Artikel-Schlagworte: „Nice“

The Coach’s Blog: Up-skilling in the Extreme 40

Next week we are back in the Extreme 40 in Almeria, Spain.  Last week it was Nice, France.

The fickle winds of Nice have not been good to us.  They weren’t on our side when we sailed the LVC series in 2009, although we got second.  They weren’t on our side last week either.

What I should add is that we were not good to ourselves as well. We made way too many mistakes in the lead up to the regatta and on the water.  Thus we got beat up pretty good, and it hurts.

A truly bad regatta is something that has not happened to ETNZ since the America’s Cup of 2003.  We usually dish out the pain at a regatta not take it. I fully expected to win, if not, at least be to be in the top three.  All the stars were lined up.  Dean back on the helm (he had won his last 40 regatta in Boston), we were leading the Extreme 40 series overall and had two good AC45 regattas behind us.  Then we hit the perfect storm.  Nothing went right.  I keep going over it, what if we had done this or that.  The disappointment runs deep. Losing is one thing, sailing badly is another.  To not be in the hunt for the podium, well it is grating me now.  But there you go.  We have one week to make corrections and then its back up on the horse.

For Almeria, Adam Beashel will be back on the helm; Razor, (Ray Davies) on the main sheet;  Jero Lomas and Derek Saward make up the rest of the sailing team. Tyson is boat captain, Dylan as boat builder and me as coach make up the support team.

The sailing team is a new combination.  It is all part of “up skilling” our sailorswho are not part of the AC45 or Extreme 40 programs.  That means grinders, or if you feel brave or fast on your feet, the “Goons”.  I am neither, so I stick to calling them grinders!  If we don’t  up skill them now, they go from assets to liabilities when we launch the new AC72 next year just because of the lack of exposure to cats.

The task of training the big boys has been skippered by Adam.  This will be his third regatta at the helm, each time with a different crew.  In the big picture of winning the cup it is a top priority, but it will cost us in the short term in terms of performance on the race course.

And therein lies the quandary: Emirates Team New Zealand is a performance oriented team.  We demand and expect exceptionally high standards of ourselves. That is not some punch line, it is ingrained in our culture.  We take any lack of performance personally.

Over the next two days, I will pencil out the targets and a game plan, as usual.  With Nice still ringing it my ears it better be good!

Coach

Article source: http://etnzblog.com/2011/10/the-coachs-blog-up-skilling-in-the-extreme-40/

Still light and still climbing at Nice

Day 3 at the Extreme Sailing Series regatta at Nice. Another day of light winds. Another difficult day on the water for the fleet.

The day started better for the Emirates Team New Zealand crew, scoring a second and two thirds, good enough to lift them two places on the overall points table after 18 races.

On points, the team is exactly in the middle of the fleet – 34 points adrift of the lead and 33 ahead of the last placed boat. And with two days of close inshore racing to go, plenty of points are still at stake.

Dean Barker said: “We have made a few changes to the boat set-up that seem to improve performance and we’re more competitive than we were on the first couple of days. We’re still not the fastest boat in the fleet, but we’re not the slowest either.

“The breeze was very light again. We were starting in 2-3 knots and it never got over 3-5 knots which brought a huge element of luck into the mix.”

He said, “We will keep plugging away.  Competing in the Extreme Sailing Series is beneficial for crew development as we re-invent ourselves as a multihull sailing team. At the end of this regatta another crew combination will have gained some very valuable experience and Chris McAsey will have completed his first multihull regatta.”

Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, Nice, France standings after 18 races (30.9.11)
1st Artemis Racing (SWE), 134 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA),  130 points
3rd Alinghi (SUI),  124.5 points
4th Luna Rossa (ITA), 122 points
5th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), 115.5 points
6th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), 113 points
7th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 100 points
8th Oman Air (OMA), 97 points
9th Niceforyou (ITA),  84 points
10th The Wave, Muscat (OMA),  80 points
11th Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur (FRA),  77 points

Article source: http://etnzblog.com/2011/10/still-light-and-still-climbing-at-nice/

Dealing with the light air – Dean reports on Nice

Today was the third day of the Extreme Sailing Event in Nice, France. As was the case when we were here two years ago for the Louis Vuitton Trophy the venue really struggles to get a good sailing breeze. In the three days of racing to date we have not seen over 6 knots and generally in the 3-5 knot range. 

