Raid Revenge is a race with Formula 18-catamarans through the beautiful archipelago of Stockholm.
The 2011 edition attracted sailors from five different countries. Among those were Darren Bundock from Australia - one of the best cat sailors in the world. Also the former Greek Tornado Olympian, Dany Paschalidis was there. His comment afterwards was; "This was the best sailing experience I've had during my 30 years sailing career".
Raid Revenge
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Tour de France a la Voile : Nantes St-Nazaire E. LeClerc sailing team M34
Nantes St-Nazaire E. LeClerc sailing team tour de France à la voile 2011 M34
APCC Voile Sportive
Tour de France a la Voile
APCC Voile Sportive
Tour de France a la Voile
Bol d’Or Mirabaud 2011 : Alinghi in the lead at Bouveret after 2 hours and 10 minutes
Ernesto Bertarelli won the Bol d'Or many times before the change to D35 catamarans. A victory since this time has eluded him... but Alinghi is leading at present
Start of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2011. Image copyright Loris von Siebenthal/www.myimage.ch
Alinghi vire en tête au Bouveret après 2h10 de course, suivi par Foncia
par Christophe Lamps
Grâce à des conditions de vent favorables, le départ de cette 73ème édition du Bol d’Or Mirabaud présenté par Corum s’est fait sous spi pour la majorité des 477 concurrents ayant pris le départ. Avec des vents de 10 à 16 noeuds, les premiers multicoques entraient dans le Grand-Lac environ une heure après avoir pris le départ.
A ce stade, les D35 Alinghi, Veltigroup, Ylliam et Foncia avaient déjà pris les commandes. Seul le M2 Team Parmigiani parvenant à leur tenir tête. La stratégie adoptée en début de course par la majorité des concurrents a été de privilégier les côtes françaises, ce qui s’est avéré payant. Parmi les monocoques, qui se trouvent à la hauteur d’Evian, la lutte est intense entre le BDO, Syz & Co, Full Pelt X, G18, Oyster Funds, et le Mirabaud LX.
Avec des pointes à plus de 20 noeuds, Alinghi était le premier à passer la barge du Bouveret après 2h10 de course, suivi 5 minutes plus tard par Foncia. Ylliam et de Rham Sotheby’s complétant le quatuor de tête. L’an passé le premier bateau à passer la barge du Bouveret était le D35 Ladycat après plus de 9 heures de course.
Start of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud in 2010. Image copyright Loris von Siebenthal/www.myimage.ch
La course n’est cependant pas encore terminée, surtout pour les monocoques qui risquent de se confronter à des difficultés météorologiques dans le Haut-Lac car des risques de précipitations venant de la Vallée du Rhône sont attendus, selon Lionel Fontannaz de MétéoSuisse.
Bol d'Or Mirabaud presentee par Corum
Start of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2011. Image copyright Loris von Siebenthal/www.myimage.ch
Alinghi vire en tête au Bouveret après 2h10 de course, suivi par Foncia
par Christophe Lamps
Grâce à des conditions de vent favorables, le départ de cette 73ème édition du Bol d’Or Mirabaud présenté par Corum s’est fait sous spi pour la majorité des 477 concurrents ayant pris le départ. Avec des vents de 10 à 16 noeuds, les premiers multicoques entraient dans le Grand-Lac environ une heure après avoir pris le départ.
A ce stade, les D35 Alinghi, Veltigroup, Ylliam et Foncia avaient déjà pris les commandes. Seul le M2 Team Parmigiani parvenant à leur tenir tête. La stratégie adoptée en début de course par la majorité des concurrents a été de privilégier les côtes françaises, ce qui s’est avéré payant. Parmi les monocoques, qui se trouvent à la hauteur d’Evian, la lutte est intense entre le BDO, Syz & Co, Full Pelt X, G18, Oyster Funds, et le Mirabaud LX.
Avec des pointes à plus de 20 noeuds, Alinghi était le premier à passer la barge du Bouveret après 2h10 de course, suivi 5 minutes plus tard par Foncia. Ylliam et de Rham Sotheby’s complétant le quatuor de tête. L’an passé le premier bateau à passer la barge du Bouveret était le D35 Ladycat après plus de 9 heures de course.
Start of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud in 2010. Image copyright Loris von Siebenthal/www.myimage.ch
La course n’est cependant pas encore terminée, surtout pour les monocoques qui risquent de se confronter à des difficultés météorologiques dans le Haut-Lac car des risques de précipitations venant de la Vallée du Rhône sont attendus, selon Lionel Fontannaz de MétéoSuisse.
Bol d'Or Mirabaud presentee par Corum
Tour des Iles Britanniques : Safran Sets New Record Time Around Britain and Ireland
Safran has smashed the Round Britain and Ireland record with a time of 6 days, 9 hours, 48 minutes, 50 seconds
Safran rafle le record du Tour des Iles Britanniques en 6 jours, 9 heures, 48 minutes, 50 secondes
The successful Safran Sailing Team back in Falmouth. Image copyright Safran.
par Soazig Guého
Marc Guillemot’s crew aboard Safran have just successfully completed their voyage around Britain and Ireland, crossing the finishing line off the Lizard at 0734 hrs GMT (1) on Saturday 18th June. Safran has improved on the record time, finishing 1 hour 42 minutes and 3 seconds ahead of the time set by Dee Caffari two years ago on Aviva. The crew of PRB, with whom Safran was engaged in a duel for a week had to abandon their attempt after their forestay broke.
They just made it. The name of Safran has been added to the record-breakers around Britain and Ireland. This morning (Saturday 18th June), the big monohull sailed by Marc Guillemot, Yann Eliès, Loic Lingois, César Dohy and Didier Le Vourch crossed the finishing line off the Lizard at 0734 hrs GMT. Safran completed the voyage in 6 days, 9 hours, 48 minutes and 50 seconds improving on the record time held since June 2009 by Dee Caffari’s all-women crew on Aviva by 1h 42 minutes and 3 seconds.
Safran completed the course at an average speed of 11.52 knots on the 1773 mile Great circle route (the theoretical course). However, on the water, she actually covered more than 2000 miles at an average speed of 13 knots. Setting out just under a week ago from this same location off the Lizard at 2145 hrs GMT on Saturday 11th June in a duel with Vincent Riou and Hugues Destremau’s PRB, Marc Guillemot’s crew just managed to achieve what they set out to do, while PRB was forced to retire after their forestay broke. (1)
Difficult... so interesting
The record was particularly difficult with some strong winds (up to 48 knots) and heavy seas, but also some tricky weather patterns to deal with, but this made it all the more interesting for Marc Guillemot, Yann Eliès and the three other men on board. In the North Sea – the attempt was carried out in an anti-clockwise direction from east to west – wind farms, which were not marked on the charts and a boat being towed forced them to carry out emergency manoeuvres on Safran and this led to two breakages: the big spinnaker blew out and two mainsail battens were broken. The strategy involving staying ahead of a warm front was soon no longer valid and they had to adapt to the situation, talking things through with Sylvain Mondon of Météo France. “Off the Shetlands, we no longer had any advantage and at best we could aim for beating the record by three hours,” explained Sylvain.
The conditions they encountered were particularly tough: sailing upwind in winds averaging 35 knots gusting to 45 in heavy seas with 4 to 5 metre high waves. In other words, rather like during the 2009 Transat Jacques Vabre, when Safran was nicknamed “the war machine” after previously being referred to as “the jet fighter”... PRB, lighter with three men fewer aboard was in the lead at that point. The crew of Safran can be praised for sticking with it and executing a perfect strategy throughout the second half of the race course. In particular off the west of Ireland, where they carried out three changes of tack in heavy seas to try to make the most of the wind shift as it came around to offer downwind sailing.
After having more than enough upwind sailing in nasty seas – to the extent that they even had to slow down to ensure the safety of the boat as she slammed violently into each wave - Safran could finally open up her sails and was speeding along south west of Ireland when we learnt that PRB had suffered damage: their forestay had broken and this eventually led to Vincent Riou and Hugues Destremau retiring. Safran accelerated on the starboard tack and only needed to do one more gybe, just before the finishing line. Upwind, reaching, downwind, heavy seas… the boat experienced all sorts of conditions in this difficult voyage around Britain and Ireland. An excellent way of training for the Transat Jacques Vabre and great way to introduce the boat to Yann Eliès, who will be Marc Guillemot’s co-skipper in this year’s big event.
