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Extreme 40 Sailing Series 2012 - Qingdao, 17.-20.April 2012
www.extremesailingseries.com/ - Übersicht Qingdao
Fotogalerie Qingdao
Monday 16 April – 1430 hours UTC
Extreme Sailing Series
China Grand Prix, Act II
China on the menu in the Extreme Sailing Series
The second event, out of the eight which make up the Extreme Sailing Series
2012, begins tomorrow Tuesday 17 April on the Olympic race zone of Qingdao.
A month and half on from the Muscat Grand Prix, the season’s inaugural
meeting, a total of nine teams will be competing in the four-day competition
on Chinese waters. With each of them having found their bearings, it’s
highly likely that there will be turbulent times ahead and the top spots are
sure to be fiercely contested.
Third in the Omani event, contested at the end of February, the crew of
Edmond de Rothschild Group has arrived in China with the same winning
spirit, keen to perform well and fully intending to continue the season as
they began. However, Pierre Pennec and his men are all too aware that
they’ll once again have to excel and fully express their potential if they
are to secure themselves some medals in this week’s racing in China, given
the site’s tough reputation. Indeed the race zone, which the Extreme Sailing
Series fleet will be sailing on, has been known to be very tricky: “based on
the experience gained here in Qingdao last year, we can and must expect all
kinds of conditions: from calm spells to breezy conditions.
We’ll be racing
outside the harbour stadium on the first day, followed by three days on a
very enclosed race zone, surrounded by skyscrapers and intersected by a
number of local geographical phenomena which will disrupt the wind. It’s a
very interesting playing field which calls for both opportunism and
versatility. Last year we experienced some tricky weather conditions, with a
great many capsizes in the breezy conditions. On this site, when there’s an
offshore breeze, it can be particularly unpredictable due to the buildings
which surround the sailing zone and ruffle the wind’s classic trajectory,”
explained the skipper of Edmond de Rothschild Group.
In order to decipher this notoriously difficult race zone and access the top
of the leaderboard, Pierre Pennec will be able to rely on his solid group,
which really bonded during the Oman Grand Prix: “I haven’t sailed with the
crew of Edmond de Rothschild Group since Muscat (early March) and I was keen
to get back together with my teammates. As always we’ve only had a short
amount of time to find our bearings again with just two afternoons of
training.
However, these few hours were precious and instructive, especially
as they enabled our new crew member to discover how things operate aboard
the boat. This year, the circuit has introduced a new feature to the event,
with a fifth sailor fleshing out the crew. In Oman, we opted for Adeline
Chatenet, who was both light and a physiotherapist. However, the four days
of competition in Muscat led us to seek a slightly different profile because
beyond 10 knots, the participation of this fifth sailor in the manœuvres is
not insignificant. In this way, Roindex Petit has joined the crew of Edmond
de Rothschild Group as he fulfils the criteria for this role, which is
stipulated by the organisation; namely he’s under 23 years of age, and is
either a woman or an amateur, the latter of which is true in this case.
This
young guy stems from the Formula 18 circuit, a craft on which he has secured
some fine results. There’s another new feature in Qingdao too, this time as
regards our sports coach. Alexandre Guyader will replace Thierry Peponnet,
whose work schedule means that he can’t be with us in Qingdao. However, it’s
very interesting to have a fresh eye on the outside. Alexandre is one of the
most talented windsurfers of his generation and he’s very familiar with the
multihull thanks notably to an Olympic preparation in the Tornado. Added to
that, he’s already sailed in the Extreme 40 so he knows as much about the
craft as he does the concept”, says Pierre Pennec assuredly.
Though the Grand Prix on Omani waters marked the start of a new season and
provided a glimpse of the teams in training, in Qingdao, there won’t be any
of that. The running-in period is over and tomorrow the nine competing teams
will be straight in at the deep end once the starting gun fires. This is
something that the skipper of Edmond de Rothschild Group is very much aware
of on the eve of the first round of battles: “Last year, I held back too
much in the China Grand Prix, because after our victory in Oman in 2011 I
was keen to aim for the top five spots rather than a win. This year, I’m not
in Qingdao with the same mindset. To be in front, you have to take a few
risks, especially as the level of play is sure to be higher than that
observed in Muscat at the end of February. Indeed we could see a real
difference out there between the training sessions and the competition
itself.”
For the time being, the weather forecasts are indicating around ten knots of
breeze throughout the competition. However, as Pierre Pennec mentioned
before, history has shown that on the banks of the Yellow River, the wind
gods weren’t always where you expected them to be. The initial
confrontations will begin tomorrow from 1300 hours local time, early morning
in Europe (0500 UTC).
Day to Day Programme for the China Grand Prix
Tuesday 17 April – 1st day of racing
1300–1600 hours / Offshore races
Evening: opening ceremony in Qingdao’s Olympic marina
Wednesday 18 April – 2nd day of racing
1300-1600 hours / Stadium races
Thursday 19 April – 3rd day of racing
1300-1600 hours / Stadium races
Friday 20 April – 4th day of racing
1300-1600 hours / Stadium races
1630 hours / prize-giving
The crew of Edmond de Rothschild Group
Pierre Pennec (Skipper / helmsman),
Jean-Christophe Mourniac (trimmer and indexsail traveller),
Hervé Cunningham (headsail trimmer),
Bernard Labro (Bowman)
Roindex Petit (5th man)
Alexandre Guyader (Sports coach)
Provisional standing for the Extreme Sailing Series after the Muscat Grand
Prix
1. Oman Air – 10 points
2. The Wave Muscat – 9 points
3. Edmond de Rothschild Group - 8 points
4. Red Bull Sailing Team – 7 points
5. GAC Pindar - 6 points
6. Zoulou - 5 points
7. Alinghi - 4 points
8. Team Trifork - 3 points
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.
For further information:
www.jovesnavegants.org
www.ebdrf.com
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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