After starting the regatta terribly we have been improving a little each day. We have improved our speed a lot with some changes on the set up although we are still not fast. Our crew weight in these lighter conditions is a real disadvantage but we are managing to find ways to minimise the impact of this. 

Today we sailed a pretty solid day with some good results early and then a few little errors late in the day cost us a few points. The racing is such that a few breaks around the course can turn a bad day into a good one very quickly. 

Tomorrow the forecast is again for some more light winds – looking to improve again tomorrow. 

Dean

Article source: http://etnzblog.com/2011/10/dealing-with-the-light-air-dean-reports-on-nice/

Promising start at Nice and then a drifter….

Day 4 at the Extreme Sailing Series at Nice and again it was light, tricky and frustrating for regatta organisers and crews alike.

The fleet went out early to take advantage of the northerly breeze coming off the land. Dean Barker estimated the breeze was a good eight knots initially, more to the liking of the Emirates Team New Zealand crew.

As Barker explains, “Once we’re flying a hull, our heavier crew weight becomes an advantage and we are very competitive.” They showed the truth of that by taking first in race 1 and fourth in the second.

Two more races were held as the breeze began to fade, and once more Barker, Adam Beashel, Jeremy Lomas and Chris McAsey struggled to find the acceleration they needed in the very competitive fleet. Two seventh places resulted.

In the afternoon the sea breeze failed to fill in. One race was started in 2-3 knots. It was a drifter and Barker managed a credible second place. With no sign of the breeze co-operating, that was it for the day.

Barker says that after 23 races at Nice, the crew having never sailed together before on an Extreme 40, is combining much better and sailing better and better. Today’s results put Emirates Team New Zealand in sixth place overall, one place further up the leader board on 139 points.

That puts them tantalising close to fifth, Red Bull Extreme on 143.5 and fourth Luna Rossa on 152.

With 11 points for a race win (22 points in the final race tomorrow) there are plenty of points still up for grabs if the breeze fills in and the full race programme is completed. The weather forecast for the regatta’s final day is much like today.

The yachts will leave the dock early again, with racing scheduled from 8.30am – 10.30, to be followed by another afternoon session.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, Nice, France standings after 23 races (1.10.11)
1st Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), 173 points

2nd Alinghi (SUI), 169.5 points

3rd Artemis Racing (SWE),  169 points

4th Luna Rossa (ITA), 152 points

5th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT),  143.5 points

6th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 139 points

7th Oman Air (OMA),  132 points

8th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), 124 points

9th The Wave, Muscat (OMA), 109 points

10th Niceforyou (ITA), 100 points

11th Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur (FRA), 89 points

We’re in there amongst the crowd …

Article source: http://etnzblog.com/2011/10/promising-start-at-nice-and-then-a-drifter/

Nice not good, but still third in season’s rankings

Emirates Team New Zealand has ended the Extreme Sailing Series Nice regatta in third place overall on the season championship leader board.

With seven of the nine regattas completed, the team has 54 points, five behind Luna Rossa with 59 points second. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild leads the championship on 61 points.

With only two events remaining, skippers minds are now concentrated on the 2011 overall title and the next event at Almería, Spain, from October 2-16 and the final event at Singapore from December 7-11.

Dean Barker made his Extreme Sailing Series debut at Almeria in 2010. It was the last regatta of the season and the Emirates Team New Zealand crew, racing in their first multihull regatta, finished at the bottom of the leader board.

However, they did learn a lot about what they needed to do to race multihulls successfully. They improved at every regatta this year and in May Barker won the regatta at Boston and was at the top of the leader board for the season.