Two questions for Marc Guillemot
Marc, this was a tricky record for you...
“We didn’t have much leeway. A good boat setting off in the right conditions could improve on our time by around thirty hours, I think. Maybe we’ll give it another go ourselves one day. Having said that, we are quite pleased, as it took such a lot of effort. The wind and in particular the seas were so nasty that at times, we had to slow the boat down deliberately. There were moments when we weren’t in record mode, but more worried about looking after the equipment. There was some really bad slamming. The conditions were sometimes tougher than in the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2009 when we went through some really nasty weather.”
Your final appraisal?
“It’s all been very positive for several reasons. We were able to check out the modifications made during the winter refit in some very demanding weather and the boat did well apart from two little bits of damage in the North Sea (spinnaker and mainsail battens – editor’s note). The idea of a duel with Vincent was a good one and we are sincerely disappointed for what happened to them. We would have preferred to see two boats finishing. They sailed really well until they suffered this damage. Finally, sailing with a crew meant we could really focus on the details and Yann (Eliès) adapted perfectly to the boat, so it was a great introduction for him. And just as after each adventure, we are simply delighted to have completed it and to be heading home. We are due to arrive in La Trinité-sur-Mer this evening or during the night and then we’ll be able to get some rest.”
(1) All of these figures await ratification by the WSSRC, the World Sailing Speed Record Council, the body, which governs world sailing records.
In French :
A bord de Safran, l’équipage de Marc Guillemot vient de boucler victorieusement le Tour des Iles Britanniques ce samedi 18 juin 2011 à 9h34 heure française (1), au cap Lizard. Le monocoque Safran, améliore ainsi de 1h42minutes et 03 secondes le chrono établi par Dee Caffari voilà deux ans sur Aviva. L’équipage de PRB, avec qui Safran était en duel depuis une semaine, a dû abandonner hier après avoir brisé un étai.
A l’arrachée ! Safran vient d’inscrire son nom sur les tablettes du record du Tour des Iles Britanniques. Ce samedi matin 18 juin, le grand monocoque emmené par Marc Guillemot, Yann Eliès, Loic Lingois, César Dohy et Didier Le Vourch a franchi la ligne d’arrivée au cap Lizard à 9h 34 minutes et 20 secondes. Safran signe un temps de parcours de 6 jours, 9 heures, 48 minutes, 50 secondes et améliore ainsi de 1h 42 minutes et 03 secondes le chrono de référence détenu depuis juin 2009 par Dee Caffari et son équipage exclusivement féminin, à bord d’Aviva.
Safran a bouclé le parcours à 11,52 nœuds de moyenne sur l’orthodromie (la route théorique) de 1773 milles. Mais en réalité il a parcouru plus de 2000 milles à 13 nœuds de moyenne. Partis voilà un peu moins d’une semaine de ce même cap Lizard, le samedi 11 juin à 23h45 heure française et en duel avec le PRB de Vincent Riou et Hugues Destremau, l’équipage de Marc Guillemot finit donc par s’imposer à l’arrachée, sachant que PRB a dû abandonner hier suite à la rupture d’un étai. (1)
Difficile... donc intéressant !
Particulièrement difficile, avec des vents forts (jusqu’à 48 nœuds) et de la grosse mer mais aussi des systèmes météo différents à gérer, le record n’en a été que plus intéressant pour Marc Guillemot, Yann Eliès et les trois autres marins du bord. Dès la mer du Nord - la tentative étant entamée dans le sens antihoraire d’est en ouest – de gigantesques champs d’éoliennes, non indiqués sur les cartes marines, puis un bateau en remorque obligeaient à des manœuvres d’évitement qui faisaient perdre du temps à Safran et faisaient subir deux avaries : rupture d’un grand spi et de deux lattes de grand-voile. La stratégie qui consistait à rester à l’avant d’un front chaud devenait alors obsolète et il a fallu s’adapter, en relation avec Sylvain Mondon, de Météo France. « Aux Shetland, nous n’avions plus de marge et ne pouvions plus espérer battre le record que de trois petites heures », explique Sylvain.
Les conditions rencontrées sont exigeantes : 35 nœuds moyens au près, rafales à 45, et une mer grosse avec des creux de 4 à 5 mètres. Soit « un peu comme pendant la Transat Jacques Vabre 2009 », quand Safran avait hérité du surnom « machine de guerre », en plus de « l’avion de chasse » connu jusqu’ici, c’est dire.. PRB, moins lourd avec trois hommes en moins est alors en tête. L’équipage de Safran aura le mérite de ne rien lâcher et de mener une stratégie parfaite dans toute la deuxième moitié du parcours. Notamment à l’ouest de l’Irlande, où trois virements de bord sont enchaînés dans une mer démontée pour aller chercher une rotation au vent enfin portant.
Après avoir eu plus que sa ration de près dans une mer mauvaise – au point qu’il fallait ralentir le bateau pour le préserver de la violence des chocs - Safran peut enfin ouvrir les voiles et débouler à grande vitesse depuis le sud-ouest de l’Irlande quand on apprend que PRB est victime d’une avarie : rupture d’étai qui contraint finalement à l’abandon Vincent Riou et Hugues Destremau. Safran, lui, accélère tribord amûres et ne fera plus qu’un seul empannage, juste avant le dernier bord victorieux vers la ligne d’arrivée. Près, reaching, portant, mer grosse… toutes les conditions auront été rencontrées par le bateau sur ce très difficile tour des Iles Britanniques ! Un excellent entraînement pour la Transat Jacques Vabre donc et une prise en mains idéale pour Yann Eliès, qui sera le coéquipier de Marc Guillemot sur la grande course de l’année.
Deux questions à Marc Guillemot
Marc, ce record a été difficile à battre...
« On n’a pas beaucoup de marge ! Un bon bateau qui partirait maintenant et aurait de bonnes conditions pourrait améliorer notre chrono d’une trentaine d’heures, je pense. Peut-être qu’on essaiera de nouveau un jour nous–mêmes, d’ailleurs. Ceci dit nous sommes tous très satisfaits car il a fallu aller le chercher ! Le vent et surtout la mer étaient si durs que, par moments, nous avons volontairement ralenti le bateau : parfois nous n’étions plus en mode record, juste dans la préservation du matériel ! Il y avait des chocs énormes. Les conditions étaient parfois plus dures que pendant la Transat Jacques Vabre 2009 où nous avions pourtant eu droit aussi à du très gros temps. »
Le bilan ?
« Très, très positif à plusieurs titres. Nous avons pu valider dans des conditions très exigeantes les modifications du chantier d’hiver et le bateau a tenu à part deux avaries mineures en mer du nord (spi et lattes de GV, ndr). L’idée du duel avec Vincent était bonne et nous sommes sincèrement déçus pour eux. Nous aurions préféré terminer à deux bateaux. Ils ont très bien navigué jusqu’à leur avarie. Enfin, la navigation en équipage permet toujours d’avancer sur des détails et Yann (Eliès) s’est parfaitement adapté au bateau, cela a été une excellente prise en mains pour lui. Et puis, comme après chaque aventure, nous sommes simplement ravis de l’avoir menée à son terme et de rentrer à l’écurie. Nous devrions arriver ce soir ou dans la nuit à La Trinité-sur-Mer et pouvoir nous reposer. »
(1) - Tous ces chiffres sont en attente de validation par le WSSRC (1), le World Sailing Speed Record Council, organisme qui gère les records à travers le monde.
SafranSixty
NZL 49er update from Peter Burling and Blair Tuke
Peter Burling and Blair Tuke competing in Weymouth. Image copyright onEdition.
by Peter Burling and Blair Tuke
We are just back from the Sail-for-Gold regatta in England, not quite the result we were hoping for, finishing 12th overall.
After our bronze medal in Holland a few weeks earlier, it was disappointing to miss the top-10 medal race for the first time in 18 months. A black flag disqualification (starting too early) in race 1 was not an ideal start. We struggled for speed a little bit which made it hard for us.
We were staying in a great apartment in Weymouth town, using bicycles to commute each day to Portland where the regatta is sailed from... a nice 15min cycle was a good way to start and finish the day. It was pretty cold on the race course – water temperature below 12 deg and air temp breaking into double figures when the sun was out. Our early North Island winter seems rather mild compared to the UK summer!
