Arnaud Psarofaghis, Alinghi. Image copyright www.bgmr.ch / JF Hervo.
by Paco Latorre
Alinghi's new match racing team with Arnaud Psarofaghis at the helm took third at last weekend's Bentley Geneva Match Race, behind Bertrand Pace and Eric Monnin. The group, including Alinghi America's Cup sailors Yves Detrey and Nils Frei, and fellow D35 sailor Tanguy Cariou, was match racing together for the first time and by the end of the three day event, Arnaud declared himself 'happy' with their third place: “We progressed very well throughout the event and given it is the first time I have match raced with members of the Alinghi team, I am really pleased with our excellent coordination. Our onboard communication worked well as did our manoeuvres and I am very happy with our ranking.”
After a light start on Friday, the breeze kicked in Saturday afternoon with 18-20 knots and the race committee was able to run two round robins and the semi-finals. Sunday saw the first to three point finals and petit finals caught short when the wind died and so the winner was decided based on the round robin results. Two-time America's Cup sailor, Nils Frei commented on their first outing as a group: “It was a good result considering this was our first match race with Arnaud on the helm. There is no doubt that he is talented and a fast learner with lots of potential.”
Ranking:
1. Bertrand Pacé /France
2. Eric Monnin / Switzerland
3. Arnaud Psarofaghis / Switzerland (Alinghi crew)
4. Keith Swinton / Australia
5. Jérôme Clerc / Switzerland
Alinghi
Bentley Geneve Match Race