The Nice regatta was Barker’s first since Boston due to clashes with ACWS events. It was dominated by very light winds that created conditions that frustrated both organisers and competitors. The 11 Extreme 40 teams competed in 29 races over five days with a mix of open water courses and stadium racing with the course set close to the beach.

It was not a good regatta for Emirates Team New Zealand, struggling for speed in the light. Skipper Dean Barker noted: “We were OK in a straight line but suffered a lack of acceleration coming out of gybes and tacks that cost us dearly.”

He said: “While the Extreme Sailing Series regattas are an important element of sailing team development the results are still important.”

Extreme Sailing Series 2011

Overall standings after 7 Acts

1st Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 61 points

2nd Luna Rossa 59 points

3rd Emirates Team New Zealand 54 points

4th The Wave, Muscat 52 points

5th Red Bull Extreme Sailing 49 points

6th Artemis Racing 48 points

7th Alinghi 48 points

8th Oman Air 38 points

9th Team GAC Pindar 21 points

10th Niceforyou 16 points

11th Team Extreme 15 points

Article source: http://etnzblog.com/2011/10/nice-not-good-but-still-third-in-seasons-rankings/

The 11 international Extreme 40 teams competed in 29 races over five days of competition, at the Extreme Sailing Series debut in Nice with a mix of open water courses and stadium racing with the course was set just meters off the beach.

Going into a final double points race, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, skippered by Pierre Pennec, was in a dangerous position with the Swedish team of Artemis Racing trailing the French team by just three points. It meant that if Artemis Racing finished ahead of Pennec’s team, they could not afford to finish less than one place behind to guarantee victory. Terry Hutchinson’s team on board Artemis Racing, jumped the gun at the start, and had to re-start, as Groupe Edmond de Rothschild sailed away. Hutchinson’s crew made up swift ground and, unbelievably, got ahead of Pennec. The French team was clinging on, one place behind, only to incur a gybe penalty. Pennec’s team came out of the penalty but was it too late for them to get back in contention? From the shore it certainly looked to be the case but the French crowd kept on cheering to encourage the team to keep going. In the end, it was Britain’s Ben Ainslie who drove Oman Air across the finish line first to claim the final race win, but Groupe Edmond de Rothschild held their nerve and crossed the line just a few seconds and, importantly, just one place behind Artemis Racing. They had done it! Their second victory of the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series, after their win in the inaugural act in Muscat, Oman, that also takes them into the overall lead in the 2011 series standings.

“I feel really happy especially about what we have achieved after the Cowes regatta,” said Pierre Pennec. “We have improved on onboard communication and how we work as a team. This is crucial moving into the end of the season because to win out of luck is good, but to win feeling that the level of our team has gone up a notch is even better. I don’t feel the pressure of being at the top of the leaderboard in the overall championship. I stopped giving myself a hard time after the events in Boston and Cowes. I think that the crew manages to reach a high level especially in the crucial races. I try to sail as best as I can in each Act and not to make mistakes and above all to think about each race, and not the overall result. I never said to myself that we were going to win here in Nice.”

It was a bitter pill for the Artemis Racing team to swallow, missing out on victory by just one point, especially for skipper Terry Hutchinson who missed out at the Boston, USA, event in a similar scenario against Dean Barker’s Emirates Team New Zealand.

The Swiss team of Alinghi completed the Act 7, Nice podium in third place holding off a challenge from the Italian Luna Rossa team. “Overall, third is a good result but we are a little disappointed,” said skipper Tanguy Cariou. “We were better yesterday and I think that we had the potential to do better today but we lost the rhythm compared to Artemis Racing or Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, so congratulations to them.”

For three-time Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie, skipper of Oman Air, who won the final race, he had a frustrating event even though the team managed to climb from seventh yesterday to finish fifth in the Nice rankings. Disappointed not to be on the podium as they were at Act 6 in Trapani, Ainslie will skipper the team again at the penultimate event in Almería.

For Jean-Pierre Dick who competed in his first Extreme 40 event as skipper of Team Extreme Cote d’Azur it was an experience he enjoyed even if the ‘stadium’ was much smaller than the round the world stage he normally competes on, “We had a lot of fun,” said Dick. “It was great to be here in Nice, in my hometown, surrounded by these top skippers.”

