Home - Sail Search RSA - 19th Trophée Clairefontaine

19th Trophée Clairefontaine

Posted 2 months, 19 days ago

19th Trophée Clairefontaine
www.Sail-Seacrh.com: Valencia has welcomed the eight Champions of the 19th Trophée Clairefontaine with beautiful sunshine and perfect Force 3 wind. Eight legs were raced on the 12th of September in the heart of the Marina Real Juan Carlos 1st, the port of the 2007 America's Cup. As a prelude to the official legs starting on the 13th of September, the crews raced the Warm-up Rhodia as a "dress rehearsal" before the main event. Loïck Peyron won the first race, just in front of the Swiss Luc Dubois (Alinghi Red) and the American Ed Baird (Alinghi Black). Loïck Peyron won two of the eight legs raced today, exactly like Luc Dubois. But the Frenchman was more consistent, finishing three second times third twice. The fratricide fights between the two Alinghi crews finished with the two crews having exactly the same number of points at the end. Ed Baird won two legs and his other results were well balanced compared to the results of the Swiss. According to the rules, the ranking of the last regatta decided between the two teams. Loïck Peyron won this last leg, Luc Dubois finished second and Ed Baird eighth. The Frenchman Michel Desjoyeaux, fourth, won one leg, as well as the Spanish Fernando León. But the two crews were frequently penalized. The Frenchman during the regattas and the Spanish, who finished sixth as he, crossed the starting line many times before the official start. The Frenchman Nicolas Charbonnier, fresh from the Olympic Games with a Bronze Medal in a 470, showed good starts but a lack of consistency did not allow him to threaten today's best crews. Nevertheless, Nicolas Charbonnier finished fifth today. The Frenchman Jean-Pierre Dick was penalized several times, particularly when the eight catamarans competed with each other by zigzagging along the access canal to the sea. This is where the Sailing Stadium forces the crews to do manoeuvre after manoeuvre very quickly in order to round the Buoy Quo Vadis, the first mark of the course. Jean-Pierre Dick finished seven in this warm-up, just in front of the Frenchwoman Claire Leroy, who is also participating in this regatta for the first time. Tomorrow, the 13th of September, the official competition will start in front of the Valencia beach with an Open Race, rewarded by the Challenge Quo Vadis and the Copa Valencia Yacht Base, name given after the super yachts Harbour of the Real Club Naútico de Valencia. After a paella break at the Valencia Yacht Base, the eight crews will come back to the port to race the five Runs with live commentaries for the public. Each starting signal will be preceded by an operatic aria in order to add atmosphere to those intense regattas. Full Story »

Comments are currently disabled