Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, Winner of the Extreme Sailing Series Sete, France

 Yann Guichard’s men proved to be unstoppable at the first round of the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series in Sète, France, claiming overall victory and firmly throwing down the gauntlet to the other seven teams for the remainder of the season: “We sailed really well today! On the last race, we had quite a bad start but we managed to find a little gap to go through… As I say often, the most important thing is to stay out of trouble and make less mistakes than the others. I would like to say a huge thank you to my crew because without them, we cannot do anything,” said Guichard. “I managed to put the boat in some pretty scary situations but thanks to them that doesn’t cause any trouble, so a big thank you to them.”

The forecasted Mistral conditions finally kicked in truly entertaining the crowds packed along the Môle, the beaches and the headland – an estimated 16,500 spectators watching the first event. The Extreme 40 crews were pushed to the limit in the strong gusts, teetering on the edge of disaster numerous times.

Second place on the overall podium went to Loick Peyron on Oman Sail Masirah who finished no lower than fourth in any of today’s five races propelling them ahead of Paul Campbell-James’ The Wave, Muscat: “Maybe my experience helped a little in taking second from The Wave, Muscat,” said Peyron, “But it is not just me, it is a team effort and without these guys it would be nothing. ‘CJ’ did a tremendous job and I am very happy, this is exactly what we were looking for to see both teams on the podium – it is a perfect finish. Second was the right place for us – Groupe Edmond de Rothschild were really consistent all event and deserve to win. We are pretty happy with the result, it wasn’t easy but every day was better, sometimes it was very bad but that gives us space to improve for next time.”

Groupama 40 (Photo by Vincent Curutchet / DPPI / OC Events )

Third at the end of the first day of racing, then fourth on the second and third days, Groupama 40 slid down one more place on this last day of racing, following the cancellation of the final race. It’s a cruel blow but Franck Cammas and his crew have their minds on their four race victories out of the 20 contested, as well as the progress they need to make to perform better during the next events. 

The day did in fact start off very well for the Groupama Team on the race zone of Sète, with a second, first, fourth and sixth place during the first four races. At that stage in the race, Groupama 40 was still in with a chance of making the top three as she was just five points shy of The Wave Muscat and had a sizeable lead over Ecover.

Next up, race management announced a further two races in a steadily increasing wind, but Groupama 40 messed up the start of the 20th race. She then managed to get back into the action, before being forced to make a last chance manoeuvre to respect the rules of priority with another boat on the final upwind leg. After having to come to a complete standstill, Franck and his crew dug deep to catch up with the backrunners, before being blocked again as they tried to round the mark. They ultimately crossed the finish line in last position, whilst their direct rival Ecover, won the race. As such Groupama 40 lost all the advantage gained over her very good opening races.

After putting in a reef for what was set to be the final race, which counts for double points, Franck Cammas and his crew prepared to give it their all to get past Ecover and hang onto her fourth place in the overall ranking.

However, that’s where their luck ran out as the race committee decided not to take any chances in a wind which could have peaked at as much as 30 knots late in the day. As a result their previous result came back to haunt them as their last place now counted for double, enabling Ecover to get ahead of Groupama 40 in the overall ranking, without even having to race.

Back alongside, Franck Cammas and his crew were clearly disappointed by the outcome: “It’s a shame because we hadn’t sailed badly and we were making steady progress over each of the twenty races contested” but they were nonetheless realistic: “The top two, Groupe Edmond de Rothshild and Oman Masirah are a notch better than us. If we want to be in a position to beat them during the next races, we’re going to have to get off to some better starts and be more consistent. That’s the strength they have right now” explained the skipper of Groupama 40.

Keenly followed by the vast number of spectators thronging around the Saint Louis jetty, especially on Sunday, this first event in the Extreme Sailing Series in Sète has been a great success with some very fine winners, who didn’t let the top spot slip away from them throughout the four days of racing.

His team is now dismantling Groupama 40, so as he can join up with her again in Lorient and then Cowes, where the next event will be held at the start of August. Meanwhile Franck Cammas will get back to the rest of his Team in Lorient to assist them with the relaunch of the maxi trimaran Groupama 3, the recent winner of the Jules Verne Trophy, aboard which he will compete in the next edition of the Route du Rhum – La Banque Postale. 

Extreme 40 Fleet In Sete, France (Photo by Vincent Curutchet / DPPI / OC Events )

Share on Facebook

Groupama 40 (Photo by Vincent Curutchet/ DPPI/ OC Events)

At the penultimate day of racing at the first round of the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series in Sète, France, three teams are taking control at the top of the leaderboard. A jib sheet problem for Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and a penalty dealt Guichard’s men a last place in the final race, but they had done enough to keep their lead and there seem to be very few cracks in their armour. “We started off really well, then had a couple of less than good starts and in those conditions it becomes hard to catch up. Overall we’ve done good things but at times we did not shine, yet we still retain our first place and tomorrow we’ll try and stay on the podium!” said Guichard. Oman Sail Masirah’s convincing victory in the final race keeps Loick Peyron in third behind Paul Campbell-James’ team on The Wave, Muscat in second. Only 4 points separate each of the top three teams going into the final day tomorrow.