With seven of the nine-event world tour now completed, the skippers contending for the 2011 overall title will only have that on their minds at the penultimate event in Almería, Spain (12-16 October) and the final in Singapore (7-11 December) as Max Sirena, skipper of Luna Rossa, confirmed, “We are still in the game being second for the 2011 championship but we don’t feel very happy about our performance here in Nice. We need to do better in Almería to have a chance to win in Singapore.”

Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, Nice, France standings after 29 races
Position / Team / Points
1. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec 229 points
2. Artemis Racing (SWE) Terry Hutchinson 228 points
3. Alinghi (SUI) Tanguy Cariou 215.5 points
4. Luna Rossa (ITA) Max Sirena 209 points
5. Oman Air (OMA) Ben Ainslie 185 points
6. Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT) Roman Hagara 179.5 points
7. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Dean Barker 163 points
8. Team GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams 160 points
9. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan 156 points
10. Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur (FRA) Jean-Pierre Dick 119 points
11. Niceforyou (ITA) Alberto Barovier 118 points

Article source: http://www.sailing.org/37185.php

For Red Bull Extreme Sailing who led over the first two days of ‘open water’ racing, it was the reverse as they tumbled to fifth, on a day they would rather put behind them ahead of the penultimate day tomorrow.

Act 7, Nice opened up to the public and the crowds that gathered to watch along the Promenade des Anglais and on the beach enjoying the action that came within 10m of the shore – cheering loudly for the French teams of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and Team Extreme Nice Cote d’Azur.

Although Artemis Racing faltered in the first race of the day, running out of time to finish in the light airs, Hutchinson’s team with Nice born Julien Cressant on bow, bounced back to win the next race and went on to win three more as the sea breeze filled in. In the final race of the day, he gave Ian Williams a lesson in match racing forcing Williams to take the left-hand gate mark so Artemis Racing could round what he saw as the more favourable right-hand end. Enjoying better pressure on the final upwind leg, Hutchinson’s team got ahead, dropping a tack on Williams and accelerating away to victory. However, Artemis Racing bowman Julien Cressant remains pragmatic, “Now we are first but only by four points ahead of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild so everything is tight and being first doesn’t mean anything in the Extreme Sailing Series where everything comes down to the last race for double points. We are taking one race at a time.”

Pierre Pennec’s all-French team on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild won the first race and although they didn’t get it all right, finishing close to the back in three of the races, they did enough to hold onto their second place ranking. “It is an open battle with the top five as the points difference is very small and the level is very high,” said Pennec. “Artemis Racing sailed very well today and their strength is the starts, but we also see that they can finish last, so anything can happen. We still have two race days to go and what matters is to keep a cool head and to be in the game at the end of each day.”

At the start of racing on the Bay of Angels, the Italian team of Luna Rossa had a 2.5 point lead over Alinghi, tonight that position in reversed with the Swiss team skippered by Tanguy Cariou and driven by Yann Guichard gaining the upperhand by the same amount of points.

Britain’s Ian Williams and his team on Team GAC Pindar retain sixth place in the standings, finishing the final race in second place – their best result of the day. “We are pleased that our performance picked up in this regatta,” said Williams. “We’ve had new sails fitted for Nice and I think that has made a big difference in our performance so we are pleased to have had a consistent day and to be in sixth place. Because we rotate our crew we always start a little slow while we are getting to know each other and we always improve as the regatta goes on and we are starting to get the crew mechanics going again. Once everyone gets comfortable in their positions that means that we can all get the head out of the boat more and start making better decisions.”

The Emirates Team New Zealand, led by Dean Barker, got back on track scoring a second and two third places in the opening races which was enough to elevate them up the rankings by two places. However, Ben Ainslie on Oman Air drop one place to eighth – the rookie skipper in Trapani, he is finding it hard going here but racing against the more experienced Extreme 40 skippers, it’s not surprising. It is Oman Air‘s stablemate, The Wave Muscat who are really struggling. Leigh McMillan’s team was the first team to win two events this season – Cowes and Trapani – and seemed to be on a roll. But the light air Mediterranean conditions seem to have thrown them off course. Can this team get back in the game going into the penultimate day?