We have 7 weeks at home before going back up to Weymouth for the Pre Olympic regatta. This regatta is exactly 1 year out from the Olympics with one representative competing from each country. It is our peak event for the year so we will have a week off and then get back into training to solve some of the areas of weakness identified in the regatta.
Getting home to NZ was an adventure... We left on the train from Weymouth heading for Heathrow airport but unfortunately a fallen tree was blocking the track.
A few hours delay had us hastily arrange a taxi. £190 later we just made our final check-in time. Then we were lucky enough to get into Auckland under the Chilean volcanic ash cloud.
Hoping the ash cloud will be all gone before we fly back to London on the 24th July.
A huge thanks to our friends, supporters and sponsors...
NZL Sailing Team
Tour des Iles Britanniques : Marc Guillemot puts his foot down on Safran
Accélérations pour Safran : Marco met le Turbo pour vaincre le chrono
Image copyright Netency.com
par Marc Guillemot
Aux positions de 16h HF, Safran se situe à la latitude de Kilkee en Irlande. Comme prévu, son équipage semble avoir touché du vent puisque sa vitesse instantanée est de 20 nœuds. Il creuse l’écart avec Vincent Riou est Hugues Destremau sur PRB qui ont repris la route du record cette nuit, après un stop nécessaire pour remettre leur bateau en ordre de marche après la rupture d’un étai de solent. Le duel a donc repris de plus belle.
Depuis hier soir minuit, le monocoque de Marc Guillemot navigue sur le même bord et descend vers « Great Skellig », un gros caillou situé au Sud - Ouest de l’Irlande, avant de prendre la direction de Cap Lizard, ligne d’arrivée du record.
Rappel : pour battre le record, les concurrents doivent franchir la ligne d’arrivée au Cap Lizard avant samedi 18 juin, 9h16 TU (11h16 HF).
Safran Sixty
Image copyright Netency.com
par Marc Guillemot
Aux positions de 16h HF, Safran se situe à la latitude de Kilkee en Irlande. Comme prévu, son équipage semble avoir touché du vent puisque sa vitesse instantanée est de 20 nœuds. Il creuse l’écart avec Vincent Riou est Hugues Destremau sur PRB qui ont repris la route du record cette nuit, après un stop nécessaire pour remettre leur bateau en ordre de marche après la rupture d’un étai de solent. Le duel a donc repris de plus belle.
Depuis hier soir minuit, le monocoque de Marc Guillemot navigue sur le même bord et descend vers « Great Skellig », un gros caillou situé au Sud - Ouest de l’Irlande, avant de prendre la direction de Cap Lizard, ligne d’arrivée du record.
Rappel : pour battre le record, les concurrents doivent franchir la ligne d’arrivée au Cap Lizard avant samedi 18 juin, 9h16 TU (11h16 HF).
Safran Sixty
Extreme 40 : CNN MainSail looks at Artemis Racing in the Extreme Sailing Series
presented by Shirley Robertson
An insight into the Extreme Sailing Series
Leading the Extreme Sailing Series...
Winning at the Extreme...
CNN MainSail
Extreme Sailing Series
An insight into the Extreme Sailing Series
Leading the Extreme Sailing Series...
Winning at the Extreme...
CNN MainSail
Extreme Sailing Series
Melges 32 : Relentless Consistency Sees Filippo Pacinotti On Brontolo Lead On Day One
Image copyright Guido Trombetta/BPSE.
by Justin Chisholm
Day one of the 2011 Melges 32 Audi Sailing Series regatta in Porto Cervo, Sardinia saw three closely fought races sailed under clear blue skies and in breezes ranging from 6 - 12 knots. A relentlessly consistent performance by Filippo Pacinotti on ITA 667 Brontolo HH saw him turn in a 2-2-2 score line to top the leader board tonight. A win in the opening race, followed up by a third and a fifth puts Joe Woods on GBR 700 Red in second overall, three points behind Pacinotti. Lanfranco Cirillo on ITA 227 Fantastica posted a 3-6-6 score for the day and sits in third overall tonight. There were also race wins for Antonello Morina on ITA 179 Sei Tu 32, in Race 2 and Mauro Mocchegiani on ITA 187 Rush Diletta in Race 3.
After an initial General Recall, Race one got underway at the second time of asking under a Z-Flag penalty and in around 6 knots of breeze. Joe Woods on GBR 700 Red won the start towards the middle of the line and within the first few minutes got himself bow forward on the fleet. From that point Woods and his British Olympic Gold Medallist tactician Paul Goodison were in control of the first beat and having capitalized on their advantage during the rest of the leg, they led by three boat lengths around the first windward mark.
Filippo Pacinotti on ITA 667 Brontolo rounded in second, with current 2011 Audi Sailing Series leader John Kilroy on USA 13131 Samba Pa Ti close behind in third and Lanfranco Cirillo on ITA 227 Fantastica hot on the American’s heels in fourth. Although the top four appeared to close up considerably in the course of the first downwind leg, at the gate there were no actual place changes, with Woods in fact, marginally extending his lead.
Pacinotti pushed Woods hard all the way up the second beat and by the second windward mark there was no more than two lengths between them. Although engaged in their own private battle, these two boats managed to pull away from the fleet on this leg. Behind them Cirillo had got the advantage over Kilroy to round in third. The battle between Woods and Pacinotti continued to rage down the final run, with Pacinotti’s tactician Daniele Cassinari trying every trick in his repertoire to overhaul the leader.
Approaching the finish Brontolo looked to have finally got the upper hand, but as the pair gybed simultaneously for the line, Woods managed to get windward advantage, regain the lead in the final seconds, and narrowly take the win. Pacinotti came home a close second, with Cirillo in third, Kilroy in fourth and 2009 Melges 32 World Champion Pieter Taselaar on Bliksem in fifth.
Day 1, Race 1
Race two got away cleanly first time in a slightly increased 8-9 knots of breeze. Some bunching at the starboard end of the line resulted in Alessio Marinelli on Audi Fratelli Giacomel Armonia hooking the anchor line of the Race Committee boat with his rudder. Things could not have been closer at the first windward mark, with what looked like fifteen boats all arriving almost simultaneously. Antonello Morina on ITA 179 Sei Tu 32 sneaked in just ahead of the melee, to round in first place, with Woods in second overlapped with Mauro Mocchegiani on ITA 187 Rush Diletta in third and Pacinotti a little way back in fourth.
The leading pack compressed on the first downwind leg and at the leeward gate Morina rounded the left mark just ahead of Mocchegiani, whilst Pacinotti and Woods were once again locked in battle, rounding the right mark together. With the breeze increasing to as much as 10 knots for the second beat, Morina got properly into his stride to pull out an 8 length lead by the second windward mark. Mocchegiani had stayed in second, with Pacinotti in third valiantly holding off fourth placed Woods. Cirillo rounded fifth with Kilroy making a bit of a comeback to move up to fifth.
With Morina consolidating his lead on the final leg to take a comfortable race win, behind him the battle for second place between Woods and Pacinotti was a close one. In the final 100 metres to the finish, this pair appeared to be bow to bow with Pacinotti coming in from the left and Woods from the right. Leaving it until the last possible moment, Pacinotti timed his gybe to perfection, blocking Woods from the line and taking second place by the very narrowest of margins. Close behind in fourth was Mocchegiani, with Kilroy coming home in fifth.
Day 1, Race 2
Following an initial General Recall, Race three got away at the second attempt, in an 11-12 knot breeze. On a square looking line, Kilroy down towards the pin end, and reigning Melges 32 World Champion Luca Lalli on ITA 23 B-LinSailing.com up at the committee boat end, appeared to get away the most cleanly. However at the windward mark, with a closely packed group of boats all tearing in on the starboard layline, it was Mocchegiani who managed to get in from the left to tack just clear ahead to round in first place. Second around was Pacinotti, with Marinelli just behind in third, Lalli in fourth overlapped with Morina in fifth.
Things remained tight down the first run, with Mocchegiani holding on to first place, despite a full on assault from second placed Pacinotti. These two rounded the left gate mark just seconds ahead of Lalli who had sailed a fantastic run to round the right mark in third. Fourth placed Woods rounded the left mark simultaneously with Marinelli in fifth on the right.
