(Photo credit: Chris Schmid / Eyemage Media)
As last weekend's Grand Prix progressed so too did Alinghi's performance, in part due to the conditions building from very light on Friday and Saturday to a punchy 12-18knots on Sunday. For the first time the Open de Versoix was split to Friday and Sunday with the Geneva-Rolle-Geneva distance race held on the Saturday. We talk to Pierre-Yves Jorand, the mainsail trimmer onboard, about Alinghi's optimal conditions, the areas of improvement and next Saturday's world famous Bol d'Or:
Some mixed results over the weekend – how did the racing go in your opinion?
Pierre-Yves Jorand: We had very different wind conditions over the three day event, we started the Open de Versoix in a light north-easterly sea breeze and had two terrible opening races, finishing in 11th place. We had two poor starts and from there it is very hard to get through the fleet, so it was a tough day on Friday. The second day of the Grand Prix was on Sunday and we had a wonderful 12-18knot south-westerly, gusting up to 20knots. It was quite rough but very nice conditions and we were lucky enough to win the last race, but again we made too many mistakes over the two day event to get onto the podium. The lesson of the weekend is that the level within the fleet is very high and you need to sail clear and fast, with a strong strategy, to be able to win the Grand Prix. This weekend we were not on top form, we will hopefully be back in grand prix mode in August with much stronger performance.
For Saturday's Geneva-Rolle-Geneva distance race, we (once again) had light airs and again we were missing a little bit of speed during the first part of the race. We had a great comeback from Rolle back down to Geneva and were able to pass a couple of boats, but it was not enough and we only finished in 6th position, so not a great result. The fleet is very compact and you really pay for any mistakes.
What does the crew take away from this event?
P-YJ: We had a really good debrief on Sunday evening to try to learn as much as possible from the mistakes over the weekend. We plan to return to a much simpler game for the next set of Grand Prix events. We are also going to build a new sail using the combined expertise of the sail designer at North Sails and Nils Frei, our jib trimmer. And practice – we haven't practised very much in light airs, so we need to do a lot more of that.
Would it be accurate to say the Alinghi D35 performs better in a breeze?
P-YJ: Yes it would be. The boat does go better in some wind, plus the team feels better once we are in flying mode. We are the heaviest crew in the fleet, which is another factor in the explanation of our poor performance in the light. Whenever the boat flies we can play our game, we know how to sail in the high numbers. In the light it is much more complicated.
The crew numbers six at the moment - will it be the same for the upcoming Bol d'Or?
P-YJ: For the Grand Prix racing you have to sail six up as you need 12 arms for the manoeuvres. For the long distance races like the Bol d'Or for instance, crew work is less important so, depending on the weather, it is an option to sail with five.
A word on the competition – any stand-outs in the fleet?
P-YJ: Well apart from the winners Foncia and Banque Populaire, Ylliam with Arnaud Psarofaghis – the youngest helmsman in the fleet – did a really good job. He had seven very powerful starts and he was always in the top three at the first cross, so very impressive off the start line. Also Zoulou with Erik Maris was very impressive, especially on Sunday because they scored a 1st, 2nd and 3rd in heavy airs. They have learnt how to sail the D35 very quickly. These two really impressed me during the Grand Prix. During the long distance race, Okalys-Corum did a great job with Loïck Peyron and Nicolas Grange. They had a fantastic race with no mistakes, good boat speed and good strategy – they were able to win the race with a 20minute lead.
A word on the Bol d'Or this weekend – Switzerland's most famous race?
P-YJ: The Bol d'Or is the biggest inshore race in Europe, so we expect almost 600 boats. It is a major event in Switzerland. The key to this race is getting off the start line. There are so many spectator boats, so much chop and confusion that you really need to be quick off the line in order to have a chance to play a role at the front of the fleet. How the day goes is also very much weather related, at the moment there is a possibility of a south westerly if the front that is sitting on top of us stays. It is too early to make a weather call though, we'll wait another 48 hours before doing the race forecast.
And finally: plans for this week?
P-YJ: Plans for this week involve training, training, training. We'll be doing some speed tests with Foncia and LadyCat on Thursday and Friday will be dedicated to boat preparations, weather checks and possibly a short sail ahead of Saturday's start.
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