July

Freshie Racing would like to thank Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht club, Peter Chappell, The Ron Tough Foundation and Zhik for the continued support.

Freshie Racing

Tour de Belle Ile: TF1 Video Summary of the Race

Autour de Belle-Ile-en-Mer

TF1 - JT
Tour de Belle Ile

America's Cup: Tidetech to Supply Tidal Modelling for 34th America's Cup

San Francisco Flood Tide as modelled by Tidetech. Image copyright Tidetech.

by Tidetech media

Tactical racing oceanographic data specialist Tidetech has been recruited to provide oceanographic data and tidal modelling to the 34th America’s Cup.

Tidetech has agreed to supply a licence to use its San Francisco 100m v5 model from June 2011 to September 2013. The tidal model created for the San Francisco Bay area has been developed with the America’s Cup in mind but is available to anyone who needs accurate tidal stream data for that location.

Tidal models are constructed using detailed bathymetric data (depths) and knowledge of local tidal harmonics. Complex calculations and mathematical analyses are then used to calculate how water moves from one part of the model area to another. The data is subsequently converted into a visual representation either in GRIB format, downloaded to onboard navigation software, or in a set of downloadable images.

As a direct consequence of preparing for the America’s Cup, Tidetech has mapped the San Francisco Bay area in exceptional detail over the last 12 months. The standard model data is already available to all bay users including yacht racers, cruising boats, shipping, port authority, safety agencies and fishermen. The data will continue to be developed up to and beyond the competition providing a lasting benefit to the San Francisco maritime sector.


San Francisco City front counter currents as modelled by Tidetech. Image copyright Tidetech.

The America’s Cup model differs from the standard offering as it is set in 10-minute time-steps. The benefit of this smaller time-step is that it gives extra insight into the timing and structure of the some quite pronounced eddies that will impact racing.

Tidetech director and co-founder Penny Haire said the company had spent the last two years mapping key racing areas around the world and developing accurate visualisation tools for navigators to use.

“Our scientific team [co-founder Dr Roger Proctor and Dr Roger Flather] has unrivalled expertise in tidal and storm-surge modelling from decades of scientific research and application,” Haire said.

“This combined expertise makes Tidetech’s models the most advanced currently available to the public.”

Tidetech has also been asked to look at further refinements to the model including constructing a 50m resolution model to better resolve the city-front area and its unique eddy structures. Other areas of interest also include developing a wave-current interaction model that will show areas of wave steepening and flattening – critical information for fast multi-hulls.

Tidetech
America's Cup

RC44: Practice Race on Traunsee Won by Slingsby/Heerema

RC44 practice race on Traunsee, Austria. Image copyright Hans Osterauer.

by Jessica Gray

Practice day at the RC44 Cup in Austria bought some beautiful sunshine for the 13 competing teams, but little in the way of wind. Under the stunning backdrop of Lake Traunsee, the teams did manage to complete the ‘Grand Prix of Gmunden’ practice race, with No Way Back crossing the line first.

There was a new boy calling tactics for Peiter Heerema on No Way Back, Tom Slingsby (AUS) is a man on form. He is the current Laser World Champion, ISAF World Sailor of the Year and is gunning for gold at next year’s Olympics in London. Tom grew up sailing on lakes, so thinks the challenge of Lake Traunsee could suit him.

“It was my first race today so I was just getting used to the boats. It was a good fun race, it was a short course with quite a few laps and the positioning was up and down one moment you were first the next last. With positions changing all of the time, we were lucky we came good right at the end. The Laser is a very different boat to this but I love the RC44, it’s such a great boat. It's perfect for this fleet and very technical which is new for me, I'm still learning about that stuff, but we've got a great team and they know how to get the boat around the course, I just have to put us in the right position.” Tom Slingsby, Laser World Champion.

Racing starts proper at 11.30 (CET) on Wednesday 11th May, with the pro skippers getting their chance to shine at the helm for the Match Racing day.

