[Source: iShares Cup] Coming into Round 2 of the iShares Cup, one could be forgiven for expecting the French teams to excel on their ‘home’ waters but the pre-event form hasn’t gone quite as planned. It was Oman Sail’s Masirah that stole the thunder today on the open waters of Hyères, posting four bullets out of six races leaving them at the top of the Day 1 leaderboard with 55 points. It was Frenchman Loick Peyron who had the best day out of the French contingent, helming Oman Sail’s Renaissance into third overall, and Franck Cammas, back at the helm of Groupama, climbed into 4th place. The sea breeze built to a steady 13-14 knots by race 3, the action ratcheted up a notch or two and BT skipper, Nick Moloney, summed it up – “it was very aggressive out on the race course today”. BT filled the 2nd place on the leaderboard by consistently posting 3rd or 4th places, and a final win put a big smile on the face of Mitch Booth, co-creator of the Extreme 40 Class, who had to replace an injured Darren Bundock at the 11th hour.

Highlights from the opening day of iShares Cup Hyères-TPM. Hyères, 3 July 2009. Video copyright iShares Cup

In Detail:

The sailors knew that the Hyères event would present a different scenario to the light winds of Venice. For starters, there is open water, although the short courses were kept well within visibility of the public, then there is the ‘sea breeze’ that builds throughout the afternoon as the land mass heats up. So with the conditions very different from Round 1 in Venice, the game has taken on a different complexion. iShares Cup Event Director, Gilles Chiorri: “By race 3 we saw a big wind shift and a lot more pressure so lots of speed and action on the course with the hulls flying all the time. The game is quite open – Round 1 winners Gitana won some and lost some but it was the two Oman Sail boats that were the strongest today. The courses are short so half of the game is 1 minute before the start and 1 minute after, then you just rely on the difficulties of the others to get back in the game. There were quite a few penalties today – 6 or 7 – the racing is quite aggressive.”

Oman Sail Masirah, skippered by Pete Cumming (centre) and helmed by Olympic medallist Chris Draper (right) lead Round 2 of the iShares Cup after Day 1. Hyères, 3 July 2009. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez

After six races, Oman Sail’s Masirah had monopolised the finish line and now lead with 55 points, only 1 point ahead of BT (46 points) and Oman Sail Renaissance (45 points). Chris Draper helm of Oman Sail’s Masirah: “It was a good day – we had a nice rhythm going and we just kept it going. We made sure we had a back-up plan if we didn’t get a good start – that happened a couple of times and that served us well. Great effort from the team, really good teamwork and we had our Oman compatriot Khamis [Al-Anbouri] onboard – he seems to be our lucky charm!”

Loick Peyron: “It was a glorious day, with ideal conditions on the water… and the boys (editor’s note: the Masirah crew) have really played it well. They were very clever on the starts, and generally they sailed better than everyone else, no doubt about that, hats off! As far as we’re concerned, I was looking for consistency and put my brains to work quite intensely. There was plenty going on to keep us entertained, and I’m very pleased with our team spirit.”

Groupama raced more consistently and claimed 4th place (38 points) but only one point separates them from BMW ORACLE (37 points) as James Spithill and his crew – despite winning the first race – then posted an 8th and 10th which proved their undoing.

Oman Sail Masirah, skippered by Pete Cumming (centre) and helmed by Olympic medallist Chris Draper (right) lead Round 2 of the iShares Cup after Day 1. Hyères, 3 July 2009. Photo copyright Thierry Martinez

There have been a few crew changes for Round 2 due to the other commitments of some of the ‘regulars’ within four teams. Aboard Gitana Extreme, Dutch offshore specialist Simeon Tienpont has been momentarily ‘lent’ by BMW Oracle to replace Hervé Cunnigham. Extreme 40 class co-creator Mitch Booth stands in for an injured Darren Bundock as BT skipper Nick Moloney explained: “Darren has been very difficult to replace but we have managed to replace an 11-times World Champion with a 10-times World Champion – a stroke of luck on our part!” On Holmatro, Australian Anthony Nossiter steps in to replace Gerd Habermüller on the bow – Anthony lists ’rounding Cape Horn nude’ as one of his three major achievements! Finally, Gilberto Nobili steps aboard iShares in replacement of trimmer Jonathan MacBeth.

