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Extreme 40 Series 2010 in Cowes Week
www.extremesailingseriesasia.com/ - Übersicht
August 01st 2010
French Rivals Collide – Groupama Crew Leap To Safety!
There was plenty of dramatic action on day two of the Extreme
Sailing Series at Cowes Week today. With 18-20 knots of breeze,
gusting over 20 at times, the nine teams were racing right on
the edge, demanding 100% concentration and a constant rush of
adrenalin for both the sailors and the spectators from the near
capsizes, near misses and some not so near misses...
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In race 11 (the fourth inshore race of today), approaching the
windward mark Yann Guichard's Groupe Edmond de Rothschild hit
Franck Cammas' Groupama 40 wiping out both rudders, leaving
Groupama with no steerage whatsoever. Groupama 40 were heading
straight for the shore at speed and for safety the crew leapt
into the water to avoid the impact of hitting the sea wall –
deciding they would prefer getting wet than being thrown forward
on the boat and potentially injuring themselves. Groupama 40 has
sustained both rudder and daggerboard damage and it will be a
long night for the shore team to get them back racing tomorrow.
Groupe Edmond de Rothschild has lodged a protest which the jury
will hear and award redress if relevant.
CHECK OUT THE AMAZING ONBOARD VIDEO FOOTAGE HERE
[http://www.extremesailingseries.com/video/cowes/]
Paul Campbell-James, the youngest skipper on the circuit at just
28, ensured The Wave, Muscat finished inside the top four in
today's races including the morning offshore race and the five
inshore races this afternoon held off Egypt Point. Two wins this
afternoon, two seconds and two third places put them top of the
Extreme Sailing Series leaderboard on 85 points: "We got good
starts which is a big part of today and we were pushing really
hard downwind when we needed to. Sometimes we were so close to
capsizing but you have to push it hard at times and back off at
others."
Yesterday, British skipper Mike Golding said he didn't mind if
they didn't score any 'bullets' today, stating finishing inside
the top four was more important. But his helm Leigh McMillan and
the crew had other ideas – posting a win in the offshore race in
the morning, then two further bullets in the penultimate and
ultimate race of the day to finish in second place with 80
points. This kept the home crowd, who packed into the Extreme
Bar and along the shoreline, happy as they cheered Golding's
crew all the way.
All the skippers talk about the importance of consistency but
yesterday's leader Loick Peyron on Oman Sail Masirah found his
top form elusive today, only posting a third place in the second
race this afternoon which leaves Peyron's team in third place
overall with 74 points – 7 points ahead of Guichard's team in
4th.
Double Olympic Gold Medalist Roman Hagara had another day of
mixed fortunes – one race win and a second place in the
penultimate race, keeps them in contention in the middle of the
leaderboard in 6th place, five points behind Mitch Booth's The
Ocean Racing Club who did well in this morning's offshore
finishing in second. Another frustrating day for Roland Jourdain
's Veolia Environnement who had rudder problems before the start
of the first race then had to drop the indexsail between races to
sort out another problem. The team unpracticed in the art of
Extreme 40 racing, put a reef in early and raced cautiously
throughout the afternoon, although the 1989 Formula 40 World
Champion demonstrated why he clinched that title with a couple
of great starts.
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