Watch the racing unfold through live tracking and streaming click here

Results - RC44 Austria Cup -Practice Long Distance Race – 10.5.2010

1 No Way Back (NED) Peiter Heerema /Tom Slingsby
2 Team Ceeref (SLO) Igor Lah / Michelle Ivaldi
3 Aleph Sailing Team (FRA) Hugues Lepic / Mathieu Richard
4 Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) Daniel Calero /Jose Ponce
5 ORACLE Racing (USA) Steve Howe / Russell Coutts
6 Katusha (RUS) Gennady Timchenko / Paul Cayard
7 Team Nika (RUS) Vladimir Prosikhin / Tomislav Basic
8 Artemis (SWE) Torbjorn Tornqvist / Morgan Larson
9 Synergy (RUS) Zavadnikov Valentin / Evgeniy Neugodnikov
10 Ironbound (USA) David Murphy / Peter Evans
11 Peninsula Petroluem (GBR) John Bassadone / Inaki Castaner
12 AEZ (AUS) Rene Mangold / Christian Binder
13 Team Aqua (GBR) Chris Bake / Cameron Appleton

RC44

VOR: Abu Dhabi Boat Build in Progress

Progress report from the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing technical team as their Farr designed Volvo Open 70 goes through the final stages of the build more than 100 miles from the sea in picturesque Bergamo in northern Italy's industrial heartland. This is the home of Persico, a high tech mould-making company specialising in custom solutions for the marine/aeronautical and automotive industry:


Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing
Volvo Ocean Race

WMRT: Teams Primed for Battle in World Match Racing Tour Opener

J80 training off Marseille. Image copyright Chris Davies/WMRT.

by Audrey Lakai

The long awaited start to the 2011 World Match Racing Tour is nearly over as the twelve teams competing in Match Race France took to the water at Yacht Club Pointe Rouge in Marseille on Practice Day where conditions look favourable for a week of enthralling match racing.

Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar comes into the regatta in imperious form and confidence having won both the Congressional Cup in March followed by the VIII Open de Espana last week. However the Englishman believes ‘form counts for nothing in match racing’ and that the difference between winning and losing here in Marseille will come down to the pre-start:

“Although it might vary, I expect there to be a favoured side throughout the week which makes the pre-start important. It won’t be easy as it looks like the sea breeze will filter in from the south-west and possibly the mistral from the north which will create challenging conditions.”

Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team discovered just how tricky the conditions can be here when his early practice session yesterday was cut short after being dis-masted in nearly 30 knots of wind: “We had a disaster with the mast coming down but the guys here did a really good job. J80s are quite small boats but really challenging. We’re expecting heavy winds at the end of the week but I think that suits the J80 really well.”

If Williams points to the pre-start tussle as a key area to dominate, Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners Racing Team agrees with Hansen that the fleet of J80 boats could play a defining role in the outcome here. While their design is suited for the tight manoeuvring in a dial up, they are also a challenging boat to sail as they favour neither big boat racers nor dinghy sailors:

“The J80s are a challenge for a team like mine – they are technical and demanding as you have to adapt the way you sail them depending on the conditions. The lighter winds will possibly give way to stronger winds later this week and the team will need to respond accordingly.”

2011 Match Race France Teams

Francesco Bruni (ITA) Mascalzone Latino
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team
Alexis Littoz-Baritel (FRA) Team Savoie Mont Blanc
Alvaro Marinho (PGL) Seth Sailing Team
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Extreme Team Morbihan
Bertrand Pace (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team
Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners Racing Team
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar

Match Race France
World Match Racing Tour

WMRT: Match Race France J - 0

Training for Match Race France, off Yacht Club Pointe Rouge, Marseille. Image copyright Gilles Martin-Raget.

par Sophie Claudon

Depuis ce week-end, l’activité s’est intensifiée dans la rade sud de Marseille
Les premiers skippers et leurs équipages ont investit les pontons.

Les entraînements officiels se sont enchainés sur cette première journée, permettant aux teams de prendre le bateau en main (J80) et de reprendre leurs marques sur le plan d’eau marseillais.

Les meilleurs barreurs mondiaux à Marseille cette semaine...


The skippers for Match Race France 2011. Image copyright Gilles Martin-Raget.