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

After Banque Populaire docked in the Gateway marina in Brooklyn a week ago, it was the turn of Thomas Coville aboard his Sodeb’O maxi trimaran to arrive in New York the following day and then finally Groupama, two days ago, but without Franck Cammas who is currently in Hyères, racing in the iShares Cup.

All three giant triamarans are in New York for the same reason, an attempt to break the North Atlantic crossing record, from the Big Apple to Cap Lizard in the UK.

Thomas Coville aboard his Sodeb’O maxi triamaran. New York, 1 July 2009. Video copyright Sodeb’O Voile

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

It’s not often that one gets the chance to sail together with one of the world’s best and most famous multihull sailors, so when Franck Cammas and Groupama came to Valencia there was no way we could miss such an opportunity. So, Friday was media day for Groupama and a group of 10 journalists went for a ride on Groupama 3. In fact, the giant trimaran is currently touring the Mediterranean, stopping in each country the French insurance group has a presence. The yacht arrived in Valencia from Tunisia and will then continue to Lisbon for another week of marketing and corporate hospitality.

Cammas and his crew hoisted the sails just after leaving the canal and then sailed on a simple straight line for approximately three quarters of an hour, giving the journalists onboard the opportunity to helm the giant multihull and feel what it’s like to steer such a yacht. After approxiametly 10 miles we turned around and then headed back to our starting point in order to disembark on the tender and let the second group of guests come aboard.

It goes without saying that the actual 33rd America’s Cup will be completely different and the crews will not consist of absolute beginners that go for a ride during a nice and sunny day in Valencia. Still, even that approximation gave us the opportunity to sense what the Cup match would look like. During the 2-hour sail the breeze was light, starting from 6 knots at 11am and reaching 8.5 knots at 1pm, with some peaks of 9 knots in between. Still, despite the relaxed atmosphere aboard, boat speed never got below 12.5 knots and managed to stay over 15 knots most of the time. The peak was 16.2 knots when Cammas took over at some point.

Our fear is that when BMW Oracle’s USA and Alinghi’s Suisse hit the water, wherever this might be, even in similarly light conditions, we might witness that most spectator-unfriendly race. According to Cammas and his crew, BOR 90 would have been much faster than Groupama 3 this morning and, obviously, the Alinghi boat must be at least equal in performance. What will we get? Two giant yachts that are indeed impressive at the beginning of the race but then disappear into the horizon.

Even if we only sailed 10 miles (half the 20 miles of each leg in a Dee-of-Gift race) it was impossible to even vaguely distinguish Valencia’s tallest skyscrapers. Not only that, we were lucky to have flat seas that looked more like the Geneva lake than the Mediterranean. Imagine a race with 12 knots of wind and choppy seas. The wine-drinking and tapas-eating VIP’s will have a hard time following the two yachts.

That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t like to see the 33rd America’s Cup match take place here in Valencia, right on the contrary. We only hope it’s over as soon as possible and that none of the two parties takes any additional legal measures that will prevail a conventional Cup from happening in the near future.

Franck Cammas and Groupama 3 take journalists for a ride. Valencia, 12 June 2009. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Groupama 3 docked in front of the BMW Oracle base. Valencia, 12 June 2009. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Groupama 3 docked in front of the BMW Oracle base. Valencia, 12 June 2009. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The small rib under Groupama 3. Valencia, 12 June 2009. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Going for a ride on Groupama 3. Valencia, 12 June 2009. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Franck Cammas and his crew grind while guests helm. Valencia, 12 June 2009. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: Franck Cammas - Groupama]
• The trimaran Groupama 3 on stand-by from 6th May to 2nd June 2009 in Marseilles, in the port of Estaque
• The time to beat: 17 hours 56 minutes 33 seconds
• The current record holder: Bruno Peyron aboard the catamaran Orange II on 25th September 2004 (average speed: 25.53 knots)
• The number of nautical miles to cover: 458 miles

With respect to the programme announced for Groupama 3, from today – Wednesday 6th May – through to 2nd June, Franck Cammas and his crew are on stand-by in Marseilles, ready to set off on their attempt at the Mediterranean crossing record (Marseilles/Carthage). The seven sailors are now awaiting the most favourable weather conditions with which to begin their attack of this record spanning 458 miles. It is worth noting that the time to beat is 17 hours 56 minutes 33 seconds, a time held since September 2004 by Bruno Peyron aboard the catamaran Orange II.

