News

Oman Air a touch above the rest; Alinghi 2nd

4 August, 2019

132 boats spread over four race areas, 26 nationalities and some 1,500 sailors came together in Palma de Mallorca for the traditional Copa del Rey, the 38th of its name. The 3rd stage of the GC32 Racing Tour circuit coincides with this great event and is an exception in the tour's annual calendar, given that the boats joined 10 other classes for a regatta put on by the well-oiled organisation over the course of the week. As usual, the Bay of Palma delivered very good sailing conditions and all 20 races on the GC32 programme were run. This time, it was Oman Air which showed greatest consistency and control of the foiling monotype catamaran. The battle between the two leaders raged to the end and, mathematically, the final result was not certain until the last race. But Oman Air did hold firm and won the last two rounds of the day, bringing their total to ten wins from 20, with Alinghi registering seven. And so five small points separated the two rivals after four days of fleet racing...and some phases of match racing (fans of our Instagram stories will be able to identify the moments ;-). Yves Detrey, bowman: "It was a great last day of racing against Oman Air. They were trying to make us lose ground when they were in front, and we did the same when we were in the lead. "As for the final result, we can only blame ourselves for not having sailed very well the first two days. In a small fleet, if you want to win, you have to race well from beginning to end. "Oman Air did it. They win, it's deserved. "I think we cannot always win when we compete. But you have to know how to stay on the lookout for the next event and keep learning. In Riva in September, there is no question of attacking Oman from the beginning. We will sail our modes, apply our manoeuvres and unfold our game as we did in the World Championship, and everything will be fine." Pierre-Yves Jorand, Team Director: "Oman Air delivered a very complete game in terms of performance, manoeuvres, strategy and also on the starts throughout these 20 races with varied conditions. "On our side, we sailed a little below our level. We are not looking for excuses, though we have had a busy start to the season, not least with the World Championship, which was a big goal for us. I would also say that arriving in Palma with a slightly smaller fleet (six boats instead of 10), made a difference, removing a little of the extra spice and it does not take much in that scenario for the game to tighten. Indeed, we made some small positioning errors on the first day, we were less incisive than Oman in key moments like starts and we had trouble finding stability on the second day in choppy water. "We know what we must do to win next. We have the solutions. It's up to us to apply them and deliver a better result over four days in a row." Is it possible to win each regatta? "In high-level mechanical sports, it seems difficult. Sailing is a mechanical sport and a team sport. It takes individual performance, that each team member is at his best, and that they interact perfectly, that everyone is in the same dynamic. "I think that Oman worked a lot after Lagos (note: they finished 5th in the Worlds, a real under-performance for such a great team). They learnt from our manoeuvres, studied our game and came here a bit stronger. As in any high-level sport, a little improvement can be enough to pass the shoulder of your rival. "But let's be careful, I do not see any revolution to apply between here and Lake Garda. We will simply have to succeed in bringing our best game, as we did in five stages last year and as in Lagos a month ago."   After three events and following their victory, Oman Air sits alongside the top of the tour's overall standings with five points. Could this be a harbinger for other match racing sequences between us two in the last two stages of the season?! Red Bull follows with 12 points. From today (and once the GC32 is in its container), the team will head to Switzerland to help prepare the very first TF35, freshly arrived at Société Nautique de Genève. The first test sailings are expected by mid-August. From August 30th to September 1st, the 5th D35 Trophy will be organized by the Yacht Club de Genève. Click here for the 3rd event general ranking after 20 races. To find out more gc32racingtour.com #gc32racingtour #GoAlinghiGo To find out more about how to follow the racing, the team composition and the circuit in general, find the event recap by clicking here. Photo credits ©Sailing Energy/GC32 Racing Tour

