Foto copyright Ingrid Avery
Kostecki y Spithill disfrazados de "hormiga atómica"
Foto copyright Ingrid Avery
Foto copyright Ingrid Avery
Regata de entrenamiento para los Extreme 40 en Venecia. Para ver toda la info del campeonato ir a la web de la i-Shares cup: http://www.isharescup.com/
Fuente info i-Shares Cup
The pressure is (already) on
14 May 2009
For this first warm-up, races have been held on the Venice Lagoon, with the ultimate regatta finishing within metres of the Riva dei Sette Martiri - one end of the line being materialised by a gondola! In predominantly light conditions - around 10 knots or 18 km/h + - and under a glorious sunshine, skippers have been battling out all afternoon, Gitana Extreme - Groupe LCF Rothschild convincingly winning the first race, Oman Sail's Renaissance coming second and BMW Oracle third. This first French victory was followed by another one, since Groupama, skippered by Gildas Philippe in the absence of Franck Cammas (about to leave Marseille on his giant trimaran for the trans-Mediterranean record) was first across the line... with once again Loïck Peyron's crew in the wake! For the final race of the day, an exhibition finish line had been set within metres of the race village, and Oman Sail's Masirah managed to stay in the lead, closely followed by Yann Guichard's boat, while Renaissance wasn't far behind.
Both Gitana Extreme - Groupe LCF Rothschild and Renaissance showed great consistency today, but the thing most skippers talked about the most was the scenery - as Loïck Peyron noted, "I've only got one comment: we've spent an excellent day out on the water! The venue is magnificent, and the last finish of the day, right at the heart of Venice, was memorable. My only regret is that I couldn't really enjoy the spectacle, because when racing, it's hard to take your eyes off the sails and the tiller! As far as racing is concerned, the level of competition is really high and the starts are fiercely fought for. We'd done a good job today, training pays off, the manoeuvres are smooth and swift and I've got my multihull feeling back. Once more, it was nothing but sheer pleasure."
James Spithill, BMW Oracle, chimed in as well: "Being in Venice is breathtaking, and we've thoroughly enjoyed that first day. After having taken part in the Cowes event last year, I can say that the level is remarkably higher than it was in 2008, and it's very hard to single out a team as several are right up there and can expect to win."
Gildas Philippe at the helm of Groupama
Seeing a weather window opening up in front of his giant trimaran on the Mediterranean crossing record, Franck Cammas has trusted Gildas Philippe with the helm of Groupama Extreme for the Venice event. The French sailor, who has a 470 (Olympic dinghy) World Champion title to his name, has also called tactics on numerous occasions aboard Cammas's multihulls... "We had planned for me to step up and replace Franck should the situation arise", says Gildas, "I'm discovering the Extreme 40 but I've sailed Tornados and ORMA 60 trimarans, so I should be alright."