On the second beat Mocchegiani eased away from the pack into a 8 boat length lead. Lalli also had a good beat and sneaked past Pacinotti in the final stages of the leg to round in second. However Lalli’s crew faltered on the gennaker hoist, having to quickly drop and re-hoist to get rid of a huge wineglass twist in their chute, enabling Pacinotti to close down the margin between them to almost zero. Behind them Marinelli had got past Woods with this pair rounding in fourth and fifth respectively.
On the final run, while Lalli worked the middle of the racecourse, both Mocchegiani and Woods explored the options on the right, and Pacinotti and Marinelli were both hoping to find some advantage on the left. In the end it was the left which seemed to pay, with Pacinotti easing past Lalli, and Marinelli overtaking Woods. Despite losing some of his lead, Mocchegiani took a comfortable and well deserved race win, ahead of Pacinotti in second and Lalli in third. Battling fiercely for fourth and fifth, Marinelli and Woods finished line abreast, with fourth going to Marinelli by just a whisker.
Day 1, Race 3
So, at the end of the first day of the 2011 Melges 32 Audi Sailing Series regatta in Porto Cervo, Pacinotti’s consistency puts him in first place overall with 6 points. Just 3 points adrift in second is Woods, with Cirillo a further 6 points back in third. Mocchegiani 1 point behind in fourth, a further 1 point ahead of Kilroy who rounds out the top five.
Racing at the 2011 Melges 32 Audi Sailing Series regatta in Porto Cervo continues tomorrow Saturday 18 June with three more series races scheduled, as well as a standalone ‘Audi Invitational Race’ which is scheduled to take place at 11.00 AM local time. The regatta will conclude on Sunday 19 June with 2 races scheduled.
You can follow all of the action on the Official Melges 32 Blog, where we will be bringing you live text and video updates from the racecourse throughout the regatta, with these updates also being posted to the International Melges 32 and Melges Europe Facebook pages.
TOP TEN RESULTS (After 3 Races)
1.) Filippo Pacinotti/Daniele Cassinari, Brontolo; 2-2-2 = 6
2.) Joe Woods/Paul Goodison, Red; 1-3-5 = 9
3.) Lanfranco Cirillo/Michele Paoletti, Fantastica; 3-6-6 = 15
4.) Mauro Mocchegiani/Matteo Ivaldi, Rush Diletta; 11-4-1 = 16
5.) John Kilroy/Nathan Wilmot, Samba Pa Ti; 4-5-8 = 17
6.) Alessio Marinelli/Riccardo Simoneschi, Audi Fratelli Giacomel Armonia; 6-17-4 = 17
7.) Edoardo Lupi/Branko Brcin, Torpyone; 7-8-12 = 27
8.) Antonello Morina/Paolo Cian, Sei Tu 32; 17-1-10 = 27
9.) Pieter Taselaar/Jeremy Wilmot, Bliksem; 5-15-9 = 29
10.) Luca Lalli/Lorenzo Bressani, B-LinSailing.com; 18-9-3 = 30
Melges 32
Audi MedCup : Who can topple the ‘Kings of the Calanques’?
Marseille Trophy, 17 06 2011 © Stefano Gattini_Studio Borlenghi/Audi MedCup
by Sabina Mollart-Rogerson
That must be the question of this morning as the 52 Series fleet contemplate the spectacular coastal race east to Cassis and back on the fourth racing day of the Audi MedCup Circuit’s Marseille Trophy.
Quantum Racing have won on this course over the last two years and hold the Marseille Trophy as outright winners of last year’s regatta which was foreshortened due to the Mistral.
Image copyright Audi MedCup.
But there is no shortage of experience on this course right through the fleet. Most will recall the premium that is placed on good position early on in the race.
The return leg, a one sided beat under the Calanque cliffs is one of the spectacles of the season with the regular advantage to be closest in and enjoy the benefit as the wind bends. But there is usually little in the way of major place changing on the return leg.
As ever it is much more of a test of sustained boat speed, sail choice and trimming. Often on the downwind and fast reaching legs there is a pressure difference inshore and offshore.
The course distance should be around 35 miles. The breeze should be from the NW’ly Mistral direction, 310-330 degrees. The course starts with a short, sharp windward-leeward in the Rade Nord in, probably, around 15kts of breeze before rounding the SW tip of the Frioul islands and heading SE across the entrance to the Rade Sud. At the Ile Maire and Ile Riou, the islands just around the corner from Point Rouge to the east of the bay, the wind is expected to build to over 20 knots with more on the long run and reach south to the turn N to the turning mark off Cassis.
So Quantum Racing go out this morning with a three points lead over Container, who finished second in Cascais, with Bribon in third only five points off the lead.
Marseille Trophy, 17 06 2011 © Francesco Ferri_Studio Borlenghi/Audi MedCup
It was a long, long night for the RAN surgery team to make good the repair to their aft deck and transom where it was sliced by the bobstay of Gladiator in the Race 3 incident yesterday. Boat captain Chris Hosking (AUS) and his team had to cut away the affected deck area and the port corner of the transom and replace the laminate on both surfaces.
Hosking, who has overseen the build of four recent TP52's, retired at 0330hrs this morning but their shipwright has worked all night and the team were just replacing the fittings and making good the cosmetic surfaces with some filler just minutes before RAN was due to dock out.
"It is always a sad day when you have to repair a brand new boat, it was a pretty straightfoward repair to be honest but we were lucky that it was in a non structural area of the boat, that makes the laminating a lot easier. We had to cut the transom out, a bit of the deck and the port cockpit side just behind the mainsheet cockpit turning blocks. I left at 0330hrs and I think our shipwright Nipper has been here all night. We are good to go, as strong as brand new!" said Hosking this morning.
The 40 Series fleet are scheduled to race three races on the Rade Nord, starting as soon as the 52 Series coastal race has started. Iberdrola are on top of the leader board with five points in hand over second placed XXII-Marseille and Patagonia by Negra in third, both on the same points tally after four races.
Iñaki Castañer (ESP), Skipper, Noticia IV (ESP):
“Our goal is to keep up with the type of work that we showed yesterday and improve a little more. This would help us get a better result that would put us close to that first position since we are just one point shy from the second team. Anything can happen here but we are thrilled to go back out there today. Since we had wind it Cascais we already know how the boat sails well in windy conditions. It´d be nice to have windier conditions today because it´s good for the circuit and for the crews. Marseille is an spectacular venue with Mistral. One again, the key is the small details, such as making good maneuvers or taking good care of tactics”.
Kevin Hall (USA), Navigator, Quantum Racing (USA):
“The wind should pick up today, we just don´t know exactly when, it could be an interesting call to make with the mainsail. The course is a little bit different from last year, it should be a nice change, but we still get to beat up my favorite parts. So far we are in a good spot in the regatta so we are going to try to do a good job. It was nice to see ALL4ONE win a race yesterday, they deserved it because they sailed really well, I think that we´ll be seeing more of that.”
Audi MedCup
Bol d'Or Mirabaud : FONCIA - Le Bol d'Or en ligne de mire
FONCIA D35. Image copyright Th.Martinez/Sea&Co/Foncia
par Team Foncia media
Point d’orgue de la saison, la 73e édition du Bol d’Or va se disputer ce week-end. Pour Michel Desjoyeaux et son équipage du Team FONCIA, l’objectif est double : ajouter une seconde victoire au palmarès du catamaran arc-en-ciel et prendre un avantage certain au Vulcain Trophy avant la trêve estivale.
Le Bol d’Or est l’épreuve lémanique par excellence. Plus de 600 bateaux, soit 3000 régatiers, se donnent rendez-vous à Genève pour y prendre le départ et y revenir après avoir contourné le Bouveret, le point le plus extrême du Lac Léman distant de 33 milles (60 kilomètres). Pour remporter le Bol d’Or, il faudra déjouer tous les pièges de cette navigation lacustre. Si le record de l’épreuve est de 5h01m, ce sont régulièrement des records de lenteur qui mettent les nerfs et la patience des équipiers à rude épreuve. Franchir la ligne d’arrivée en tête, toutes catégories confondues, reste un exploit en lui-même.
En tête du Vulcain Trophy 2011, et fort d’une vi ctoire sur l’édition 2009, le Team FONCIA est aujourd’hui fin prêt pour affronter les difficultés du lac et la concurrence affûtée. Parmi les adversaires les plus redoutables, on peut citer : Loïck Peyron (Okalys-Corum), Pascal Bidegorry (CER), Ernesto Bertarelli (Alinghi), Paul Cayard (Artemis Racing) et enfin Dona Bertarelli (Lady Cat) qui remettra son titre en jeu.