The weather along the course or the `right window’:
There is a single imperative for setting off from the city of Marseilles: a well established Mistral which extends beyond the Southern tip of Sardinia. In order to avoid overly built-up seas, it is best to set off as a N to NW’ly wind is forming, which gradually fills as it heads along the coast of Corsica, easing progressively the further South it gets…

Renowned for its short, breaking seas when the Mistral punches the air at over 40 knots, the Mediterranean makes the first third of the course particularly feisty and tricky, before things become more manageable as far as the south of Sardinia. It’s the final third which is the most uncertain though, with the Mistral adopting a W’ly element to it between Sardinia and Tunisia, which can very quickly run out of steam. As far as the last thirty miles are concerned between Cap Blanc and Cap Carthage, you can but hope the calm conditions aren’t reigning and that a thermal breeze kicks in: as such it’s better to arrive in daylight hours.

The viewpoint of skipper Franck Cammas:
“Since we left Lorient, Brittany, on 17th March 2009, we’ve covered nearly 8,000 miles aboard Groupama 3. The crew know the boat well and we’re ready to cast off. In order to be as fast as we possibly can be, there will be just seven of us onboard instead of the usual ten. The length of the record (17 hours) enables this as we won’t require any watches to get rest. All we have to do now is to wait for a good Mistral. It’s a really great record which sets off from a place where I began sailing over twenty years ago”.

The course time, from Marseilles to Carthage: 458 miles
The start line lies abeam of the Pomegues lighthouse (43°15,7′ N- 005°17,4′ E), located at the exit from the harbour of Marseilles, on the islands of Frioul. The logical route takes you towards the Golfe de Tunis, leaving Corsica and Sardinia to port.

The finish line is positioned abeam of the Ras Quartajamah lighthouse, on Cap Carthage, near Sidi Bou Saïd (36°52.3′ N – 10°20.9′ E).

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: Cammas-Groupama] Though the programme for the maxi-trimaran Groupama 3 is living up to all expectations, unfortunately this won’t be the case for the ORMA circuit in which Groupama 2 was racing as, due to a lack of competitors, the triple world champion in the series has today been put into storage in Groupama team’s yard in Lorient. To fill this void, Franck Cammas and his crew will be participating in the entire iShares Cup circuit, developed for the third consecutive year by Dame Ellen MacArthur and her associate, Mark Turner.

Contested aboard 12 metre long one-design catamarans referred to as “eXtreme 40s”, the iShares circuit will make stopovers in six European countries: Italy, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Holland and Spain. Sailing aboard Groupama 40, Franck Cammas will rediscover some familiar faces from the multihull world, notably French sailors Loïck Peyron and Yann Guichard, as well as Australian James Spithill and even the double Olympic medallist Shirley Robertson, all of whom will be racing their own steeds.

The Groupama Extreme 40 trains in Valencia. Photo copyright Yvan Zedda

In order to prepare for the first event which will be held in Venice in a month’s time, Franck Cammas and his three crew, Tanguy Cariou, Thierry Fouchier and Fred Le Maistre, have been sailing in Valencia in Spain, where there are two eXtreme 40s in the colours of Oracle and Yann Guichard’s Gitana Extreme: “We’ve spent nearly a week training aboard Groupama 40. Clearly it’s simpler than what we did aboard Groupama 2 as the boats are smaller. However, it’s also more hotly contested as we all have the same boats and hence the same speeds”.

A competitor through and through, Franck Cammas is already familiar with the iShares circuit after racing in Cowes last year and in Marseilles in 2007: “The course are very short. As such it’s imperative that you get off to a good start, get on the right tack and manoeuvre well. The slightest error is paid for in cash”, explains the skipper of Groupama 40.

As was the case when he raced in the ORMA Grand Prix circuit, Cammas has surrounded himself with a fantastic crew. Calling tactics is Tanguy Cariou, who has already sailed on Groupama and Groupama 2. In charge of the trimming is Thierry Fouchier, he too a familiar face aboard Groupama 2. Performing the manoeuvres is Frédéric Le Maistre, a newcomer in the team. A former crew of Alain Gautier on the Decision 35, he knows what’s called for: “We needed a powerful guy in this position. Fred is exactly that, added to which he is very personable at sea and very determined.”

