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Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup 21. - 28. Juli 2012
Übersicht RORC 2012
5 July 2012
France reveals its hand
Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup - Saturday 21st - Saturday 28th July 2012
As battle lines are being drawn up with the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup due
to start on Sunday 22nd July, so France has been the final nation to reveal its
team line-up.
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Beelzebuth 3,Olivier Pesci's Grand Soleil 40 currently IRC 1 leader of the Championnat
Manche IRC UNCL 2012:
Credit: http://matheophoto.com
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Over the course of this spring and summer French contenders have been undergoing
their own intense trials to determine the final three boat team, under the watchful
eye of a Selection Committee comprising Henry Bacchini, Vice President of the Fédération
Française de Voile, Marc de Saint Denis, President of the UNCL, and Jean-Michel
Carpentier, UNCL Vice President and chair of the Racing Committee.
The three boats chosen are:
* Beelzebuth 3, the Grand Soleil 40 owned by Olivier Pesci
* Eleuthera, the Grand Soleil 44 R of Hervé Borgoltz
* Nutmeg IV, J/122 of François Lognoné
The French trials took place over a much longer series of regattas than the British
ones, including Spi Ouest France, the Course des Trois Iles, Obélix Trophy, Grand
Prix IRC Manche Ouest, Cervantes Trophy, Grand Prix du Crouesty along with Normandy
Sailing Week.
The result is the cream of the French IRC will be heading for the Solent in the
last week in July to compete against the six other international three boat teams.
The form boat among the French trio is Beelzebuth 3, currently IRC 1 leader of
the Championnat Manche IRC UNCL 2012, the French equivalent of the RORC Season's
Points Championship.
Olivier Pesci and the Beelzebuth 3 Grand Soleil 40 crew have so far this season
won their class at the Grand Prix de Saint-Cast, the Grand Prix IRC Manche Ouest
and the Cervantes Trophy and finally the Normandy Sailing Week, where she was tied
on points with Eleuthera.
Eleuthera, Grand Soleil 44 R, Hervé Borgoltz Credit: http://matheophoto.com
Owner of Eleuthera, Hervé Borgoltz, only acquired his Grand Soleil 44 R in March,
but since then his team has had very good results on France's Atlantic and Channel
coasts including a third in the Spi Ouest France Intermarché, followed by a second
at the Grand Prix de Crouesty and second at Normandy Sailing Week.
Of the three boats Nutmeg IV and her crew led by François Lognoné has the most
experience of their boat and of the French line-up is the only boat to have previously
competed in the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup when they were in France White two
years ago. Since then Nutmeg IV won IRC 2A in last year's Rolex Fastnet Race. This
season she finished 16th at Spi Ouest- France Intermarché, was third in the Grand
Prix IRC Manche Ouest and fifth at Normandy Sailing Week.
François Lognoné J/122 Nutmeg IV won IRC 2A in last year's Rolex Fastnet Race
Credit: Rolex/Daniel Forster
The French line-up this year is effectively from 'north Brittany', with Nutmeg
IV and Beelzebuth 3 based in the St Malo area while Eleuthera is currently berthed
in La Trinité-sur-Mer, but owner Hervé Borgoltz has a house on the Channel coast
at St Brieuc.
While Eleuthera is new to the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup, her team is not.
This will be Hervé Borgoltz's fourth time competing, his first back in 2000 on
a Sydney 40, while he raced with Géry Trentesaux on the First 44.7 Courrier de
Coeur as part of the winning French Blue team in 2006. His crew is the same group
of friends who have been sailing together for more than a decade now, first aboard
the familiar Corby 40 Cracklin' Rosie, then on Courrier de Coeur (which he acquired
from Géry Trentesaux) and then on the First 40 Coup de Coeur.
Of his results this year Borgoltz says he is proud of Spi Ouest France. "There
were eight races and in seven we beat Inis Mor, the Ker 39, which won Spi Ouest
France last year and we had only had the boat a month and a half before then..."
For the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup they have bought new sails from Ullman
France. They will have a representative from that sail loft on board for the event
as the one Category 3 'pro' they are allowed under the event's rules, that aim
to keep the event predominantly Corinthian.
Of his boat's prospects in this year's event Borgoltz says: "I think we have a
very good crew. Jean-Philippe Cau, our helmsman, is quite confident. We hope that
we will be among the three top teams, but you know sport is a hazard, nothing is
100% certain and there can be surprises."
"We have a very good rating for IRC and our 44 footer is one of the biggest boats
in the fleet, so I hope we shall sail ahead and will always have clean air, which
is a big advantage."
"Two years ago the Irish team was very well prepared and they had three excellent
boats and were first most of the time, but it will be much more open this year."
While he admits they don't have the knowledge of the Solent and its surrounding
waters that the British crews have, Borgoltz says at least half of their crew has
sailed there a lot.
As to Eleuthera's team mates, Borgoltz observes: "Beelzebuth 3 is a very good
boat and is very speedy and very well preparing because Olivier is a fanatic about
his boat - everything must be more than perfect! And Nutmeg, they know their boat
very well. In the last Fastnet Race they were third and they race a lot and they
know the Solent and the Channel very well, so they have very good experience of
that."
As a last warm-up prior to the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup, all three boats
in the French team will be competing in the Cowes-Dinard-St Malo race over the
weekend of 13-15th July.
Further details of the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup can be found at: http://commodorescup.rorc.org/
ENDS/...
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