by Virginie Bouchet
After two days of intense racing in the Open de Versoix, Ladycat, skippered by Dona Bertarelli, secured a fourth place in the overall standings after 11 races and one win. The first round of the D35 championship, featuring the best crews on Lake Geneva, finished on the afternoon of Sunday, May 12 and showed that the competition steps up to a higher level each year. Alinghi, who dominated the rest, won this grand prix. Realstone Sailing and Zen completed the podium.
Despite the adverse conditions that forced the race organisation to cancel the first day of racing, the Joran provided enough wind for a beautiful field of play on Lake Geneva for the 10 one-design boats. The re-start was positive for Ladycat, but the unstable wind played a bit with the nerves of the crew: “It was really difficult with the conditions changing all the time because we had to be super responsive and quickly find the right tuning for performance,” Dona Bertarelli said. “But the balance is positive, we have managed to remain at the forefront during each race. Until the end we were vying for third place overall. Unfortunately we made some small mistakes that cost us dearly. We will use the next training sessions for some more work on our manoeuvres and changes of rhythm.”
Next race : May 25-26, “Grand Prix Les Ambassadeurs”…
Spindrift Racing
Vulcain Trophy