ISAF Ranking - Skipper/Crew - Nationality

4 Torvar Mirsky/Kyle Langford/Tudur Owen/Graeme Spence AUS
5 Ian Williams/Mark Williams/Bill Hardesty/Malcolm Parker GBR
6 Bjorn Hansen/Phillip Kai Ghule/Mattias Bredin/David Jonsson SWE
8 Pierre-Antoine Morvan/Cedric Chateau/Mathieu Renault/Nicolas Heintz FRA
9 Phil Robertson/Garth Ellingham/Sam Bell/Hayden Goodrick NZL
10 Francesco Bruni/Massimo Bortoletto/Pierluigi De Felice/Matt Cornwell ITA
12 Peter Gilmour/Yasuhiro Yaji/Thierry Douillard/Cameron Dunn AUS
15 Damien Iehl/Frederic Gulmin/Francois Verdier/Devan Le Bihan FRA
16 Alvaro Marinho/Gil Conde/Luis Brito/Marcos Iglesias POR
21 Jesper Radich/Rasmus Kostner/David Swete/Nick Blackman DEN
32 Bertrand Pace/Benoit Briand/Gilles Andre/Tanguy Carriou FRA
77 Alexis Littoz-Baritel/Antoine Carraz/Mathieu Moreaux/Julien Falxa FRA

12 équipages engagés, 4 hommes à bord...

La crème de la crème de la voile et du Match Racing s’est donnée rendez-vous dans la cité phocéenne.

Tous très décidés à débuter la saison dans le haut du tableau, les matchs sur l’eau devraient être très disputés... Du grand spectacle !


Christopher Pratt – Parrain du Match race France


Christopher Pratt. Image copyright AFP.

Christopher Pratt, le plus jeune skipper engagé sur la dernière Route du Rhum 2010 et licencié du Yachting Club Pointe Rouge depuis plus de 20 ans succède à Thierry Fouchier et parraine le MATCH RACE FRANCE 2011.

« Je suis un marin hauturier... passionné et engagé dans la course au large. Mais les performances des skippers en voile sportive m’ont toujours fasciné. La navigation en équipage est une approche bien différente de la course en solitaire.

« Les relations humaines, la confiance sont de mises. Sur des épreuves comme le match racing, le temps de course est très court : chaque membre de l’équipage doit prendre les bonnes décisions en un temps minime ! Ce sont des vrais performeurs !

« Cette semaine de compétition réunit les meilleurs barreurs mondiaux dans la cité phocéenne, l’un des spots les plus adaptés pour ce type de compétition.

« Je suis très honoré et fier pour mon club !

« Je souhaite également que les marseillais et passionnés de voile soit nombreux sur les pontons et sur la digue de la Pointe Rouge pour suivre les courses »

Plus d’infos sur http://www.christopher-pratt.com

PROGRAMME DES DEUX PROCHAINES JOURNEES

Mercredi 11 mai
08h30 Fin des inscriptions
09h00 Briefing des skippers
10h00 1er signal d'attention
18h00 Conférence de presse
4 départs de l'YCPR pour les vedettes VIP : 11h - 12h30 - 14h et 15h30

Jeudi 12 mai
09h00 Briefing des skippers
10h00 1er signal d'attention
16h00 Régate partenaires
18h00 Conférence de presse
4 départs de l'YCPR pour les vedettes VIP : 11h - 12h30 - 14h et 15h30
Rotations de la vedette Régate en Vue pour les scolaires

Match Race France
World Match Racing Tour

WMRT: Damien Iehl et son Equipage Prets pour le Coup d'Envoi du World Match Racing Tour

Damien Iehl. Image copyright Loris von Siebenthal/World Match Racing Tour.

par Effets Mer/FFVoile

C’est la France, avec l’étape marseillaise (Match Race France) qui a l’honneur d’ouvrir la saison 2011 du World Match Racing Tour. Le championnat compte neuf étapes et c’est en décembre à l’issue de la Monsoon Cup que l’on connaitra le nom du champion du monde 2011.