81st Bol d'Or: dantesque conditions and a 3rd place overall

16 June, 2019

57 knots were displayed on the boat's instruments! Not for the speed of our D35, but for the wind speed that blew during the ferocious storm that rained down during the 81st Bol d'Or. We spare a thought to the competitors who suffered damage to their boats, and also to the rescue teams and volunteers on the ground. While the record for this legendary event remains at 5: 01'50 '' (Triga IV in 1994), the M1 Ladycat powered by Spindrift managed the calm before and after the storm, winning the race in 10 hours, 36 minutes and 21 seconds. Ylliam-Comptoir Immobilier were the first D35 and second overall in 10h39'38', the Alinghi D35 completed the podium with a time of 10h42'35. Nicolas Charbonnier, tactician: "This year, I will remember above all the incredible storm that we had to cross. It was a hell of an experience, like nothing I've been through on a boat. We congratulate Spindrift for their victory and we are happy to make the podium." Arnaud Psarofaghis, mainsail trimmer: "What is striking in these great races is that the regattas are even tighter than the Grand Prix. From beginning to end, we fight for every metre, every place. Relative to the length of the course, we finish much closer to each other than at the finish of a Grand Prix round, which is surprising after more than 10 hours of non-stop racing." Nils Frei, coach: "It was super impressive to see the lake transformed with more than 50 knots of wind. Rare conditions, fortunately, by the way. There were boats in stress everywhere and many flares launched. "Ladycat led the race well and deserves the victory, but we are happy to have sailed well overall. The start and first section of the race were very good. Then the wind transitions bunched us up. It was complicated when the Bouveret approached, where it was very quiet and therefore more random. On the way back to Geneva, we negotiated the storm rather well, even though the jib did not come out unscathed. We moved back on the leader who was 50 minutes ahead of us at Bouveret, but that will not have been enough. Achieving the podium on a long race is always satisfying, even if we would prefer to win!" After this fourth stage of the D35 Trophy 2019, Alinghi still leads the Championship, ahead of Ylliam-Comptoir Immobilier and Zen Too. For the D35s, a summer break will now take place until the end of August, when they will return for three Grand Prix to end the season. In the meantime, the team is looking forward to seeing you from June 27th to 30th in Lagos (Portugal) for one of its major goals: the GC32 Series World Championship. Click here for all the results of the 81st Bol d'Or Mirabaud. To find out more d35trophy.com  //  boldormirabaud.ch #GoAlinghiGo  //  #D35Trophy  //  #BOM19 To find out more about how to follow the racing, the team composition and the circuit in general, find the event recap by clicking here. Photo credits © BOM2019 / Loris Von Siebenthal, Nicolas Jutzi, Anna Ricca, EP medias

The 55th edition of the Genève-Rolle-Genève: 5th place of the D35s, 6th overall

9 June, 2019

Great blue skies, dropping south-west and wavering Séchard winds served as the setting for this first of lake Léman two classic races in the D35 Trophy. After four hours and nine minutes of racing, Alinghi crossed the finish line in 6th position overall (5th among the D35s) in the 55th Genève-Rolle-Genève. The D35 Zen Too (3h57'), Eleven Sailing Team (4h03'), and the M1 Ladycat powered by Spindrift (4h04') took the podium in this event which is synonymous with a warm-up for the Bol d'Or. Bryan Mettraux, trimmer: "We made a good start in the south-west, which allowed us to be in the hunt by the time we got to near Nyon. Then there was the first transition where we hit the northerly wind in which we rounded the halfway mark at Rolle in 3rd position. "We attacked well on the way back to Geneva, but it was quite special. We went down with the new wind, we got stuck in no pression, until it came back again (as the D35 goes faster than the wind in this light conditions). At one point we had to cross the lake to stay in the pressure, but we didn't cross exactly at the right time. "There is always a sense of success being shared in these races. Zen Too managed to come back through the fleet and crossed at the right moment. It's part of the game and they played it well." With such light conditions in such a long race, would it be wise to wait patiently and then to launch the assault at the right moment ? Nils Frei, trimmer, gives his point of view: "We have a little more cards in hand in general when we are in front, but these are races where anything can happen, with reversals of situation and sometimes the pressure that comes from behind. But it's hard enough to predict! I think we do not want to be a team that sits back and says we will see after. Especially given that there are races that develop from the front and others where it pays to come back from behind." See you next week, June 15th at 10am, wind or not, for the start of the 81st Bol d'Or Mirabaud. Click here for all the results of the Genève-Rolle-Genève. To find out more d35trophy.com  // ycg.ch/geneve-rolle-geneve/ #GoAlinghiGo  //  #D35Trophy  //  #GRG19 To find out more about how to follow the racing, the team composition and the circuit in general, find the event recap by clicking here. Photo credits ©EP medias