"Masirah" skippered by Pete Cummings (GBR) with Chris Draper (GBR) Helm, David Carr (GBR) Bow, Mark Bulkeley (GBR) Mainsheet and Khamis al Anbouri, shown here in action on day two of the racing. Hyeres.France (Photo By Lloyd Images / Oman Sail)
Fresh from their victory over a quadruple Olympic medalist and an America’s Cup challenger, Oman Sail’s Masirah Extreme 40 is on the top step of the podium after the first day of the iShares Cup. The conditions off the coast of the South of France matched the conditions off Muscat in which Masirah trained in and gave them four first places out of six races and a worst result of a fourth in the first race.
The team on Masirah was the same as that which won the Round the Island Race in the UK two weeks ago when they beat British Olympic sensation Ben Ainslie and America’s Cup mastermind Russell Coutts. Once again Khamis Al Anbouri was crewing on Masiarh and playing a full time role in the tactical roles and even had a few words to say on the podium, ‘There was a lot of teamwork involved on the boat today and we put together a lot of the things we have done in training. As one of the five people who worked hard to get the boat to the top step of the podium I am very proud. We still have a lot of work to do tomorrow and Sunday though!’ The helmsman of Oman Sail’s Masirah is Chris Draper, an Olympic medalist, who went on to say that ‘Khamis is our lucky charm’.
Saturday will see up to ten races sailed on the water right in front of the breakwater of Hyeres, in the province of Toulon. Last year was the first time Hyeres featured on the iShares Cup circuit and saw some of the most exciting sailing ever seen on Extreme 40′s. This year the weather forecast is slightly tamer and there is less chance of seeing the thrills, spills and capsizes of last year.
Group LCF Rothschild (Photo by Thierry Martinez / Sea & Co)
Yann Guichard’s crew on Group LCF Rothschild end the weekend with the overall win of the Venice event. The French team proved omnipresent in the leading group, making very few mistakes and gradually capitalising on points to move closer to final victory after each race. The wind direction today forced the Race Committee to set-up oblong courses leaving few tactical options to the skippers, and more than ever winning the first mark was key – any hesitation or imperfect placement on the startline was immediately sanctioned by a costly result. Show-wise, it was absolutely perfect with the boats coming under gennaker, flying a hull, just metres away from the race village!
Loïck Peyron’s Renaissance (Oman Sail), had a great start to the day and won two races in a row before collapsing in the final confrontation, while the Groupama 40 boys were on good form as well, posting a first win today then a second place while Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild and BMW ORACLE Racing were having a ‘shocker’ in race 14. At the end of the latter, Renaissance was third only two points away from the America’s Cup team! Pressure was building up, with the perspective of the last race of the day counting for double points. By that time Renaissance had moved into second place, and tension was high as anything could happen for second, third and fourth places! And indeed, it did. Renaissance’s risky start option did not pay off and Peyron ended up at the back of the fleet whilst Ecover was leading at the first mark… before being relegated to the last place in the final race with so many points at stake! BT captured the last victory of the iShares Cup Venice event in front BMW ORACLE Racing while Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild came third and secured overall victory.
Yann Guichard: “It’s a great feeling to win here, I guess we were coming knowing we were somewhere in the top five, but winning the first event is fantastic! We concentrated on our starts, communication within the team was excellent and we did not lose our focus. There is a lot of pressure on the helmsmen as the boats are very close, and it’s very demanding physically for the crew but we were working perfectly together. That’s one in the bag, and five to go! We really enjoyed the format, I think it’s been great for the spectators as well. We’ll go back to training soon, as the next event in Hyères will probably be more windy and a bit different, but we’re looking forward to it.”
Groupama 40 (Photo by Yvan Zedda)
With Franck Cammas’ service being called upon aboard Groupama 3 for the record attempt, it’s Gildas Philippe who’ll take the helm of Groupama 40. This sailor from Douarnenez in NW France holds a score of world titles in dinghy sailing and ranked 5th in the Olympic Games in Athens 2004 in the 470, added to which he has already held a position aboard Groupama 2 which dates back to 2005. The possibility of being a replacement arose a considerable while back and as such Gildas and the Groupama 40 team trained together last April in Valencia. In terms of crew cohesion, the guys know each other well and are hence well run in.
Gildas Philippe: “This replacement hasn’t been done at a moment’s notice. I agreed to replace Franck last winter and I’ve organised myself so as I could be present if I were needed. As regards the team, we all know each other and have already sailed together a fair amount. As far as the Extreme 40 Groupama is concerned, it’s a sports boat that I’m just discovering. Nevertheless, I’ve sailed quite a lot on a Tornado, which is fairly similar, as well as a 60 foot multihull. As such things should go alright!”
Tanguy Cariou, a fellow crew from Douarnenez, knows Gildas well through having sailed with him on the 470 and having won several prestigious titles with him: “We’ve chosen Gildas for his unquestionable talent and also because our whole team know and appreciate him. Our aim with him or with Franck at the helm of Groupama 40 is the same: to rank as highly as possible!”
Awaiting the crew of Groupama 40 over the next three days are eight races per day across small scale courses, and an exceptional race zone situated just off Saint Mark’s Square. Hostilities begin tomorrow afternoon, Friday.
Groupama 40′s crew:
1 ) Gildas Philippe (Helm)
2 ) Tanguy Cariou (Tactician and Mainsail Traveller)
3) Thierry Fouchier (Genoa and Mainsail Trimming)
4) Bruno Jeanjean (No.1)
Oman Sail's Extreme 40's Masirah and Renaissance(Photo courtesy of Oman Sail)
Oman Sail’s Extreme 40 Teams Are Gearing Up For The Inagural Extreme 40 Event In Venice Tomorrow. iShares Cup begins in Venice on Thursday with Oman Sail debuting their second team.
