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Press release No.11
Extreme Sailing Series 2011
Boston Grand Prix (America) – Act 4
Edmond de Rothschild Group 5th in the Boston Grand Prix
The scenario for the three previous Grands Prix was repeated in Boston with
the winner of the fourth stage in the circuit only revealed once the
thirty-seventh and final race was complete. In contrast to Istanbul, where
Artemis Racing pipped Dean Barker’s men to the post, the Kiwis had their
revenge. They took victory in the American event, thus stealing the
provisional leadership in the Extreme Sailing Series 2011 from the crew of
Edmond de Rothschild Group. Pierre Pennec and his three crew took fifth
place in the event after five days of competition where they had mixed
results. However, the men of Gitana Team, who set the season in motion with
a win in the Oman Grand Prix, already have their sights on the English
stopover, which will take place in early August in Cowes.
Finding it hard to get into a rhythm and assert themselves against the
increased competition on the Boston race zone, the crew of Edmond de
Rothschild Group experienced some highs and lows this week. Alternating
between good and bad races, Pierre Pennec and his men lacked the necessary
consistency to be able to compete with the leading boats. The five days of
competition were mirrored by their performance on this final day of racing:
despite the first two catastrophic races (10th and out of time), the four
sailors refocused and linked together a series of podium places until the
last race of the day, where they scored a brilliant win in front of the
outright winner of the event in Boston, Emirates Team New Zealand. Prior to
this final race though, Edmond de Rothschild Group could well have stayed
down in 7th place given how close their pursuers were: “The race zone is so
open and so capricious here that in the last race we had no intention of
marking our closest rivals in terms of points. We just agreed that we would
give it our all to get the best possible start, then sail cleanly as we know
how. And it worked!” admitted a relieved Thierry Fouchier.
Helming an Extreme 40 is a very stressful occupation: guiding the boat,
directing the crew and taking responsibility during the crosses and tack
choices, all within an extremely short timeframe, such is the daily life of
Pierre Pennec. At the end of racing, he gave us his uncompromising
assessment of his performance in Boston: “I had some bad patches this week
and in the Extreme Sailing Series, the standard is such that I just can’t
allow myself to do that. I may well have put myself under too much pressure
when I arrived here and I’m going to have to learn to find the right balance
between the healthy pressure of the competitor and the kind of pressure that
unsettles you. Aboard the boat we weren’t able to find the key to regaining
our previous form, but yesterday evening, during our debriefing, we had a
calm and very frank discussion and that helped me a lot on this final day. I
like this candour because it enables us to move forward. My crew is very
strong, they know how to do everything, and the rest comes down to mind over
matter. I’m going to have to get to a level where I feel a sense of release
on the water, as was the case during the last races today.”
The leader of the Extreme Sailing Series 2011 since Oman, Edmond de
Rothschild Group have lost the top spot to the benefit of Emirates Team New
Zealand who, with this first victory and a consistent performance, have
managed to move up into the lead of the provisional ranking in the
championship. Artemis Racing completes this podium, holding onto its second
place.
In a month’s time, the Extreme Sailing Series fleet will be back in the Old
World for the traditional Isle of Wight Grand Prix. The eleven competing
crews will be racing from 6 to 12 August, right in the thick of Cowes Week…
It is a meeting that bowman Hervé Cunningham is pretty keen to get his teeth
into: “This Grand Prix is renowned for being windy and very physical,
especially as we’ll be racing there for eight days this year rather than the
usual five days in the other Grands Prix. If the weather provides us with
some steady conditions, we could really show off our boat’s potential for
speed. Indeed, in medium to strong, stable winds, we are the fastest of the
fleet. I’m eager to get there and in the meantime I’m going to continue
working up my physical preparation for this event.”
The team has its say
Thierry Fouchier, headsail trimmer: “This Grand Prix wasn’t easy and clearly
the result isn’t the one we were after. We didn’t manage to find the keys to
the problem during critical situations and it’s an essential element we’ll
have to work through. The format of the races and the championship itself
means that we never have the time to sit back and take it all in. That’s
why, during the afternoon of races, we found it difficult to analyse our
mistakes between each race. That’s my personal viewpoint, but perhaps we
needed someone with a trained eye outside the boat to take stock of the
situation in a way we weren’t always able to. Yesterday for example, we were
so into our own thing in the boat that we didn’t manage to find the
solutions between ourselves. Our direct rivals work in this manner. Despite
all that, we’re not going to come away from this Grand Prix feeling that
there is a profound need to call ourselves into question. Instead we intend
to simply make a few adjustments. Indeed we know that the basis of our game
plan is sound and that Pierre knows how to lead us to victory.”
Christophe Espagnon, indexsail trimmer: “The nervous tension was very
palpable in this event as the race zone in Boston involved some very shifty
wind which can very often catch you out. We experienced some difficulty in
reading the playing field correctly, which led to individual and collective
nervousness. However, the crew was very united in these situations and I
think that’s what enabled us to reverse the trend on several occasions. We
are solid in our minds, as was shown in the last race of the Grand Prix
which we won, and this counter performance will be quickly analysed and
digested so we can move forward with as much motivation as ever for the
Cowes Grand Prix.”
Ranking for the Boston Grand Prix (after 37 races)
1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZ) – 293 points
2. Artemis Racing (SWE) – 289 points
3. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) – 269 points
4. Luna Rossa (ITA) – 262 points
5. Edmond de Rothschild Group (FRA) – 260 points
6. Alinghi (SUI) – 251 points
7. Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT) – 248 points
8. Oman Air (OMA) – 198 points
9. Niceforyou (ITA) – 172 points
10. Team GAC Pindar (GBR) – 137 points
11. Team Extreme (EUR) – 126 points
Ranking in the Extreme Sailing Series 2011 after four Grands Prix
1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZ) – 39 points
2. Artemis Racing (SWE) – 37 points
3. Edmond de Rothschild Group (FRA) – 36 points
4. Luna Rossa (ITA) – 34 points
5. Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT) – 28 points
6. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) – 27 points
7. Alinghi (SUI) – 24 points
8. Oman Air (OMA) – 15 points
9. Team Extreme (EUR) – 9 points
10. Niceforyou (ITA) – 9 points
11. Team GAC Pindar (GBR) – 6 points
The crew of Edmond de Rothschild Group
Pierre Pennec – Helmsman, skipper
Christophe Espagnon – indexsail trimmer, tactics
Thierry Fouchier – headsail trimmer
Hervé Cunningham - Bowman
The Extreme Edmond de Rothschild Group supports the Joves Navegants
foundation
The family of Baron Benjamin de Rothschild has always had a passion for
nautical activities, a commitment embodied today by the Gitana Team. As such
the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations have quite naturally been sensitive to
the mission of Joves Navegants and touched by the profound collective
commitment to helping these young people in precarious situations.
Inspired by the methods of British Sailing associations, which help young
people in difficulty, some enthusiastic sailors who have settled in Palma,
Mallorca, decided to create Joves Navegants. Aware of the complicated
situation for certain youngsters on the island in serious economic and
family difficulties, they have chosen to share their passion. The foundation
organises several types of trips out to sea on the yacht, Galaxie. These
days out involve journeys of discovery, awareness campaigns for sustainable
development, participation in races and training aids to enable certain
youngsters to envisage sailing as a professional career.
The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation will be supporting Joves Navegants in
the organisation of trips out to sea during the summer, enabling the
necessary technical improvements to be made on the Galaxie and making it
possible for a team to take part in the “Ruta de la Sal” race in April.
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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