« C’est notre dernière épreuve sur le lac avant de partir sur la Méditerranée. Nous voulons donc terminer bien placés avant la trêve estivale. L’entraînement de cette semaine s’est bien déroulé. Nous avons testé la sortie du petit lac et changé la configuration des postes à bord pour être le plus polyvalent possible, confie Michel Desjoyeaux. Les conditions de ces derniers jours nous mettent dans le bain. En effet, les fi chiers météo prévoient 25 nœuds de vent. En Bretagne ce n’est pas beaucoup, mais ici, avec ces bateaux surpuissants, c’est énorme. Les objectifs sont donc triples : ne pas chavirer, finir et enfin, mettre le plus possible de concurrents derrière. Si les conditions se confirmaient, cela pourrait aller vite et nous serions de retour en fin d’après-midi. »
Le Bol d’Or vu par les équipiers du Team Foncia
Image copyright Th.Martinez/Sea&Co/Foncia
Franck Citeau – Régleur de voiles d’avant – 3 participations, 1 podium
« Le Bol d’Or se prépare presque comme une manche classique : il faut être à fond tout le temps et ne pas se laisser déconcentrer. Même si tu es devant, tu peux finir dernier et inversement. La difficulté est de rester dans le match sur pr&egra ve;s de 20 heures potentiellement. Il faut savoir céder sa place lorsque l’on se sent fatigué, ne pas avoir d’ego. C’est pour cela que nous avons axé une partie de l’entraînement de la semaine sur la rotation de l’équipage afin que chaque poste soit doublé. Mon meilleur souvenir ? Le plus long Bol d’Or de l’histoire (plus de 20 heures). Le cadre était magique avec la Voie Lactée. C’est très agréable de naviguer la nuit sur le lac, tu entends les gens, tu vois beaucoup de lumières... En plus, la nuit tout est plus aléatoire. Dernier point, il sera important de réussir à se décontracter. 20 heures à ne parler que performance, il y a de quoi se prendre la tête. Une fois, je suis passé en tête au Bouveret avec 1h30 d’avance sur le second. Nous avons terminé avec 2h30 de retard ! »
Alban Rossollin – équipier d’avant – 1ère participation
« Cela fait deux ans que j’entends parler du Bol d’Or. Je suis impatient d’y participer ! Je n’ai pas vraiment d’idées préconçues. Au contraire, je suis plutôt curieux. Par rapport à un Grand Prix, ce ne sont pas les bouées qui rythment les manœuvres, mais le vent. Il y aura de longs moments de calme, mais il faudra savoir être réactif pour avoir en permanence la voile adéquate. »
Xavier Revil – régleur de chariot de grand-voile – 2 participations, 1 podium
« Quelque soit la régate, l’objectif est de terminer devant. Le Bol d’Or est souvent long avec de nombreux passages à niveau. Rien n’est jamais joué. Nous l’avons vu sur la Genève-Rolle-Genève où nous avions beaucoup d’avance pour finalement ne couper la ligne qu’une poignée de secondes seulement devant le second. Ces épreuves de longue distance sont assez physiques, d’autant plus au chariot de grand-voile car, avec du vent, c’est le poste qui permet de gérer la puissance du bateau. Il faut sans cesse régler. Après, ce n’est pas une course très très longue non plus. J’ai participé aux deux dernières éditions qui étaient les plus longues : près de 20 heures sur l’eau. Ce n’est pas le ‘lac’ à boire ! Au niveau de la nourriture, ce sera assez simple. Des sandwichs pour débuter et des barres de céréales pour terminer. Mes meilleurs souvenirs ? La navigation de nuit sur le lac. Tu ne sai s plus où se trouvent tes adversaires. Tu ne découvres qu’à l’arrivée ton classement... »
Jean-Christophe Mourniac – Tacticien – 1ère participation
« C’est mon premier Bol d’Or. Ce sera une découverte même si cela va dans la continuité de notre parcours sur cette saison. Comme toujours, il faudra prendre les bonnes décisions à chaque instant. De nuit ce sera différent. L’expérience des uns et des autres va beaucoup m’apporter. Si le Bol d’Or traîne en longueur, nous allons peut-être devoir dormir un peu. Cela se fera par tranche de 10 à 20 minutes. Il faudra se relayer. La victoire se joue toujours sur une part de réussite. Il est possible de louper un coup, car il est impossible d’être partout à la f ois. Nos choix devront être communs, nous devrons être soudés. Après notre victoire sur la Genève-Rolle-Genève, nous avons constaté que nous étions à l’aise sur les longues distances. Il faudra rester très, très opportunistes et observer. C’est la base de la navigation sur le lac. Il y a des vérités, mais beaucoup d’exceptions qui confirment les règles ! »
Image copyright Gilles Morelle/Foncia
Michel Desjoyeaux – skipper/barreur - 3 participations, 1 victoire, 1 podium
« La difficulté principale est de sortir du petit lac. Les conditions sont souvent tordues. En plus, avec tous les bateaux spectateurs présents, le plan d’eau est très agité et le risque de collision est important. Il faut faire très attention et réussir à sortir de cette ‘ marmite’ le plus rapidement possible. L’autre difficulté sera de naviguer de nuit où il faut se servir de ses sensations et des instruments. Il est important d’avoir de la bouteille pour trouver tout de suite le bon réglage. Cette année, nous avons de la chance puisque la lune est pleine. En fonction du vent, il sera nécessaire de bien penser au positionnement de l’équipage. 450Kg de ‘viande’ pour 1,2 tonne de bateau, c’est significatif. L’équilibre longitudinal est très important pour tirer le meilleur parti du D35 FONCIA. »
Le Bol d’Or Mirabaud en chiffres
Départ samedi 18 juin à 10h00 devant la Société Nautique de Genève
Record absolu (1994): Triga IV – 5h01m51s
Record D35 (2004): Zebra 7 – 8h59m19s
Distance : 66,5 milles (123 km)
Pour s uivre le Bol d’Or : www.boldormirabaud.com
Cartographie en direct : http://boldor.inser.ch
Palmarès du Team FONCIA sur le Bol d’Or Mirabaud
2010 : 8e
2009 : Victoire
2008 : 7e
2007 : 4e
2006 : 4e
Classement Vulcain Trophy 2011
Provisoire après quatre manches et sous réserve de validation du jury
1e - FONCIA (8e, 1er, 1er, 3e = 5 pts)
2e - Veltigroup (4e, 3e, 3e, 1er = 7 pts)
3e - Artemis Racing (3e, 5e, 2e, 2e = 7 pts)
4e - CER Carrefour Prévention (1er, 2e, 10e, 6e = 9 pts)
5e - Alinghi (2e, 4e, 5e, 5e = 11 pts)
6e - Okalys-Corum (6e, 6e, 8e, 4e = 16 pts)
7e - De Rham Sotheby’s (5e, 7e, 6e, 8e = 18 pts)
8e - Zen Too (7e, 8e, 11e, 7e = 22 pts)
9e - Nickel (10e, 9e, 4e, 9e = 22 pts)
10e - Ladycat (9e, 10e, 7e, 11e = 26 pts)
11e - Ylliam (11e, 11e, 9e, 10e = 30 pts)
L'équipage du Team FONCIA
# Alban Rossollin - N°1
# Antoine Gautier - N°2
# Franck Citeau - Régleur de voiles d'avant
# Jean-Christophe Mourniac – Tactique
# Xavier Revil - Chariot de grand-voile
# Michel Desjoyeaux - Skipper - Barreur
PROGRAMME :
6 > 8 mai : Grand Prix Les Ambassadeurs (Lausanne et Genève)
20 > 22 mai : Realstone Cup (Crans-sur-Nyon)
11 juin : Genève-Rolle-Genève
12 > 13 juin : Sogeti Cup (Genève)
18 juin : Bol d'Or Mirabaud (Genève)
1 > 4 septembre : Grand Prix de Beaulieu-sur-Mer (Alpes-Maritimes)
22 > 25 septembre : Grand Prix d'Antibes (Alpes-Maritimes)
Team FONCIA
Bol d'Or Mirabaud
Vulcain Trophy
J Class Regatta, Newport, RI - Day 2 Images by GO4Image
Nothing new in Newport... Ranger is always in the lead.
