Feature Story

04.09.2009 (19:03 CET) - Bellevue, Switzerland - Alinghi

D35 action returns to lake Geneva this weekend

(Photo credit: Loris von Siebenthal)

Ernesto Bertarelli and his crew will race on lake Geneva this weekend for the two day HP Cup la Réserve regatta. The 11-strong fleet of Décision 35s will meet on the start line in Bellevue, near Geneva, for this weekend’s competition; the seventh in the Challenge Julius Baer championship.
With only one more regatta to go for the championship after this weekend’s racing, Alinghi SUI1 is leading the ranking by three points, followed by Foncia and Okalys, also helmed by Alinghi team members.

  
Alinghi.com spoke to Pierre-Yves Jorand, mainsail trimmer onboard Alinghi SUI1, about what to expect from this regatta: “We are sitting at the top of the ranking but only with three a point lead over the second team. All D35 teams get better and better throughout the season. For example, Banque Populaire did a great job last weekend, so I think three points is not enough to secure the overall victory, we are going to focus on sailing the best we can. We know we have good boat speed in every kind of breeze so we need to try to avoid mistakes, and to try and have good starts. After the weekend we’ll see where we are and what the strategy will be for the last grand prix in Lausanne. We will keep the same crew as in the last regatta. We have reached a good level of communication on board and everything works very smoothly.”

Racing starts tomorrow at 13:30 for a maximum of four races. Check Alinghi.com for race results and quotes from the crew.

Alinghi SUI1 crew

Ernesto Bertarelli, helmsman
Pierre-Yves Jorand, mainsail trimmer and performance
Nils Frei, trimmer
Yves Detrey, bow/mastman and boat captain
Tanguy Cariou, tactician
Coraline Jonet, trimmer

*NB: Other team members who participate in this weekend's regatta: Alain Gautier, helmsman on Foncia and Loïck Peyron, helmsman on Okalys-Corum.

General ranking Challenge Julius Baer

1. SUI 1 Alinghi SUI 1 6 pts
2. SUI 5 Foncia 9 pts
3. SUI 2 Okalys-Corum 9 pts
4. SUI 3 Julius Baer 18pts
5. SUI 12 Banque Populaire 23 pts
6. SUI 9 Smarthome 23 pts
7. SUI 6 Alinghi SUI 6 24 pts
8. SUI 4 Zen Too 24 pts
9. SUI 7 Zebra 7 – FirstCaution 27 pts
10. SUI 10 Ladycat 34 pts
11. SUI 11 Veltigroup 36 pts
12. SUI 8 Romandie.com 44 pts