The Extreme Sailing Series always delivers intense and close racing whatever the conditions, with the high scoring system providing plenty of points still to fight for over the final two days of stadium racing here in Nice.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, Nice, France standings after 18 races (30.9.11)
Position / Team / Points
1. Artemis Racing (SWE) Terry Hutchinson 134 points
2. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec 130 points
3. Alinghi (SUI) Tanguy Cariou 124.5 points
4. Luna Rossa (ITA) Max Sirena 122 points
5. Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT) Roman Hagara 115.5 points
6. Team GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams 113 points
7. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Dean Barker 100 points
8. Oman Air (OMA) Ben Ainslie 97 points
9. Niceforyou (ITA) Alberto Barovier 84 points
10. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan 80 points
11. Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur (FRA) Jean-Pierre Dick 77 points

Article source: http://www.sailing.org/37177.php

Day two began in the morning with the 11 Extreme 40 teams sent out to race early to take advantage of the north-westerly gradient breeze from the land. Britain’s three-time Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie, scored his first race win in Nice, and Paul Campbell-James at the helm of the Italian team Luna Rossa claimed the other race before the breeze disappeared.

But the afternoon’s racing session produced some champagne sailing conditions! The breeze kicked in, windward hulls were flying, the racing was intense and, at times, too close to call. In the fourth race of the afternoon, Alinghi and Red Bull Extreme Sailing had a dead-heat. “That’s pretty incredible,” said Alinghi skipper Tanguy Cariou. “It is really unusual to see this kind of situation in our sport. It was a genuine photo finish like you see in athletics or cycling. We might need a video replay system soon! Even us onboard, we had no idea if we crossed the finish line before or after them.”

During today’s official press conference in front of the national and international media, the skippers described the racing as ‘intense and close’ – even more so in the light conditions. “It’s a real test of team work,” said Ben Ainslie. “When it’s windy it’s physical, in the light stuff it’s about taking a few deep breaths, suck it in and get the results you need.”

The first three races this afternoon were raced in a typical Mediterranean light sea breeze with Max Sirena’s Italian team Luna Rossa finding their form that was missing yesterday, to secure two further wins; and Team GAC Pindar skipper, Ian Williams, clearly worked out a winning strategy, which he explained at the press conference – avoid the wind shadow of the other boats – to claim a race win and the team’s performance today has put them mid-leaderboard.

The final race of the day decided the overall standings ahead of the ‘stadium’ racing. Terry Hutchinson’s Artemis Racing team nailed the start, judged the lay lines bang on, pulling out a good lead on the Swiss team of Alinghi, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild were in third and Red Bull Extreme Sailing fourth on the final downwind leg with Luna Rossa chasing in fifth. The positions remained unchanged at the finish which allowed Hagara’s to retain the overall lead.

Luna Rossa made the biggest leap into third place in the rankings from eighth on day one. “We had a great day,” said Paul Campbell-James. “There is something about the second day of the regattas for us, it’s when we seem to have a great day. And today was really shifty and a really hard course. We are not out of the game at the moment which is the most important thing at this stage, and it’s all to play for tomorrow. Stadium racing in one of the most beautiful venues we’ve been to. The beach is packed, the VIP area is nice and close, it will be great.”