Marseille, première pierre à l’édifice

Entre le 10 et le 15 mai, ils seront 12 équipages à tenter de briguer la première victoire de la saison dans la rade Sud de Marseille. Damien Iehl et son équipage représenteront l’équipe de France de Match Racing (Mathieu Richard, l’autre skipper de l’équipe, ne sera pas présent).Entouré de ses équipiers habituels (Fred Guilmin, François Verdier, Devan Le Bihan), Damien entame cette saison avec un objectif clair : remporter le titre mondial ! Pour cela, il faudra donc déjà bien figurer dans la Cité Phocéenne. « Ce sera bien de faire de bons résultats tout de suite, pour marquer des points mais aussi pour nous rassurer » commente Damien.

« Tour Card Holder », les trois mots qui rendent plus sereins

En janvier dernier, l’organisation du World Match Racing Tour annonçait que deux équipages Français étaient retenus pour disputer le championnat du monde. Pas de surprise pour Mathieu Richard, vice-champion du monde 2010 mais pour Damien, il y avait évidemment plus d’incertitudes même si, avec son équipage, il est déjà un habitué du circuit et a réalisé de belles choses comme la victoire sur le Match Race Germany en 2008.

En obtenant cette carte, Damien est assuré de participer à au moins 6 des 9 étapes programmées en 2011. Jusque là, Damien devait gagner des invitations pour pouvoir participer « au coup par coup » aux épreuves du WMRT. Le sociétaire de l’APCC Nantes peut donc cette année jouer pleinement pour le titre comme il l’espérait depuis plusieurs saisons. Forcément, Damien et ses hommes sont donc plus sereins et ont pu se consacrer exclusivement à la préparation du championnat du monde.

Des stages en J80, d’autres en JOD35, différents partenaires d’entrainement (Mathieu Richard, Pierre-Antoine Morvan), travail sur la cohésion d’équipage, rien n’a été laissé au hasard pour faire une belle entrée en matière à Marseille. Damien et ses hommes sont toujours en ce moment en entrainement à Pornichet. Sous la houlette de Marc Bouet et Gérard Bossé, ils travaillent tout particulièrement les règles de course.

Tour d’horizon de la concurrence marseillaise

Lors de sa dernière participation au Match Race France en 2009, Damien avait terminé 4ème. Cette fois encore, il va se retrouver face aux meilleurs équipages du World Match Racing Tour. Il devra affronter entre autres Ian Williams (double champion du monde) ou Peter Gilmour (quadruple champion du monde). Notons également la présence d’autres équipages français dont celui mené par Bertrand Pacé, seul Français à avoir remporté le titre de champion du monde (1994).

Pierre-Antoine Morvan fait quant à lui parti de la jeune garde française, il est 7ème de la Ranking List. Un quatrième équipage tricolore sera mené par Alexis Littoz Baritel. Les places seront chères mais la motivation et le niveau de préparation de Damien, Fred, François et Devan devraient leur permettre de jouer à fond leur carte d’outsiders !

Interview de Damien Iehl :

Comment vous êtes-vous préparés pour le Match Race France ?

« Nous venons d’enchainer plusieurs entrainements. L’un à Saint Quay avec Mathieu Richard, nous avons également navigué avec Pierre-Antoine Morvan en J80. Nous sommes actuellement à Pornichet. Il s’agit pour nous de réviser nos gammes, de tout remettre à plat pour arriver fins prêts à Marseille. Nous sommes ici encadrés par Marc Bouet. C’est un entrainement très axé sur les règles de course. D’ailleurs, là, nous n’avons pas de vent, nous en avons donc profité pour faire un gros briefing et travailler sur des cas précis qui peuvent être compliqués sur le plan du règlement. »

Comment abordez-vous Marseille ?

« C’est le départ du championnat du monde et la route est longue. Ce sera bien de faire de bons résultats tout de suite, pour marquer des points mais aussi pour nous rassurer. Cependant, il ne faut pas se mettre trop de pression. L’idée est de finir fort sur la saison. Nous avons tout fait pour arriver bien préparés que se soit d’un point de vue des entrainements mais aussi du physique et du mental. Nous avons par exemple beaucoup travaillé sur la cohésion de l’équipage. De toute façon, on peut faire toute la préparation possible, c’est le résultat qui parlera ! »

Wind2Win
Match Race France
World Match Racing Tour

Vestas Sailrocket 2: The Trouble with Wings and Things...