The waterfront of Italy’s most romantic city will become even more attractive towards the end of the week as ten teams arrive for the first date of the iShares Cup Tour. The iShares Cup has been described as the sailing equivalent of cricket’s Twenty20 cup and takes place on Extreme 40 catamarans, one of the fastest and most exciting classes in the sport. There are 10 teams 2 of which are from Oman, Masirah and Renaissance, with both sporting the branding of Oman as well as Omani sailors.
Masirah is the flagship of the Oman Sail project in the iShares Cup and successfully competed last season and took fourth place overall in the season finale in Amsterdam. It was at this event that also saw the crew of Masirah display the colours of Oman on the podium for the first time. This season sees the crew of Masirah hoping to improve on their position from last year with a final position in the top three. As one of the only boats in the iShares Cup with the same crew as last year they will prove a strong team to beat.
Renaissance is the second Extreme 40 representing Oman and is already creating headlines due to the inclusion of ‘Mr Multihull’, Loick Peyron, as skipper and helmsman. Renaissance represents the development of global commerce based in Oman and is sponsored by local companies Renaissance Services and Suhail Bahwan Group. Loick Peyron was chosen to skipper Renaissance because of his status as one of the world’s best and most renowned sailors. He and his crew of fellow international sailors spent several months sailing their Extreme 40 with Masirah off Muscat and has become a spokesman for Oman and her natural beauty. Joining Loick Peyron on Renaissance are Julien Cressant, Peter Greenhalgh and Greg Homann.
Joining both international crews in Venice will be two Omani sailors who have spent the past year training on the Extreme 40′s to bring themselves to an international standard. Mubarak Al Battashi and Khamis Al Anbouri both have Naval backgrounds and completed a thorough selection process to gain their places on the boats. They will alternate the boats they compete on as the iShares Cup travels from Venice, Italy to the other venues on the tour.
The schedule for t he iShares Cup events is as follows:
Event 1 – Venice, Italy, 15th-17th May
Event 2 – Hyères-TPM, France, 3rd-5th July
Event 3 – Cowes, United Kingdom, 1st-3rd August
Event 4 – Kiel, Germany, 28th-30th August
Event 5 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 25th-27th September
Event 6 – Almería, Andalucía, 10th-12th October
Will Howden
British Olympic Tornado sailor Will Howden will join Ecover Sailing Team onboard the Ecover Extreme 40 for the first round of the iShares Cup 2009 in Venice Italy. Will joins the team as ‘bowman’ alongside skipper Mike Golding (GBR), Bruno Dubois (BEL) and Fraser Brown (NZL). Venice is the first city in the six stop European tour, with racing taking place between 15th -17th May.
Each race day involves up to 8 regatta-style inshore races, held close to the shore and the viewing public. With the iShares Extreme 40 races averaging just 12 minutes each and involving high-speed manoeuvres, sail hoists and drops, this is a punishing physical challenge for the whole team, especially the ‘bow’.
The world is more used to relating Ecover Sailing Team skipper Mike Golding with offshore single-handed racing. His CV detailing his success in this field speaks for itself: Mike was FICO world champion 2005/6 and IMOCA world champion for two successive years 2004/5 and 2005/6; the first and only B ritish sailor to hold this coveted title. He was also the first person ever to race single-handed and non-stop around the world in both directions and is one of just two British sailors to ever have stood on the podium in the Vendee Globe.
Ecover Sailing Team has an experienced crew for their first season competing in the iShares Cup. On the mainsheet will be Fraser Brown (NZL), one of the most experienced Extreme 40 sailors on the circuit having raced in the class from the outset. In 2008 he raced with double Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson, and the team won the first event in Lugano, Switzerland.
Trimming will be Bruno Dubois (BEL) who is a familiar face to Ecover and Mike Golding as the pair have sailed together on many races on the IMOCA Open 60 circuit. Bruno is the Managing Director of North Sails in France, has competed in the Whitbread Round the World Race, been crowned World Champion in the Corel 45 class and held a multihull speed record in his career. Bruno was also part of the crew on Kingfisher 2 for the Jules Verne attempt in 2002 and was the sail co-coordinator for Areva Challenge in the last edition of the America’s Cup.
Will Howden
© Running the front of the boat will be Will Howden (GBR), he is no stranger to these boats having been on the circuit since 2005. Will has also competed at two Olympic Games from Great Britain in the Tornado Catamaran.
“It has been great to step onboard with Mike and team,” commented Will. “I love these boats, they really are a thrill ride and we have a huge amount of diversity in our team. We all bring something to the table through our previous experiences and I think we have the potential for some good results on the water”.
The team has been training in Hyères, France as they prepare for the circuit and are now on their way to the first event in Venice, Italy. “It will be a bit of a baptism of fire for me!” said sk ipper Mike Golding. Our decision to join the iShares Cup came less than a month ago, since then we have assembled a great team, done a weeks training with our newly acquired Extreme 40 and put all the elements in place for our first event with the Ecover X40 in Venice. Like the iShares races themselves it’s been a mad dash! But we will be there and raring to get started!
Ecover Sailing Team Extreme 40
Skipper – Mike Golding (GBR)
Main – Fraser Brown (NZL)
Trimmer – Bruno Dubois (BEL)
Bow – Will Howden (GBR)