In essence the crew aboard Groupama 40 is well grounded and well trained: “In Valencia, the bulk of the time was spent sailing in light winds. We’ll have to see what happens in breezier conditions but one thing for sure is that the races are going to be very hotly contested. We’re in contact with each other the whole time. It’s full-on”, concludes Franck, who’s just left Valencia for Venice, where the maxi trimaran Groupama 3 awaits him: “The boats don’t have much in common. However, we’re going to make the most of the opportunity to stake out the race zone, which is a good thing.”

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

When it was scheduled, we suppose quite some time ago, it was deemed necessary and relevant but yesterday’s decision of the NY Court of Appeals made it even more important, not to say primordial. We are talking about the joint training 2-week session BMW Oracle, Groupama and Gitana Team will start on Monday in Valencia, onboard their Extreme 40 catamarans.

The, as of yesterday, America’s Cup challenger will obviously make use of any opportunity to train as much as possible on multihull yachts, given the repeated statements from Alinghi that in case of a defeat in court they would face the Americans in a one-on-one race in giant multihulls.

Starting Monday, James Spithill will be on the helm of one of his team’s catamarans (we ignore who will be driving the second one), sparring with Franck Cammas on Groupama and Yann Guichard on Gitana Team. Valencia Sailing will be there, so stay tuned.

BMW Oracle’s 2 Extreme 40 yachts together with Groupama and Gitana Team getting ready for the upcoming training session. Valencia, 3 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

The Groupama and Gitana Team Extreme 40 yachts getting ready for the upcoming training session. Valencia, 3 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

BMW Oracle’s 2 Extreme 40 yachts getting ready for the upcoming training session. Valencia, 3 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: Franck Cammas - Groupama] It has taken the maxi trimaran 36 hours to cover the 350 miles separating Istanbul from Athens.

Suffice to say that the fastest sailing boat in the world, which has previously covered 794 miles in 24 hours, made Greece in light winds, occasionally using the engine to make good headway towards its destination.

“We did have a few peaks of speed at over 30 knots” admits Frédéric Le Peutrec, who went on to say: “With there only being eight of us aboard, everyone participated in the manoeuvres ; including Catherine Pottier (journalist with France Info)”.

Skirting the coast, a particular high point for the crew of Groupama 3 was the opportunity to admire Poseidon’s temple, before discovering the port of Piraeus last night.

As such the crew have 48 hours to recuperate as well as perform some maintenance on Groupama 3, prior to playing host to employees and guests of Groupama Phoenix from Friday onwards.

Groupama 3 docked in Piraeus. 1 April 2009. Photo copyright Groupama

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: Franck Cammas - Groupama 3] Groupama 3 is continuing her course towards Istanbul. Last night and for a large part of the morning the crew has had to battle against a capricious wind.

Despite these conditions Franck Cammas, contacted early this Sunday afternoon, appeared satisfied to be sailing aboard his maxi trimaran once more: “Everything’s going very well aboard. Groupama 3 is behaving well in all the points of sail we encounter. In addition I am surrounded by experienced sailors who seem happy to be here! So when the guys are happy, I am too!

Right now we are to the north of the African coast. We had to perform a series of tacks throughout the night, though this morning the wind had dropped right off and the engine had to be started once again!”

The trimaran of the insurer-banker Groupama has since touched a bit of downwind conditions, which will allow her to slip along at speed as far as Greece: “The wind is even set to build this evening off Sicily. However, although this N’ly wind is pushing us along nicely, it’s also making temperatures less balmy!! It’s freezing!!” concludes Franck laughing.

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

It’s a cheerful Swiss sailor Steve Ravussin who swiftly picks up this Friday lunchtime. “That’s it, we’ve passed them!” From now on, the pillars of Hercules are in Groupama 3’s wake and they won’t see them again until June, when the trimaran heads for Lisbon, the final stopover on the `route of the subsidiaries’.

Right now, the trimaran belonging to the insurer-banker Groupama is already in the Mediterranean and the 11 men on board seem satisfied with their passage through the Staits of Gibraltar* as watch leader, media man and helm, Steve Ravussin, indicates:

“We haven’t been very quick over the past 24 hours. After rounding the cape of Saint-Vincent, where we had to wait a few hours for the wind to ease near the straits, the wind gods left us in the lurch and we even had to start the engine!

Groupama 3 goes really well. Everything which was done during the refit last winter is really only a bonus! The crew has done a great job. We’re currently enjoying a fantastic delivery!”