Image copyright Daniel Forster/GO4Image
Image copyright Daniel Forster/GO4Image
Image copyright Daniel Forster/GO4Image
Image copyright Daniel Forster/GO4Image
Image copyright Daniel Forster/GO4Image
Image copyright Daniel Forster/GO4Image
Image copyright Daniel Forster/GO4Image
Image copyright Daniel Forster/GO4Image
Image copyright Daniel Forster/GO4Image
Image copyright Daniel Forster/GO4Image
Go4Image
Rounding Lakes and Islands...
The Bol d'Or Mirabaud presented by Corum, Rund Um, Zwitserleven Ronde om Texel, JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island and Tour de Belle Ile Races 2011
Yann Guichard is co-helmsman with Dona Bertarelli on the D35 Ladycat this year. He finished as runner-up to Dona in the Bol d'Or in 2010. Guichard was on the D35 last weekend and this image is taken during practice. Image copyright Chris Schmid/Eyemage.ch
by Anne Hinton
The Bol d'Or Mirabaud presented by Corum on Lake Geneva
The 73rd Bol d'Or on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, this weekend will see 500+ competitors set off from the Société Nautique de Genève's starting line at 10am on Saturday and sail to the other end of the lake, at Le Bouveret, near where the Rhone river flows into Lake Geneva, and back again to Geneva.
Last year's Bol d'Or was won by Dona Bertarelli in the D35 Ladycat. Second place went to Yann Guichard sailing a Ventilo M2. This year, Guichard is joining the Ladycat team, whom he also sailed with in last weekend's D35 racing on Lake Geneva.
The team competing in the Bol d’Or this week-end for Ladycat will be:
Dona Bertarelli – helmswoman /barre
Yann Guichard - co-helmsman/co-barreur, mainsail trimmer/regleur GV and performer/performeur
Christian Wahl –tactician/tactique
Justine Mettraux – trimmer/regleur
Thomas Mermod – trimmer/ contre-embraque
Elodie-Jane Mettraux – nr 2
Morgane Gautier - nr 1
Ladycat, winner of the Bol d'Or 2010. Image copyright Loris von Siebenthal/www.myimage.ch
In addition to Guichard joining the mixed crew on Ladycat, Loick Peyron will helm the D35 Okalys-Corum, on which he has previously won the Bol d'Or. Peyron has sailed several seasons on this boat, belonging to Nicolas Grange, and also raced the first two days of the regattas last weekend with them. They had the misfortune to have a collision with Artemis Racing on the third day, after Peyron had left them, but both boats will be competing in the Bol d'Or this weekend.
Loick Peyron has another sailing appointment in another country on Sunday. The Bol d'Or was a very slow race last year. If the same happens this year, it appears that Peyron may well have to swim for the shore and nearest train station to catch his Sunday morning plane in order to skipper Banque Populaire V in Le Record SNSM from 1500 in Saint-Nazaire, Brittany, northwest France.
Loick Peyron may have to go for a swim, as he did in the Mediterranean earlier this year, if the Bol d'Or proves to be a slow race. He has an appointment sailing Banque Populaire V the following day in northwest France. Image copyright Loick Peyron/Jean-Pierre Dick - Virbac Paprec 3.
Ernesto Bertarelli is expected aboard the Alinghi D35 for the Bol d'Or, Michel Desjoyeaux on board Foncia D35, and the young team led by Jérôme Clerc on CER Carrefour Prévention will be joined by Pascal Bidègorry, former skipper of the D35 Banque Populaire, which won the D35 series overall last year. In addition, Paul Cayard will be on Artemis Racing, currently lying second in the D35's season championship, the Vulcain Trophy, and Philippe Cardis, brother of the builder,who has been runner-up at the Bol d'Or before, will helm his own D35. Société Nautique de Genève Commodore Pierre-Yves Firmenich's boat Ylliam is also amongst the entries. In effect, the D35s will have all-star casts for the Bol d'Or in 2011, and it is highly likely that the winner will come from this fleet.
A variety of methods area available on the event website for following the race. There is also a virtual race game, which had 27,000 participants in 2010.
Rund Um on Lake Constance
A Swiss entrant in the Rund Um 2010. Image copyright Juerg Kaufmann/www.go4image.com
Rather unfortunately the Rund Um race around Lake Constance (Bodensee) at the eastern end of Switzerland, and sharing its waters with Austria and Germany, is to be held on the same weekend as the Bol d'Or in the west of the country this year. The 61st edition of this race starts on Friday evening, so for some it is just a night race. There are currently 350 entries for this event, run by the Lindauer Segler Club, and surprisingly only eight entries to date in the multihull class, which is likely to produce the event winner. The 2010 winners, on Sönnenkönig, are not returning to defend their Rund Um title this year.
Live tracking is available for both the Bol d'Or and the Rund Um on the event websites.
There is a similar clash of events the following weekend, when, in place of sailing around lakes, it is races around islands that will gather the crowds of sailors and boats. However, essentially the small cat sailors will congregate in the Netherlands, while everyone else will head to the Isle of Wight in England...
Zwitserleven Ronde om Texel, the Netherlands
Water depths around the Friesian Island of Texel, in the Netherlands, can be just knee deep in places, so this race is only suited to light cats with boards. However, the Ronde on Texel is the largest cat race in the world, and over 500 entries are expected.
Herbie Dercksen and Mark Bulkely crashing their Extreme 20 cat at Eurocat Carnac 2011!
This year, organisers have introduced a mixed multihull class for the first time, in response to the decision to include the category in the 2016 Olympics. In 2008, Carolijn Brouwer and Sebbe Godefroid (BEL) were the only mixed-multihull team at the Olympics in Qingdao, China. Brouwer is sailing with Wouter Samama (NED) for the Zwitserleven Rond om Texel race this year. The pair will race a 16-foot Viper and is favourite to win the mixed multihulls. Favourites to win on handicap are top F18 sailors Mischa Heemskerk (NED) and Bastiaan Tentij (NED), winners of Eurocat Carnac 2011. The round Texel record holders, Herbert Dercksen (NED) and Mark Bulkely (GBR), will sail their "Extreme 20" (M20) and hope to be first to finish the Zwitserleven Round Texel Race this year.
JO Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, Cowes, UK
Idec is the record holder for the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race. Now skippered by Francis Joyon, she is seen here on her way to line honours in the 2010 edition of the race. Image copyright Anne Hinton - all rights reserved.
Whilst the Ronde om Texel is in its 34th edition, the Island Sailing Club's Round the Island Race around the Isle of Wight, starting and finishing from Cowes, is celebrating its 80th birthday this year. Nearly 1,900 boats are signed up to participate in this race!
The Hydroptère passing the Needles as she enters the Solent. Image copyright Christophe Launay/www.sealaunay.com
At time of writing the Hydroptère, which has been based in Cowes attempting to take the record time for the fastest rounding of the island, has had its race entry declined. IDEC, in her former guise as Playstation, under the helm of Steve Fossett, currently holds the speed record for the rounding of the Isle of Wight.
Jean-Pierre Dick's JP54. Image copyright Christophe Launay/www.sealaunay.com/Tour de Belle Ile.
Amongst the many competitors, Jean-Pierre Dick, winner of the Barcelona World Race with co-skipper Loick Peyron on the IMOCA Virbac Paprec 3, pictured above, will be taking part on his co-designed JP54. The crew for the JP54 includes Alex Picot, organizer of the famous French equivalent of the round the island race - the Tour de Belle Ile in Brittany. The fourth edition of the Tour de Belle Ile was held in early May, with 486 boats competiting, and line honours went to Seb Josse's Gitana 11.
Gitana 11, line honours winner, Tour de Belle Ile 2011. Image copyright Christophe Launay/www.sealaunay.com/Tour de Belle Ile.
Alex Picot and Fred Eagle seem surprised to see each other... Image copyright Morris Adant http://www.flypicture.be/
Some slightly larger islands are currently being rounded. The IMOCAs PRB and Safran set off to defeat the record of Dee Caffari's Aviva for racing around the British Isles (Great Britain and Ireland). Vincent Riou's PRB has just pulled out, due to damage, but Marc Guillemot's Safran is still in the hunt.
