News

Alinghi struggles to hit its marks

9 September, 2018

Despite lighter wind conditions than last week, the team – in its new configuration following the injury to Nils Frei – struggled to hit its marks and to get ahead of the fleet compared to the way it had done in the earlier part of the season. At the end of the six races that were run, Alinghi finished this seventh round of the season in sixth place (20 points), tied for points with fifth, Swisscom. Realteam wins the event (13 pts), followed by Ylliam-Comptoir Immobilier (16 pts) and Zen Too (17 pts). Pierre-Yves Jorand, mainsail trimmer: "We had fairly standard wind conditions with a small Séchard of 6 to 8 knots in this edition of the Alinghi Grand Prix. Once again, teamwork was everything, but also every detail counted, especially given the minute differences in speed between each boat. Every centimeter was important, and every mistake, whether at the level of a maneuver or in terms of team communication, was critical. "The ranking in the annual championship has narrowed, with three boats still able to win the D35Trophy. The last confrontation will take place on the same kind of race area in fifteen days' time, with a sea breeze maybe a bit different given that it will be later in season." In the 2018 provisional D35 standings, Alinghi still leads the fleet with 14 points, followed by Zen Too (20 pts) and Ylliam-Comptoir Immobilier (21 pts). The entire team will meet you from September 21st to 23rd for the Realstone Grand Prix presented by the Musée du Léman and organised by the Société Nautique de Nyon.   Click here for the rankings To find out more d35trophy.com Event hashtags #GoAlinghiGo // #D35Trophy 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 in this news story. Credit for photos © Loris Von Siebenthal

A rare result - and one not to be repeated

2 September, 2018

In victory, as in defeat, it's important to keep a sense of perspective and to have an honest appraisal of one's performance. It is in that spirit that the team's result in the l'Open du Yacht Club must be viewed. The regatta, which marked the resumption of the second half of the D35 Season, saw Alinghi finish 9th out of 9 after the four races run, with a strong wind having deprived the fleet of the remaining races in the regatta. Without seeking excuses, here are some explanations: Ernesto Bertarelli, skipper: "Following Nils's injury last week in Cardiff, we had to reshape our D35 crew. Arnaud went from the mainsail to the foresail to replace Nils, and Pierre-Yves joined us to trim the mainsail. With two changes of position among a crew of six there's inevitably a period of adaptation required, not least for team communications to be refined. That's all-the-more impactful when you have windy conditions as we had in this Grand Prix. We made mistakes which we'd not normally make and with a fleet this compact and competitive, errors like that really are expensive. We made too many of them and given how few races there were, we couldn't get back into the game. I'd like to congratulate the Zen Too crew who won this stage having again demonstrated their ability in a strong breeze."   Nicolas Charbonnier, tactician: "In two races we made a mistake by sailing too close to our opponents and the jury penalised us with enforced turns. So, in the space of a few seconds, we found ourselves at the back of the fleet with no real possibility of making-up the ground, especially given the similar boat speed in this kind of wind conditions. Our starts weren't great, either, but we'll work on those this week to come back stronger in a few days." With two events to go in the 2018 D35 Championship Alinghi retains the lead, followed by Zen Too and Ylliam-Comptoir Immobilier. The team looks forward to having you follow their progress next weekend for the "Alinghi Grand Prix", which will be raced in front of Crans-près-Céligny from the 7th to the 9th of September. Click here for the rankings To find out more d35trophy.com Event hashtags #GoAlinghiGo // #D35Trophy 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 in this news story. Credit for photos © Loris Von Siebenthal

Top opening to the second half of the season

22 August, 2018

It is back to business for the Alinghi team after the summer break. On the programme for this second half of the season are three Acts in the Extreme Sailing Series (Cardiff (UK) from August 24 to 27 // San Diego (USA) from October 18 to 21 // Los Cabos (Mexico) from November 29 to December 2nd) and three D35 Trophy events (Yacht Club Open (YCG) from August 31st to September 2nd // Alinghi Grand Prix (CN Crans) from September 7th to 9th // Realstone Grand Prix presented by the Musée du Léman (SN Nyon) from 21 to 23 September). Currently leading the two championships, the team is open in its desire to continue its momentum and is delighted to again doing battle on Welsh waters in the coming days. Click here for the mid-season provisional general classification of the D35 Trophy and here for the Extreme Sailing Series.   Follow the action in Cardiff Here is how to follow the races that will be held from Friday 24 to Monday 27 August from 14h to 17h local time (UTC + 1, 1h less than in Switzerland): Live > via our website (races modeled in 3D Friday and Saturday, then live video on Sunday and Monday) > 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   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: Lloyd Images, Loris Von Sieventhal, Eric Gachet

A very ‘lemanique’ 80th Bol d’Or

10 June, 2018

Just before the start, some had predicted a possible arrival of around midnight. And as it transpired it was just minutes after that, that four D35s were to be found at an almost equal position between the 'entry mark' and the finish line in front of the SNG...but without any wind! Time passes until...it is finally Mobimo who pocket the 80th Bol d'Or Mirabaud, which was launched at 10am Saturday morning for 543 competitors. They finished ahead of Okalys Youth Project, Ylliam-Comptoir Immobilier, and Alinghi in 4th. After being at the forefront for a long time, even the 137 cumulative entries of Alinghi's crew in the Bol d'Or over the years were not enough to make the final difference (25th for Ernesto, 38th for Pierre-Yves, 17th for Arnaud, 7th for Nicolas, 20th for Nils et 30th for Yves). After 14 hours of racing, the victory came down to just the last few metres. But, in the opinion of all, even the winner, luck plays as well its part in these type of races, especially with very light wind conditions. The team is obviously a little disappointed after crossing the line". Nils Frei, headsail trimmer said: "It was a super- classic Bol d'Or, with some séchard and rebat breezes, the transitions between, the lulls...but you also need a bit of luck, otherwise you can't win. We sailed a good race, but it ended like a true Bol". Nicolas Charbonnier, tactician: "It's more fun when there is a strong wind and it ends at 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon, but it was a beautiful regatta. We had a very classic Bol with well-known Lake Geneva conditions and a mixed classification just before the finish line. There are years when the start is very important. Boats escape and we do not see them anymore. This year, the boats have come back from the Bouveret. To stay focused on the long-term? It's not a problem, I do not look at my watch. We were so caught up in the race that we didn't notice time pass!" Pierre-Yves Jorand, team manager and floater for this race said: "It was a race where there was lots of overtaking, lots of changes of the leaders, and so it was necessary to refocus often. Like when you're sailing in a Grand Prix actually. It was necessary to look for the right trajectories, the favourable positions, to know how to change our sailing modes. The return to Geneva was not easy. It was building a little behind, and at the entrance to the petit lac there were not many wind signals left. Mobimo pulled-off an incredible comeback and took the lead at the entry mark, few meters away from the finish. We believed until the end, but just missed out on a last pressure to cross the finish line ahead of our rivals." The team will see you in Barcelona this Thursday, June 14 for the next Act of the Extreme Sailing Series in the foiling GC32s. Click here for all the rankings of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2018. To find out more d35trophy.com //  boldormirabaud.ch Event hashtags #GoAlinghiGo // #D35Trophy // #BOM18 To find out more about the race tracking system, the team composition and the circuit in general, find the event recap by clicking here. Photo credits ©Toast Prod & Alinghi