GC32

2nd round of the D35 Trophy, as well as the GC32 World Championship

17 May, 2018

From May the 19th to the 27th, Alinghi will be taking-on seven full days of racing over two events: > The second stage of the D35 Trophy takes place from Saturday the 19th to the 21st of May. Organised by the Versoix Yacht Club, it again will bring together the nine boats competing for the 2018 Championship. > Following its official recognition as a class by the international federation, World Sailing, last December, the very first GC32 World Championship will take place on the iconic Lake Garda between the 24th and 27th of May. Some 13 to 15 boats have responded to the invitation issued by Fraglia Vela Riva and the GC32 Class and will line-up against one another to compete for the ultimate title. Pierre-Yves Jorand, Alinghi's team director, said: "With these two regattas so close together we will have to know how to best stay focused day after day, and we will take advantage of every precious free moment so as to optimise our recovery phases. But, of course, we're delighted to be involved with both, as competition is what we live for. The GC32 World Championship will be magnificent, what with the teams taking part and the ideal setting for sailing that Lake Garda usually provides." Follow the action On Twitter @teamalinghi > Updates after each race, as well as photos and video clips On Facebook @teamalinghi and Instagram @alinghi > Interviews, videos and photos On our website > News and photos To find out more d35trophy.com // gc32worlds.com Event hashtags #GoAlinghiGo // #D35Trophy // #GC32worlds To find out more about how to follow the racing, the composition of the team and the D35 Trophy in general, find a recap of the competition by clicking here. Credit for photos © Lloyd Images

We go again!

13 March, 2018

The Muscat waterway in Oman will again be in the spotlight over the next four days for the opening of the 2018 Extreme Sailing Series season. Seven international teams, most of them familiar from the circuit, are preparing to fight hard on their respective GC32s. Given the expected classic wind conditions, let's see if the crew changes made by some teams will pay off or if continuity will bear fruit. In Alinghi’s case, the team has gone with the latter option, putting an emphasis on stability. The technical team finalised the preparation of the boat late February-early March, to allow the sailors to find their machine gleaming and as good as new last Wednesday for the resumption of training after the winter break. Sharp, motivated and full of ideas, the team delivers on video! To discover the final touch made by João, click here. For Tim's physical preparation, click here. And for Nils's Ambitious Objective, click here! As for Nicolas and Arnaud, they will tell you what's new on board. To follow the races, which will be held from Wednesday 14 to Saturday 17 March, from 2 to 5pm local time (UTC + 4, 3h more than in Switzerland), there are the following options: Live > via our website (races modeled in 3D Wednesday and Thursday, then live video on Friday and Saturday) > via our Twitter account @teamalinghi (results published after each race with some photos and short video moments) On demand > On Facebook and Instagram for video interviews and photos > On our website for news and replays of the races The general classification will be updated as the races unfold and will be available here. Event hashtags #GoAlinghiGo // #Extremesailing To find out more extremesailingseries.com If you want to know more about the race tracking system, the team composition and the race in general, you can find the event recap here. Photos credit : Alinghi

Practical information - The Extreme Sailing Series

11 March, 2018

Extreme Sailing Series circuit - A Recap: What: International Extreme Sailing Series™ with eight events in eight host cities on three continents Who: Seven international teams composed usually of a crew of five (if a female sailor is on board, teams are allowed to go to six) Where: Act 1: Muscat (Oman), Event 2: GC32 World Championship in Riva del Garda (Italy), Act 3: Barcelona (Spain), Act 4: Portugal, Act 5 : Cardiff (United Kingdom), Act 6: San Diego (USA), Act 7: Los Cabos (Mexico) When: March to December 2018 (click here to view the annual calendar) How: The teams compete in short format races in front of the public, on a 32ft catamaran with foils: The GC32   Following the action There are a number of ways you can follow the team during all of the eight stages, each of which includes four days of competition (up to 10 races each afternoon - Watch out for the time difference depending on the event location!). On the Internet, via the home page of alinghi.com and extremesailingseries.com > Modeled races in 3D from the 1st to the 4th day of the competition > Regattas broadcast live on the 3rd and 4th days (generally from 2pm local time until the end of the races) > Replay available at the end of the races by clicking here On Twitter @teamalinghi > Results published after each race with some photos and short video moments On Facebook @teamalinghi and Instagram @alinghi > Video interviews & photos Alinghi’s GC32 Crew* Helmsman, co-skipper: Arnaud Psarofaghis (SUI) Tactician and mainsail trimmer: Nicolas Charbonnier (FRA) Trimmer: Nils Frei (SUI) Foil trimmer: Timothé Lapauw (FRA) Bowman: Yves Detrey (SUI) Technical team: João Cabeçadas (POR) David Nikles (SUI) Coach and Team Director: Pierre-Yves Jorand (SUI) To find out more: extremesailingseries.com Event hashtags #GoAlinghiGo #Extremesailing Photo credit © Jesús Renedo *Temporary changes to the crew For the 3 last Acts (Cardiff, San Diego & Los Cabos), Nils Frei (groin injury) is replaced by Bryan Mettraux as frontsail trimmer.