Bol d'Or Mirabaud presentée par Corum
Rund Um
Zwitserleven Round Texel Race
JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race
Tour de Belle Ile
Yann Guichard is co-helmsman with Dona Bertarelli on the D35 Ladycat this year. He finished as runner-up to Dona in the Bol d'Or in 2010. Guichard was on the D35 last weekend and this image is taken during practice. Image copyright Chris Schmid/Eyemage.ch
by Anne Hinton
The Bol d'Or Mirabaud presented by Corum on Lake Geneva
The 73rd Bol d'Or on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, this weekend will see 500+ competitors set off from the Société Nautique de Genève's starting line at 10am on Saturday and sail to the other end of the lake, at Le Bouveret, near where the Rhone river flows into Lake Geneva, and back again to Geneva.
Last year's Bol d'Or was won by Dona Bertarelli in the D35 Ladycat. Second place went to Yann Guichard sailing a Ventilo M2. This year, Guichard is joining the Ladycat team, whom he also sailed with in last weekend's D35 racing on Lake Geneva.
The team competing in the Bol d’Or this week-end for Ladycat will be:
Dona Bertarelli – helmswoman /barre
Yann Guichard - co-helmsman/co-barreur, mainsail trimmer/regleur GV and performer/performeur
Christian Wahl –tactician/tactique
Justine Mettraux – trimmer/regleur
Thomas Mermod – trimmer/ contre-embraque
Elodie-Jane Mettraux – nr 2
Morgane Gautier - nr 1
Ladycat, winner of the Bol d'Or 2010. Image copyright Loris von Siebenthal/www.myimage.ch
In addition to Guichard joining the mixed crew on Ladycat, Loick Peyron will helm the D35 Okalys-Corum, on which he has previously won the Bol d'Or. Peyron has sailed several seasons on this boat, belonging to Nicolas Grange, and also raced the first two days of the regattas last weekend with them. They had the misfortune to have a collision with Artemis Racing on the third day, after Peyron had left them, but both boats will be competing in the Bol d'Or this weekend.
Loick Peyron has another sailing appointment in another country on Sunday. The Bol d'Or was a very slow race last year. If the same happens this year, it appears that Peyron may well have to swim for the shore and nearest train station to catch his Sunday morning plane in order to skipper Banque Populaire V in Le Record SNSM from 1500 in Saint-Nazaire, Brittany, northwest France.
Loick Peyron may have to go for a swim, as he did in the Mediterranean earlier this year, if the Bol d'Or proves to be a slow race. He has an appointment sailing Banque Populaire V the following day in northwest France. Image copyright Loick Peyron/Jean-Pierre Dick - Virbac Paprec 3.
Ernesto Bertarelli is expected aboard the Alinghi D35 for the Bol d'Or, Michel Desjoyeaux on board Foncia D35, and the young team led by Jérôme Clerc on CER Carrefour Prévention will be joined by Pascal Bidègorry, former skipper of the D35 Banque Populaire, which won the D35 series overall last year. In addition, Paul Cayard will be on Artemis Racing, currently lying second in the D35's season championship, the Vulcain Trophy, and Philippe Cardis, brother of the builder,who has been runner-up at the Bol d'Or before, will helm his own D35. Société Nautique de Genève Commodore Pierre-Yves Firmenich's boat Ylliam is also amongst the entries. In effect, the D35s will have all-star casts for the Bol d'Or in 2011, and it is highly likely that the winner will come from this fleet.
A variety of methods area available on the event website for following the race. There is also a virtual race game, which had 27,000 participants in 2010.
Rund Um on Lake Constance
A Swiss entrant in the Rund Um 2010. Image copyright Juerg Kaufmann/www.go4image.com
Rather unfortunately the Rund Um race around Lake Constance (Bodensee) at the eastern end of Switzerland, and sharing its waters with Austria and Germany, is to be held on the same weekend as the Bol d'Or in the west of the country this year. The 61st edition of this race starts on Friday evening, so for some it is just a night race. There are currently 350 entries for this event, run by the Lindauer Segler Club, and surprisingly only eight entries to date in the multihull class, which is likely to produce the event winner. The 2010 winners, on Sönnenkönig, are not returning to defend their Rund Um title this year.
Live tracking is available for both the Bol d'Or and the Rund Um on the event websites.
There is a similar clash of events the following weekend, when, in place of sailing around lakes, it is races around islands that will gather the crowds of sailors and boats. However, essentially the small cat sailors will congregate in the Netherlands, while everyone else will head to the Isle of Wight in England...
Zwitserleven Ronde om Texel, the Netherlands
Water depths around the Friesian Island of Texel, in the Netherlands, can be just knee deep in places, so this race is only suited to light cats with boards. However, the Ronde on Texel is the largest cat race in the world, and over 500 entries are expected.
Herbie Dercksen and Mark Bulkely crashing their Extreme 20 cat at Eurocat Carnac 2011!
This year, organisers have introduced a mixed multihull class for the first time, in response to the decision to include the category in the 2016 Olympics. In 2008, Carolijn Brouwer and Sebbe Godefroid (BEL) were the only mixed-multihull team at the Olympics in Qingdao, China. Brouwer is sailing with Wouter Samama (NED) for the Zwitserleven Rond om Texel race this year. The pair will race a 16-foot Viper and is favourite to win the mixed multihulls. Favourites to win on handicap are top F18 sailors Mischa Heemskerk (NED) and Bastiaan Tentij (NED), winners of Eurocat Carnac 2011. The round Texel record holders, Herbert Dercksen (NED) and Mark Bulkely (GBR), will sail their "Extreme 20" (M20) and hope to be first to finish the Zwitserleven Round Texel Race this year.
JO Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, Cowes, UK
Idec is the record holder for the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race. Now skippered by Francis Joyon, she is seen here on her way to line honours in the 2010 edition of the race. Image copyright Anne Hinton - all rights reserved.
Whilst the Ronde om Texel is in its 34th edition, the Island Sailing Club's Round the Island Race around the Isle of Wight, starting and finishing from Cowes, is celebrating its 80th birthday this year. Nearly 1,900 boats are signed up to participate in this race!
The Hydroptère passing the Needles as she enters the Solent. Image copyright Christophe Launay/www.sealaunay.com
At time of writing the Hydroptère, which has been based in Cowes attempting to take the record time for the fastest rounding of the island, has had its race entry declined. IDEC, in her former guise as Playstation, under the helm of Steve Fossett, currently holds the speed record for the rounding of the Isle of Wight.
Jean-Pierre Dick's JP54. Image copyright Christophe Launay/www.sealaunay.com/Tour de Belle Ile.
Amongst the many competitors, Jean-Pierre Dick, winner of the Barcelona World Race with co-skipper Loick Peyron on the IMOCA Virbac Paprec 3, pictured above, will be taking part on his co-designed JP54. The crew for the JP54 includes Alex Picot, organizer of the famous French equivalent of the round the island race - the Tour de Belle Ile in Brittany. The fourth edition of the Tour de Belle Ile was held in early May, with 486 boats competiting, and line honours went to Seb Josse's Gitana 11.
Gitana 11, line honours winner, Tour de Belle Ile 2011. Image copyright Christophe Launay/www.sealaunay.com/Tour de Belle Ile.
Alex Picot and Fred Eagle seem surprised to see each other... Image copyright Morris Adant http://www.flypicture.be/
Some slightly larger islands are currently being rounded. The IMOCAs PRB and Safran set off to defeat the record of Dee Caffari's Aviva for racing around the British Isles (Great Britain and Ireland). Vincent Riou's PRB has just pulled out, due to damage, but Marc Guillemot's Safran is still in the hunt.
Bol d'Or Mirabaud presentée par Corum
Rund Um
Zwitserleven Round Texel Race
JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race
Tour de Belle Ile
Tour de Iles Britanniques : PRB stoppe la tentative de record et fait route vers Port La Forêt
PRB. Image copyright B. Stichelbaut/PRB.
par Fabienne Morin
Après leur avarie survenue hier (rupture de l’étai de Solent), Vincent Riou et Hugues Destremau ont réussi cette nuit à grimper dans le mât pour libérer la partie haute du solent. Ils avaient, hier après-midi, choisi de déchirer horizontalement la voile, pour pouvoir affaler une bonne partie des 110m² de toile mais un morceau du solent était resté accroché en tête de mât. Le câble cassé était également emmêlé en haut de l’espar.