Model of Vestas Sailrocket 2 and her (unmounted) wing, copyright Sailrocket and Paul Larson.

by Paul Larson (in Walvis Bay, Namibia)

The wing went up effortlessly and we proceded to head up the course to try and go for a sail.

The big modifications we had made was to spend a lot more time configuring the boat as it is meant to be. Sounds easy and obvious... but there is nothing obvious about this boat. What turned out to be right, at first felt wrong. The good news was that it involved a rather drastic move forward of the beam and wing. This will make getting the boat started a lot easier. We also worked on the system to pull the beam further forward to help her even more in the start up phase. We also increased the range of the rudder and made the wing more upright. The friction in the wing bearings was also reduced to help the wing feather i.e. turn 'off' easier.

As we were towing the boat backwards up the course with the wing fully eased, I was sliding up and down the fuselage checking the fore and aft stay tensions. The whole lot goes a bit loose and wobbly when the wind is blowing from the wrong side. We are very far from being comfortable with it all.

It was as we were turning the nose of VSR2 through the wind that we literally hit a snag. The middle and lower wing sections fouled each other as they passed. The lower section is restrained so now the large middle section was also restrained. The trouble was that the wing was now sheeted on backwards and in this configuration it is not supported by the shrouds. The whole 'shooting match' pitched forward. I motioned for the RIB to yank the nose around which Jeffro duly did. The rig dived forward again. The beam bent and the wing cracked and crunched like a tree about to fall. I was sure it was coming down. There was nothing I could do but watch and wait for the bow to come around.


Schematic diagram of how Vestas Sailrocket 2 should look, copyright Sailrocket and Paul Larson.

Thankfully it did. The shrouds picked up the load and the interference cleared itself. We took it all ashore. The part that did all the cracking and crunching was thakfully only a minor piece of fairing. Damn.... my heart was in my mouth. This feeling was supposed to be locked in a container back in the UK with the first boat.

We identified where the interference was and decided to take the boat home to double check that nothing else had been damaged by the unexpected loads and distortions.

It's now the following day and I'm happy to say that everything seems ok. We dodged a bullet there and will be out saling again this afternoon. We opened the wing right up to hopefully avoid any other foul ups. We already thought the clearance was enough but it turned out that a little bit of mast bend would close the gaps up enough at the back of the wing to allow them to foul. Once they fouled, it would increase the tendency for the mast to bend. The whole wing would lock up.

Beer not Grinder...

We were all very happy to be sitting in 'The Raft' later that night having a beer rather than sitting in the container with a grinder.

It's a new boat and these things will happen. We have three weeks left to start revealing the performance of the boat so are keen to sail at every opportunity. We will try and knock any risky luxuries out of the program that might jeopardise us seeing what we need to see. For now we will just lower the rig between runs until we are totally confident in its ability to feather.

We have a full team here so we are not short of hands. We are not building these boats to sell them... just to prove a point. The focus is on getting up to speed and this shouldn't be compromised... even if it requires a little ugliness along the way.

The sun is finally out and we are about to put the wing back on.

It seems that our drag 'hump' is around 8 knots. I reckon that if we can sail up to 10 knots then we can do 30 knots. Malcolm reckons we will need around 18 knots of wind to do this. It looks like we might get that today.

Fingers crossed and thumbs held.

Vestas Sailrocket 2

VELUX5OCEANS: VELUX 5 OCEANS Stars in Charleston Harbor Fest Ahead of Sprint Five Start

Race to form centrepiece of maritime festival


Charleston Harbor Fest. Image copyright Vanessa Kaufmann.

by Sarah Hames

The VELUX 5 OCEANS is set to be the centrepiece of Charleston Harbor Fest, a four-day celebration of all things nautical. Visitors will be able to see first-hand the four VELUX 5 OCEANS Eco 60 yachts as their skippers prepare for ocean sprint five, the final leg of the 30,000-mile solo round the world yacht race.

Tickets are available online for a special Bon Voyage reception with the VELUX 5 OCEANS skippers from 5pm to 8pm on Friday, May 13. Saturday will feature a dockside send-off ceremony and Parade of Sail accompanying the VELUX 5 OCEANS racers as they head out to the start line for the final charge back to La Rochelle, France, starting at 1500.