Pierre Pennec’s all-French team remain second in the rankings, courtesy of their third place. Ben Ainslie on Oman Air is only one point ahead of his stablemate Leigh McMillan and the crew on The Wave, Muscat who seem to be struggling here: “It’s about adapting to the different conditions quickly, getting off the start line well and we’ve not done that here,” said McMillan. Team Extreme Nice Cote d’Azur skippered by Jean-Pierre Dick now find themselves at the bottom of the overall ranking behind the Italians team of Niceforyou. But the ‘rookie’ team who had a great day yesterday was always realistic about their chances here racing against the more experienced and highly competitive top-level sailors.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, Nice, France standings after 12 races (29.9.11)
Position / Team / Points

1. Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT) Roman Hagara 90.5 points
2. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec 89 points
3. Luna Rossa (ITA) Max Sirena Modena 88 points
4. Alinghi (SUI) Tanguy Cariou 85.5 points
5. Artemis Racing (SWE) Terry Hutchinson 84 points
6. Team GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams 73 points
7. Oman Air (OMA) Ben Ainslie 60 points
8. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan Anbouri 59 points
9. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Dean Barker 56 points
10. Niceforyou (ITA) Alberto Barovier 54 points
11. Team Extreme Nice Côte d‘Azur (FRA) Jean-Pierre Dick 52 points

Article source: http://www.sailing.org/37171.php

Roman Hagara’s team on Red Bull Extreme Sailing dominated the day, but the surprise result came from Nice-born local hero, Jean-Pierre Dick. Before racing began, Dick who is helming Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur in the colours of his home city, said, “We haven’t trained much and, to be honest, we will do our best but we are realistic about what we can do. I have a little bit of knowledge of racing multihulls but I am an ocean sailor. My ‘stadium’ is normally much bigger than this!” His humility was expected but not, as it turned out, was his team’s performance on the water.

The four Extreme 40 races were set in an ‘open water’ configuration today on the Bay of Angels to make the most of the conditions, but still close enough for the sunbathers basking on the beach to get a glimpse of these 40-foot catamarans as the Extreme Sailing Series made its debut in Nice. Act 7 opens to the public on Friday through to Sunday which will see the fleet racing in ‘stadium’ format as close to the Promenade des Anglais as possible.

Jean-Pierre Dick and his crew consisting of 2011 Solitaire du Figaro winner Jérémie Beyou as tactician, trimmer Billy Besson and bowman Arnaud Jarlegant called the right tactics and found boat speed when needed to score a second, third and fourth place finishing the end of day one in third place overall:

“My first day on an Extreme 40 was great and with a good result,” said Dick. “We had a lot of fun and didn’t expect to do as well as we did. It’s great to be here in Nice, in my hometown, surrounded by these top skippers. I can’t wait to move into Stadium Racing and to race in front of the public.”

The regular all-French fixture on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild skippered by Pierre Pennec, sailed consistently to score two third places and a fourth, their worst result a seventh, to claim second place overall, on equal points with their French rivals on Team Extreme Nice Cote Azur.

But without doubt, the top boat of the day was Roman Hagara’s Red Bull Extreme Sailing. Hagara and his crew of Hans Peter Steinacher, the returning Will Howden and bowman Craig Monk won three out of the four races – clearly on form in the light and challenging conditions, and top the leaderboard going into the second day.

“It was really hard today, we had almost no wind, a lot of sun and it was really hard to race these boats,” said Hagara. “But we went out really good at the start all the times, out of four starts we had one OCS but the other were really good. Then we were in the front of the fleet and it was easy for us. I like these wind conditions, always in the Tornado when it was light we were good.”

It wasn’t such a pretty story for Dean Barker returning to the helm of Emirates Team New Zealand. Their best result of the day was a ninth place leaving them firmly at the bottom of the rankings. And The Wave, Muscat, victors in Cowes and Trapani, also struggled in the light airs finishing the end of the day tenth place.

McMillan was pragmatic both about the conditions and their chances, “It is going to be a really tough event especially because in lighter winds it becomes more of a lottery. We’ll do our best to keep sailing well but certainly there will be some different teams who are in the mix here and we’ll probably find out that there are some light air specialists here. Now we’re in the mix for the Overalls – we’ve done the hard work but it does get harder from here because the guys will be paying a bit more attention to us now and we’ve probably got to be more aware of people gunning for us.”

