iShares Cup 2008 - Cowes
30.05.-21.09.2008
www.isharescup.com - Übersicht
5 August 2008
BT comes second in the Artemis Challenge at Skandia Cowes Week
Sébastien Josse and his crew took second place of the Artemis Challenge, the IMOCA Open 60' race around the island in Skandia Cowes Week, which saw eight boats competing in a good southwesterly breeze. A very positive outcome for this short course confrontation with some of the potential frontrunners of the upcoming Vendée Globe.
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"It will be interesting to see how the competition performs today, as the conditions will be favourable for the most powerful boats in the fleet", said skipper Sébastien Josse as the BT Open 60' was heading towards the Royal Yacht Squadron startline, where the gun was to be fired at 10:00. With about 15 knots of wind and a rather persistent rain, the Solent had an October-like appearance - low visibility included - but the BT crew really could not care less, and as rigger Yvan Joucla put it, "it's good to be back in racing mode and to actually face our opponents, so the rain won't spoil the day!"
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BT im Artemis Race Coweseek 2008
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It certainly did not, and as BT powered her way towards the west, Sébastien had his "close combat" look and stance typical of his Figaro days, as he was gradually gaining ground on Hugo Boss and Ecover after a rather conservative start due to the high number of boats racing off Cowes. Pointing high upwind and sailing fast, BT managed to overtake Alex Thomson's black boat and Mike Golding's white monohull shortly before the Needles, marking the western tip of the Isle of Wight. By that time, the wind had noticeably picked up and the skipper decided to go for the staysail instead of the bigger Genoa jib, in order to keep the boat easy to handle on the wet reach towards St Catherine's point. BT rounded the Needles in second place, some 90 seconds behind Brian Thompson's Pindar, whose power seemed particularly well suited for the conditions.
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As soon as conditions allowed, the crew went back to the bigger foresail before hoisting the spinnaker, to make the most of the 18 knots wind whilst enjoying a much drier and flatter ride - BT was quickly closing in on Bembridge Ledge, the eastern part of the Island. After some 3h30 of high-speed pursuit, the Solent was greeting the crew back again, and there was some action on the foredeck as the huge spinnaker had to be dropped, BT making her way through the massive fleet of small racers. Very happy with the performance of his Cowes-built monohull, the French skipper crossed the finish line in second position, less than five minutes after Pindar who had taken a very good start and kept her lead all along. "BT showed great upwind capabilities, proved really fast when we passed both Hugo Boss and Ecover, so I guess it's very positive. and we had great fun, which is always a nice bonus. The only thing I regret is having missed out on the scenery - I only caught glimpses of the beautiful Isle of Wight south coast due to our speed and my concentration. Maybe next time?"
High-resolution images of the BT Team Ellen skippers and boats are now available for download via the BT Team Ellen media website http://www.btteamellen.com.
Follow all the action and find out more about the team at the new website http://www.btteamellen.com
For further information on the BT Team Ellen contact:
Julie Royer
BT Team Ellen Communications Manager
Email: julie.royer@ocgroup.com
Tel: +44 797 251 567
Official Sponsors to BT Team Ellen http://www.btteamellen.com/ellen/partners.asp?partners&nd=1
http://www.eonenergyellen.com
http://www.omegawatches.com/index.php?id=158
http://www.mumm.com
http://www.musto.com
BG http://www.bandg.com
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