Charleston Harbor Fest. Image copyright Vanessa Kaufmann.

During the festival the four ocean-going Eco 60s will line up alongside four impressive tallships including Spirit of South Carolina, a 140ft double-masted schooner operated by Harbor Fest organisers the South Carolina Maritime Foundation.

Harbor Fest will also feature the VELUX tent which will host the grinding challenge, plus the Maersk Line Climate Box, an interactive exhibit housed inside a prototype container which gives the community insight about the effects of global shipping. The Education Village will focus on sustainability, while at the Kids’ Zone youngsters can build model yachts, learn to tie a monkey’s fist knot or play on a huge inflatable slide.

Located at the Charleston Maritime Center, Harbor Fest is open from 1300 to 1800 on Thursday May 12 and Friday May 13. On Saturday festival hours are 1000 to 1800, and Sunday 1000 until 1600. A single entry price of $10 in advance and $15 at the gate will provide access for the entire weekend. Advance ticket purchases along with lots of information about the event can be found at www.charlestonharborfest.org

VELUX5OCEANS

Generali Solo 2011 : Une Vingtaine de Skippers en Lice

Affiche officielle Generali Solo 2011, copyright Generali.

par Aurélie Feuvrier

Pour son grand retour en Méditerranée, la Generali Solo 2011 accueillera, du 1er au 19 juin prochain, une vingtaine des meilleurs Figaristes solitaires. Trois ex-vainqueurs de l’épreuve seront là : Gildas Morvan, Eric Drouglazet et Jean-Paul Mouren. Mais la jeune garde à l’image des Nicolas Lunven, Adrien Hardy, Thomas Ruyant, Jean-Pierre Nicol, ou Paul Meilhat n’entend pas laisser ces « anciens » étoffer leurs palmarès sans combattre. Tour d’horizon à moins d’un mois du départ.

Qui succèdera à Kito de Pavant, dernier vainqueur de la Generali Solo en 2006 ? A moins d’un mois du départ, ils confirment leur inscription ou sont en passe de le faire. Autrement dit, une vingtaine de solitaires qui se disputeront le titre 2011 de cette épreuve comptant pour le Championnat de France de Course au Large en Solitaire et qui se déroulera entre Marseille, Leucate et Hyères-Porquerolles.


Jean-Louis Etienne Parrain de la Generali Solo 2011. Image copyright © Generali.

Parmi les hommes en forme côté breton, on surveillera tout particulièrement quatre ou cinq marins. Nicolas Lunven (Generali), par exemple : le vainqueur de la Solitaire du Figaro 2009 aura une revanche à prendre sur le sort, après son déclassement sur décision du jury alors qu’il avait remporté la Transat Bénodet-Martinique. Sous les couleurs du partenaire de la course, il comptera parmi les grands favoris.

Ce sera le cas aussi de Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) et Eric Drouglazet (Luisina). Ces deux cadors du circuit solitaire seront également animés d’un esprit de revanche après les avaries qui les ont empêchés de défendre leurs chances sur la Transat. Leur grande expérience sera forcément utile dans cette alternance si exigeante de parcours bananes, côtiers et d’étapes hauturières. Leur palmarès plaide en leur faveur : Gildas Movan a déjà gagné deux fois la Generali Solo (en 2000 et 2003), Eric Drouglazet l’a emportée en 1996.

Morvan, Lunven, Drouglazet...

Ces trois-là devront se méfier du Nantais Adrien Hardy (Agir Recouvrement) qui porte bien son nom : l’an passé Adrien fut le seul marin à battre Armel Le Cléac’h sur la Solitaire et il vient de gagner brillamment la Solo Concarneau… Gare aussi aux deux camarades d’entraînement « vendéens » Frédéric Rivet (Vendée1) et Morgan Lagravière (Vendée). Fred Rivet a beaucoup d’expérience entre trois bouées et Morgan Lagravière est une étoile montante du 49er...