Placed for the final assault

3 December, 2017

In two days and over 11 races, Alinghi won a remarkable nine. The team has consolidated its lead in the Act, but it still lacks a further boat to come between them and SAP, which is necessary in order to clinch the victory in the annual championship. Will salvation come from the Red Bull Sailing Team? Currently they lie in 4th place, 12 points behind SAP. As such, it seems a tough ask, but with five to six races scheduled tomorrow and a final race that counts for double points, anything can happen. On Alinghi's side, the team will, of course, continue to race as we have done until today to confirm our first place in the Act 8, we will try to put pressure on SAP and, maybe, we might consider also giving a boost to the "bull-boat with wings"... Yves Detrey, bowman, said: "The first race of the day was like a cold shower. In fact, we did not see NZ Extreme arrive on starboard, so we had to last minute tack under them and then tack once again to get to the next mark. Obviously that meant we lost ground and position, with no possibility of recovery, finishing last. After this brutal awakening, we returned to our previous form and nailed four consecutive victories! We made pretty decent starts, we sailed on good lines with good speed and our manoeuvres were excellent. After a slump this summer during Act 5, I would say that we have reached again the level of sailing from the end of last season when we won everything." Arnaud Psarofaghis, helm and co-skipper: "The crew did a great job today, manoeuvering the boat and tactically. After a very bad first race we managed to turn the tide to win all the others and position ourselves to have a chance of going for the Championship tomorrow. We will aim to win this event, but also to finish as far above SAP as possible, which is our chance for the title. It's up to us now to get back to the top of the podium." See you tomorrow at 2 pm local time (UTC-7, 8h less than in Switzerland) for the closing of Act 8 and the 2017 season, which you can follow live or replay by clicking here. And for the standings after the 17 races so far, click here. Hashtags for the event #GoAlinghiGo // #Extremesailing To find out more www.extremesailingseries.com Photo credit ©Lloyd Images To find out more about the race tracking system, team composition and the event in general, you can find the event recap by clicking here.

The sort of day we like

1 December, 2017

Not two, not three, not four, but a massive five straight wins for Alinghi on the waters off Los Cabos during this second day of racing. It was only Oman Air who managed to finish ahead of the team, just in front of our bow, in the sixth and last race of the day. Nicolas Charbonnier, tactician, said: "Listen, just because it might seem easy, it doesn't mean that it is! With a wind direction that did not stop moving, we were never able to apply the same strategy twice. However, the whole team was very good at adapting to the conditions. We were inspired, we went fast and we had great starts, which helps a lot on short courses. There are days like that where everything just goes right, it was a pretty magical day. " Thanks to the team's hard work and flawless focus, the Swiss lead Act 8's provisional standings, six points ahead of Oman Air and 11 points over SAP. Midway, there is still some way to go, especially as to win the whole Championship would require a second boat between us and SAP. For now, Red Bull (4th) are 14 points behind the Danes and the New Zealanders (5th) a further five points back. See you tomorrow at 2 pm local time (UTC-7, 8h less than Switzerland) for the 3rd day of the racing, which you can follow live or in replay here. And the overall classification after 12 races is here. Hashtags for the event #GoAlinghiGo // #Extremesailing To find our more www.extremesailingseries.com Photo credit ©Lloyd Images To find out more about the race tracking system, the composition of the team and the event in general, the event recap is here.

The leaders to the front

30 November, 2017

Six races were launched in five to 15 knots of wind. Alinghi recorded five podium finishes and a race win: In the opinion of Nils Frei, it was a "correct day" for the team, which lies in 2nd position, between Oman, who lead the event, and SAP, two points behind. Nils Frei, headsail trimmer said: "With this westerly wind and the position of the race zone close to the shore, we had some tricky conditions. It meant there were lots of changes in terms of the force and direction of the wind, making race management difficult. It must be admitted that Oman Air sailed very well. With their five second places and a win, they claimed a lead of a few points, but it's still tight and of course there are three days left with plenty of points to fight for. "And, frankly, it wasn't that they were faster than us or performed better manoeuvres. They were just more consistent. On our side, we dropped a few points because of some bad decisions. We didn't have total success on some crosses with the opponents either, so overall we can say that we're moderately happy tonight. "As for SAP behind us, they had a last place finish that cost them a lot of points. Honestly, though, I don't think they're deliberately aiming for third place [which would be enough to secure them the title]. The rankings can change so quickly, that they and everyone has to aim for the win every time." Did you know? In six races, Alinghi's sailors have: - Realised the most manoeuvres of the fleet, with 41 tacks and 17 gybes (vs 27 ad 11 for Team Extreme Mexico) - Achieved the best average downwind speed with 18.2 knots (vs 15.93 for Lupe Tortilla) - Traveled 36.45km (vs 35.84 for Oman Air and 38.67 for Lupe Tortilla) - Hit a peak speed of 32.93 knots (vs 27.91 for Red Bull and 33.69 for SAP) For more data analysis like this, just visit the SAP Sailing Analytics site.   The action will resume tomorrow at 2pm local time (UTC-7 = 8 hours behind Swiss time), which you can follow live or on demand by clicking here. Find the overall standings after six races in Los Cabos here. Hashtags for the event #GoAlinghiGo // #Extremesailing To find out more www.extremesailingseries.com Photos credit ©Lloyd Images If you want to know more about how to follow the racing, about Alinghi's team, or just about this regatta in general, you will find all that you need here.