Groupama 3 is still benefiting from a little downwind sailing, switching tack under gennaker before being faced with some upwind conditions over the coming hours…

Groupama 3 passes the Strait of Gibraltar with Franck Cammas on the helm. Gibraltar, 20 March 2009. Photo copyright Groupama

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back

[Source: Franck Cammas - Groupama] Tuesday 17th March. The sun has just risen as Groupama 3 leaves her base in Lorient, Brittany. At the helm, Franck Cammas gives his orders to his ten crew with a mixture of precision and good humour. All eyes turn to the team back on land and Lorient’s Cité de la Voile, which the maxi trimaran won’t see again before the summer, after covering over 13,000 miles and performing two record attempts.

For this initial Mediterranean campaign, Groupama 3 is heading for Istanbul in Turkey, where France’s number one mutual insurance company goes by the name of “Basak Groupama”

With a little less than 3,000 miles to the gateway to the Orient, it’s a beautiful course which awaits the crew of Groupama 3: “We’re going to be discovering some new navigation zones, particularly in the East of the Mediterranean with the Aegean Sea, the Ionian islands, the Dardanelles Strait and finally Istanbul. It’s going to be an excellent training session for the crew and a good test for the new version Groupama 3 because the image we have of a calm Mediterranean Sea is often mistaken. The sea can be short and nasty” explains Franck Cammas, a sailor born in Southern France.

The Groupama 3 crew about to embark on its first Med campaign. Lorient, 17 March 2009. Photo copyright Yvan Zedda

During this initial stopover in Istanbul, the Groupama sailing team will be showing its guests the joys as well as the tribulations of sailing on the fastest yacht in the world (record for the greatest distance covered in 24 hours of 794 miles): “We are proud to be in a position to give the staff and clients from our branches a tour of the maxi trimaran sporting our colours. When we began our partnership with Franck, some twelve years ago now, we didn’t have a presence in these countries. As such they will be able to discover Groupama 3 and her crew, who share the Group’s values. Together, our goal today is to become one of the top ten European insurers between now and 2012″ announces Frédérique Granado, Director of External Communications at Groupama.

This international development is a theme echoed aboard Groupama 3 since, in addition to Yann Dekker, a South African who was on the bow during the last record attempts, an American sailor by the name of Stan Honey will also be joining the crew this year. An engineering graduate from the prestigious American universities of Yale and Stanford, Stan held the Atlantic and 24 hour record with Playstation before going on to win the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race aboard ABN AMRO: “I am very happy to be joining the Groupama team. The boat is very fast and I like the rational approach of Franck Cammas. I’ve begun to work with Sylvain Mondon from Météo France who is based in Toulouse. We get on well and he’s very competent. All that’s left is to see how the crew work at sea. I can’t wait to get going and I know that I’m really lucky to be here. I know a lot of people who’d like to be in my place”.

Another newcomer aboard Groupama 3 is Pierre Pennec. Selected to race in the Tornado category in the Olympic Games in Sydney, Pierre has already adopted the role of tactician aboard Groupama 2 during the ORMA Grands Prix in 2005. This time around the young racer will be trialling in the role of helm in a bid to form part of Franck Cammas’ crew during the next attempt at conquering the Jules Verne Trophy: “It’s a new challenge for me to head offshore. I’ve got a lot to learn both from a human and a technical aspect. However, I do like this very professional and also very endearing team. Added to that, it’s a very rich and very varied course to Istanbul. We’re going to have to constantly adapt to the highly variable conditions”.

As regards weather, the start promises to be quick with downwind conditions as far as Gibraltar. After that it will be a different story, particularly in the Mediterranean. Whatever the situation though you can rest assured that Groupama 3 will be in `race’ mode: “I’ve known Franck for years as we’ve often sailed against each other in the trimaran category. I know that he’s got tremendous drive and I also know the quality of the organisation behind Groupama team. We’ve already begun to exchange ideas since my return from my solo round the world aboard Sodebo. It’s really nice to be able to collaborate with such an open team. You can see further evidence of that with the arrival of Stan Honey who’s a real legend amongst the Anglo-Saxons” concludes Thomas Coville.

Suffice to say that with such a crew, Groupama 3 will be driven hard and, hopefully smoothly!

Original post by noreply@blogger.com (Valencia Sailing) and software by Elliott Back