Côté « nordistes » toujours, Thomas Ruyant (Destination Dunkerque) fera ses classes en Figaro Bénéteau mais a déjà enchaîné deux victoires majeures dans la Transat 6.50 et la Route du Rhum en Class40 ! Pour donner la réplique, on peut compter aussi sur Fabien Delahaye (P ort de Caen Ouistreham), très régulier aux avant-postes et vainqueur de la Transat Ag2r 2010 aux côtés d’Armel Le Cléac’h. Le Bigouden Eric Péron (Skipper Macif 2009) a lui aussi le niveau pour jouer les premiers rôles. Une inconnue viendra du coureur-architecte Charlie Dalin (Keopsys), « bizuth » en Figaro, mais avec une belle expérience sur d’autres supports.

Avantage du terrain pour les « Sudistes » ?

Côté Sud, honneur au Marseillais Jean-Paul Mouren, seul Méditerranéen avec Kito de Pavant à avoir gagné la Generali Solo lors de la toute première édition en 1990 (lorsque celle-ci s’appelait la Solo Porquerolles). Fidèle au poste, Jean-Paul tentera de faire fructifier sa connaissance des caprices du plan d’eau et de la météo. Ce sera également le cas du Montpelliérain Laurent Pellecuer, son camarade de jeux lorsqu’ils avaient remporté ensemble la Transat Ag2r 2008. Marc Emig, autre Marseillais très expérimenté, sera de la partie lui aussi et pas pour y faire de la figuration. Paul Meilhat, Jean-Pierre Nicol et le Portugais Francisco Lobato (Roff) représenteront cette génération montante du Sud, parfaitement capable de s’imposer.


Carte du parcours : Generali Solo, copyright Generali.

Les inscriptions étant encore ouvertes (jusqu’au 15 mai), il n’est pas exclu que d’autres marins viennent se joindre à cette liste de prétendants. Quoiqu’il en soit, la fête sera belle, la bagarre acharnée… et la convivialité au rendez-vous sous le soleil du Sud.

Liste des participants

Charlie Dalin
Fabien Delahaye
Eric Drouglazet
Marc Emig
Matthieu Girolet
Damien Guillou
Adrien Hardy
Morgan Lagravière
Francisco Lobato
Nicolas Lunven
Paul Meilhat
Mickael Mergui
Gildas Morvan
Jean-Paul Mouren
Jean-Pierre Nicol
Laurent Pellecuer (en attente de sponsor)
Eric Peron
Frédéric Rivet
Thomas Ruyant
...

Programme de la GENERALI SOLO 2011 :

- Du mercredi 1er au dimanche 5 juin : MARSEILLE
. Mercredi 1e juin : ouverture du Village Officiel installé sur le Vieux Port à Marseille
. Jeudi 2 juin : Prologue de la GENERALI SOLO 2011
. Vendredi 3 juin : Grand Prix Marseille Provence, en rade de Marseille
. Samedi 4 juin : Grand Prix Marseille Provence (suite) et remise des Prix
. Dimanche 5 juin : Départ de la première grande course hauturière en direction de Leucate.

- Du mardi 7 au lundi 13 juin : LEUCATE
. Mardi 7 juin : Arrivée de la première grande étape hauturière à Leucate
. Mercredi 8 juin : Day Off - Inauguration du Village Officiel à Leucate
. Jeudi 9 juin : Grand Prix de Leucate
. Vendredi 10 et samedi 11 juin : Grand Prix de Leucate (suite et fin)
. Samedi 11 juin : Remise des Prix du Grand Prix de Leucate
. Dimanche 12 juin : animation Village, rencontre avec les skippers
. Lundi 13 juin : Départ de la 2e grande course hauturière : direction Porquerolles

- Du mercredi 15 au dimanche 19 juin : HYÈRES-PORQUEROLLES
. Mercredi 15 juin : arrivée de la deuxième grande course hauturière à Porquerolles
. Jeudi 16 juin : Day Off - ouverture Village
. Vendredi 17 et samedi 18 juin : Grand Prix de Hyères-Porquerolles en baie de Hyères
. Dimanche 19 juin : Postlogue et soirée de remise de Prix de la GENERALI SOLO 2011
sur l’île de Porquerolles.

Generali Solo 2011