Les deux hommes avaient réussi à trouver un abri comme prévu dans le nord de l’Irlande, à l’embouchure d’une rivière, pour pouvoir effectuer cette opération. L’envie de reprendre la course a donc très vite gagné Vincent et Hugues. Ce matin, ils ont continué leur route le long des côtes ouest irlandaises. Mais, alors que PRB progresse actuellement à 70° du vent, le duo est contraint de naviguer sous ORC et un ris dans la Grand’Voile.
Impossible dans ces conditions (et donc sans solent) de flirter avec des vitesses dignes d’une tentative de record… Le chrono du Tour des Iles Britanniques est définitivement hors de portée pour Vincent et Hugues qui avaient fait depuis le départ de Lizard samedi dernier, une magnifique course. Sans possibilité de battre ce record, Vincent ne voit pas d’intérêt à poursuivre la route en Mer d’Irlande, le duo a donc choisi de se retirer de cette tentative autour des Iles Britanniques pour faire route directe vers Port La Forêt. PRB pourrait arriver demain soir en Bretagne.
Vincent par téléphone à 17h30 :
« Vu la météo, nous n’avons plus aucune chance de battre le record. Il n’y a donc pas trop de raisons de prendre des risques à pousser le bateau dans des configurations de voiles pas adaptées. Je ne vois plus l’intérêt sportif, nous avons donc décidé, avec Hugues, de faire route directe vers Port La Forêt. Nous avons essayé jusqu’au bout de trouver des solutions. Nous sommes déçus mais nous souhaitons bonne chance à Safran. Ils vont avoir une nuit agitée car ils vont devoir se battre pour arracher le chrono ! »
Mail de Hugues Destremau cette nuit concernant le stop au Nord de l’iralnde:
« En route depuis 3h du matin vers le Nord de l'Irlande, nous avons du temps pour étudier sur la carte notre point de chute en fonction de la météo à venir et de nos besoins pour refaire route.
Pour résumer, nous avions besoin d'un abri, et éventuellement d'un port pour attendre que le vent tourne au noroit. L'abri fut aisé à trouver, le port carrément impossible.
Le vent a décidé de jouer pour nous donc nous voilà à l'entrée d'une rivière, sur une eau calme, avec le vent qui tombe. Vincent a sauté dans son baudrier et escaladé le mât pour couper de morceau de voile de malheur qui a bien failli tout bousiller là-haut !
En un quart d'heure, tout fut fait. La pluie se mit à tomber dès que Vincent toucha le pont, et le vent vira complètement pour nous pousser hors de cette rivière vers le large, enfin un peu de chance!
Voila, nous sommes en route maintenant vers l'Ouest de l'Irlande en ayant passé du temps à admirer les côtes Nord de ce beau pays.
La nuit est tombée il y a 15 mn, cela faisait 2 nuits que le ciel restait éclairé! »
Classement à 16h00 :
1 – PRB à 352,5 milles de l’arrivée (Lat : 53 34.92' N / Long : 11 12.40' W )
2 – Safran à 298,5 milles de l’arrivée (Lat : 52 31.80' N / Long : 11 27.92' W)
Les équipages :
Safran : Marc Guillemot et son équipage, composé de Yann Eliès, Loïc Lingois, Didier Le Vourch et César Dohy
PRB : Vincent Riou et Hugues Destremau
PRB Voile
Freshie Racing ready for Slovenia Match Cup
by Peter Nicholas
After a couple days break the Freshie Racing Team has arrived in Kopa, Slovenia to compete in the Slovenia match cup which is a grade 2 event. The team is feeling confident going into this regatta after our win in Ravenna, Italy last week.
Today the team managed to get out and train on the J24s againt fellow competitor Ian Ainslie who is the highest ranked skipper at this event.
Racing starts tomorrow with the plan to have a double round robin but with the top two of the first round robin qualifying directly for the semi finals.
Freshie Racing would like to thank Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, Zhik, The Ron Tough Foundation and Peter Chappell for their support.
Freshie Racing
After a couple days break the Freshie Racing Team has arrived in Kopa, Slovenia to compete in the Slovenia match cup which is a grade 2 event. The team is feeling confident going into this regatta after our win in Ravenna, Italy last week.
Today the team managed to get out and train on the J24s againt fellow competitor Ian Ainslie who is the highest ranked skipper at this event.
Racing starts tomorrow with the plan to have a double round robin but with the top two of the first round robin qualifying directly for the semi finals.
Freshie Racing would like to thank Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, Zhik, The Ron Tough Foundation and Peter Chappell for their support.
Freshie Racing
Audi MedCup : Marseille Torments Azzurra
Image copyright Audi MedCup.
by Guiliano Luzzatto
Audi Azzurra Sailing Team fell victim to continuing wind shifts while leading the fleet in the second race of the day.
Three races took place today in the Audi MedCup Marseille Trophy accompanied by a south-easterly wind of 10 to 18 knots. The forecast for Sunday currently predicts strong Mistral winds which could mean the final day's racing is cancelled.
Riccardo Bonadeo, Commodore of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda was aboard supporting the team in this challenging leg of the Audi MedCup today and in the second race Audi Azzurra Sailing Team led from the off after an excellent start and a perfect tack. On the last downwind leg Azzurra was still in control when she unexpectedly hit a windless hole allowing those following to avoid the trap and overtake her.
Azzurra finished in fifth place as she had done in the first race in which she played catch up for the duration. In the third race a poor start on the left forced the team to choose the right side of the course which proved costly for Azzurra who went on to finish in sixth place.
"We have to admit our mistakes in the afterguard," acknowledged tactician Francesco Bruni frankly, "we raced badly; we are not satisfied at all. Fortune was not on our side, of course, in the second race. If we had won that one we would have been in a different frame of mind and perhaps we would have started better in the third race too."
Thanks to the results achieved in the leg in Cascais and a victory in the first race in Marseille, Azzurra maintains third place in the overall classification for the circuit. The aim now is to get back on track and start moving up the classification.
AUDI AZZURRA SAILING TEAM
Guillermo Parada - Skipper and Helmsman
Francesco Bruni - Tactician
Vasco Vascotto - Strategist
Bruno Zirilli - Navigator
Paul Westlake - Mainsail
Mariano Caputo - Bowman
Pedro Rossi - Mid Bow
Juan Pablo Cadario - Pitman
Maciel Cichetti - Trimmer
Mariano Parada - Trimmer
Simon Fry - Trimmer
Gabriel Marino - Grinder
Alejandro Colla - Grinder
Boat Captain: Pedro Rossi
Owner: Alberto Roemmers
Audi Azzurra Sailing Team
Audi MedCup
Tour des Iles Britanniques : Carnet de bord de Marc Guillemot
Safran. Image copyright Ignacio Baixauli/DPPI/Safran.
par Marc Guillemot
Hier, en fin de journée, après une trentaine d’heures assez pénible à bord de Safran, la mer s’est arrangée un peu et nous a permis de nous remettre en situation de course ou de record, au choix.
Quelques bords tribord, puis bâbord sur les conseils de notre fidèle compagnon de Météo France, Sylvain Mondon, notre trajectoire favorise l’arrivée d’un vent plus favorable de la dépression. Vers minuit, nous faisions route directe vers l’objectif « Great Skellig » au Sud-Ouest de l’Irlande.
L’arrivée est à 380 milles devant l’étrave de Safran et pour être dans les temps de record, nous devrions couper la ligne imaginaire dans le sud du Cap Lizard le 18 juin avant 9h16 TU. Non seulement ce défi est possible, mais en plus, toute l’équipe est motivée pour décrocher ce record ne serait-ce que d’une minute ! On sait que c’est jouable, on sait aussi qu’il n’y a pas de gras mais les prévisions météo pour les prochaines 24 heures nous imposent un brin d’optimisme.
Réponse au réveil demain matin…
En attendant, la vie à bord de Safran continue. César, le voilier du bord s’adonne avec le sourire aux tâches ménagères ; Loïc et Yann sont aux réglages sur le pont, et vu les bruits sourds diffusés par le carbone, ils travaillent ; Didier est en repos sur la bannette au vent et moi, je tapote comme je peux sur le clavier posé en équilibre sur mes genoux. Bref, rien de spécial, tout va bien.
Bonne journée et à demain pour le dénouement.
SafranSixty
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