With only two points separating Alinghi and Niceforyou from Oman Air and Luna Rossa, the opening day is just a shakedown of what is to come over the next four days here in Nice.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, Nice, France
Overall standings after four races (28.9.11)
Position / Team / Points

1. Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT) Roman Hagara 35 points
2. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec 31 points
3. Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur (FRA) Jean-Pierre Dick 31 points
4. Artemis Racing (SWE) Terry Hutchinson 29 points
5. Alinghi (SUI) Tanguy Cariou 24 points
6. Niceforyou (ITA) Alberto Barovier 24 points
7. Oman Air (OMA) Ben Ainslie 22 points
8. Luna Rossa (ITA) Max Sirena 22 points
9. Team GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams 21 points
10. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan 17 points
11. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Dean Barker 8 points

Article source: http://www.sailing.org/37160.php

The team on board Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, skippered by Pierre Pennec, restored their confidence after a grueling Act 5 in Cowes, UK, to finish in second place overall. “We’ve come a long way since the Cowes Grand Prix,” commented Pennec. “That’s especially true of my own mindset because our counter performance there was something I found very hard to digest. It was a bit of a battle with myself to make a comeback here and put the disappointment and bitterness to one side.”

The French spectators will be spoilt for choice on who to cheer loudest for with the all-French teams on board Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and offshore hero Jean-Pierre Dick, skippering Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur. Perhaps their allegiance will be more inclined towards Dick who was born in Nice and is revered for his offshore successes, including his emphatic victory in the 2010/11 Barcelona World Race. Jean-Pierre Dick will be taking on the role of skipper/tactician with 2011 Solitaire du Figaro winner Jérémie Beyou on the helm, supported by trimmer Billy Besson and bowman Arnaud Jarlegant.

If The Wave, Muscat became the first team in 2011 to score two Act wins, there is little doubt the other ten Extreme 40 teams will be desperate to secure a second victory themselves as the Overall Series stakes increase in the latter part of the series. Although the Italian team of Luna Rossa only finished in fourth place in Trapani, that result elevated them to top of the Overall Series leaderboard, just one point ahead of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild with The Wave, Muscat in third who are on equal points with Emirates Team New Zealand. Dean Barker will be back at the helm of the Kiwi team in Nice, and Terry Hutchinson will be driving Artemis Racing. Act 8 in Almeria, Spain will be the penultimate round with the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series concluding in December in Singapore. With only three Acts remaining, the teams focus is on the overall prize now.

A diverse international city rooted in history but looking towards the future, Nice is the capital city of the Côte d’Azur nestled between Cannes and Monaco in the heart of the French Rivera. “It will reinforce the already internationally well-known nautical tradition of Nice Côte d’Azur,” commented Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice and President of Nice Côte d’Azur. “It will offer a top quality race course in this natural frame that is our superb Baie des Anges. It will offer to both the locals and the numerous visitors a beautiful and great show only a few metres off the Promenade des Anglais. It is truly a rare show to watch these Extreme 40s race at high speed very close to shore. The very high level of this regatta is a guarantee to the great competition that our waters will witness over the course of five days. This is why I would like to thank once again the organisers for choosing Nice for one of the Acts in the circuit.”

The Extreme Race Village will be located on the Promenade des Anglais, right in the heart of Nice with the race course set on the Bay of Angels, in front of the shore, an unmissable location for the French public and English tourists.

In addition to the 11 Extreme 40s battling it out on the sparkling Mediterranean waters, the on-water action will be complemented by Optimist dinghies raced by local children, a multinational fleet of 49ers and for the first time the Neil Pryde Racing Series which will see twenty or more of the best professional and amateur windsurfers competing for the Nice title, including Olympic medalists Faustine Merret and Julien Bontemps.

The media partners of newspaper Nice Matin, who is printing an exclusive Extreme Sailing Series supplement, and France Bleu radio will ensure the public are kept informed of all the activities going on at the Race Village along with the commentary team of Pierre-Louis Castelli and Jimmy Pahun and Britain’s Hannah White keeping the English-speaking guests, tourists and online audience informed.

Article source: http://www.sailing.org/37094.php