Extreme Sailing Series Europe (Photo by Vincent Curutchet/DPPI/OC Events )

Plenty of close combat resulted in a number of penalties and collisions. The winds shifts proved costly for many, at the same time the stronger gusts gave the crowds what they love – massive acceleration and flying hulls.

Another great battle is developing mid-leaderboard with Franck Cammas in 4th place on 66 points, Red Bull Extreme Sailing 5th on 60 points, then The Ocean Racing Club and Ecover, 6th and 7th, on 59 points apiece. Ecover helmsman, Leigh McMillan, did a fantastic job in the early races, getting Ecover right in the mix at the front but the team’s fortunes did not continue: “Probably a little bit disappointed because we started the day really well, we got three seconds and were winning at one point, and then the breeze got up, we started to struggle a bit and our strategies off the start just really weren’t paying off,” said McMillan. “We weren’t picking the right shifts off the line and we got thoroughly punished. We had a few close port and starboards which was a difference between us getting round in the second or third or last because we had to do some slow double tacks at windward mark so that set us back massively as well. On these boats the margins are so small and it is all so close that a matter of metres can make the difference between the first and last sometimes.” Nick Moloney’s crew on Team GAC Pindar had their best result of this regatta with a second place in the fourth race today but remain bottom of the leaderboard on 39 points.

Muscat The Wave Getting Some Air (Photo by

Perhaps the surprise act for many of the European regulars is Britain’s Paul Campbell-James, skipper of The Wave, Muscat. His 49er and match racing expertise, and youngest skipper in the fleet, makes him a formidable opponent and he is putting pressure on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and Oman Sail Masirah at every opportunity he can get, whittling down Yann Guichard’s 8-point lead of yesterday to just 4 points at the end of play today. His aggressive style can lead to repercussions as we saw in race 3 today – after being denied a penalty call Campbell-James tried to get passed Loick Peyron, jostling for position on the short downwind leg resulting in ramming Masirah from behind!

You can watch all the video action from day 3 HERE

2010 Extreme Sailing Series Sete France (Photo by Juerg Kaufman / go4image.com )

Share on Facebook

Yann Guichard’s Groupe Edmond de Rothschild may have retained control at the top of the leaderboard after five races today but the pressure is on from Paul Campbell-James’ team on The Wave, Muscat who are excelling here in France moving up to second overall.

The first day of the first round of the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series may have proved challenging for America’s Cup helmsman Loick Peyron and his crew on Oman Sail Masirah, however, it is now no surprise to see the 2009 defending Extreme Sailing Series champions gelling well and getting it right on the water: “Things are falling into place gradually, it takes a bit of time and it’s perfectly normal,” said Peyron. “The crew were used to another helmsman, and I was used to another crew… Maybe I was lacking a bit of confidence as well, but it’s coming back and getting good results obviously helps. The good thing is that even when we start very badly we manage to get back in the game and overtake other boats.” Scoring a win in the final race today has fast tracked them up the leaderboard from sixth to third. Again the wind direction proved a challenge for the race committee as it shifted from the north to north-west, and the best breeze came in the first race of the day with a good 10 knots, gusting 12, that saw the Extreme 40 hulls flying high and the bows digging in at the downwind mark roundings – the upwind legs taking no more than four minutes and downwind less than two! The public and VIPs basked in the sunshine whilst the eight teams went out of their way to keep them entertained. Mike Golding’s Ecover got off to a flying start and nearly had the first race in the bag… Leigh McMillan, Ecover’s driver, did a great job on the first leg choosing the right side of the upwind course, tacking back onto starboard and rounding the mark first just seconds ahead of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. At the final downwind mark Guichard’s crew made a rare crew error briefly losing control of their gennaker and the Ecover team looked to have the race in the bag… But a twist in their huge gennaker cut their downwind speed in half. Guichard’s men were through and like yesterday took the first race of the day. Behind, like thoroughbreds let loose on the straight, The Wave, Muscat and Oman Sail Masirah came storming down to claim second and third. With Mitch Booth’s team in fourth this relegated an unlucky Ecover to fifth. The fastest man round the planet, Franck Cammas’ and his Groupama 40 crew shone in the second race cruising to victory – literally, furling their gennaker with 50m to go to the finish line! Unfortunately, the next race didn’t quite go to plan incurring a penalty for touching The Wave, Muscat, and then a second penalty for not performing the first properly! Relegating them to last place and Cammas’ team are now fifth on the overall leaderboard, compared to third yesterday. Red Bull Extreme Sailing had to sit out the second race with a hydraulic problem, likely the mainsheet ram, but Olympic Gold double medalist Roman Hagara came back in style to score two straight wins – not bad considering they still had hydraulic issues – moving them up to fourth overall on the leaderboard at the end of play today. Nick Moloney’s crew on Team GAC Pindar are struggling to find their form scoring three 6th places, a 7th and an 8th. However, driver Andrew Walsh has some solid Extreme 40 experience and Moloney’s team have been regular visitors to the podium over the last three seasons, finishing 3rd overall in 2007 and 2008.   With two days of racing to go “it isn’t over till the fat lady sings” as the French commentator said. Not sure the French crowd fully got the analogy but it was entertaining listening to the commentator trying to explain it! Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Photo by Vincent Curutchet/ DPPI/ OC Events)

Photos by Vincent Curutchet/DPPI/OC Events

Share on Facebook