After 11 races of about 30 minute duration each and after a duel that came down to the final metres, Alinghi beat Ylliam Comptoir Immobilier by one point to win the Alinghi Grand Prix of Crans-près-Céligny. Zen Too took the final place on the podium. Yves Detrey, bowman, said: "It was tense to the end with Ylliam. We started the day tied, but already lost three points on them in the first race. Then we gained one back in the second race, and then two in the third, to leave us once again tied. "In the very last race, we fighted a bit at the start and we took the first advantage on the upwind leg. They managed to come back ahead of us just before the last leg. In the final downwind to the finish, we passed back in front of them with a better gybe. To win this Grand Prix, we had to finish in the top five and ahead of them in this last race. This we did - we were 4th and they were behind. Ylliam sailed really well, but in the end, we stayed ahead, and this makes me really happy." Pierre-Yves Jorand, mainsail trimmer: "It started this morning with a 5th place finish, but fortunately for us, it was ended really well. Ylliam Comptoir Immobilier's competitive sailing made for a great weekend and they certainly gave us a hard time. They sailed very well. Hats off to them! They were fast and were smart. In the end, these regattas are serious business. In these monotypes, we know that every detail counts. It was a superb Grand Prix over three days." With this new victory and a sufficient points gap on its pursuers, Alinghi is guaranteed to win the D35 Trophy 2017 without even needing to run the last event. But, as Arnaud confirmed tonight, "the team will still be fighting at the start in two weeks time because "there is always more to learn". Click here to be onboard the D35 seconds after crossing the finish line to listen to all the comments (in French) from Yves, Pierre-Yves, Arnaud and Nicolas. The next meeting on the lake is on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 September for the closing Grand Prix in the D35 Trophy organized by our club, Société Nautique de Genève. Alinghi Grand Prix in Crans-près-Céligny - Overall standings after 11 races (the worst score being discarded) : 1 - Alinghi: 24 points 2 - Ylliam comptoir Immobilier: 25 points  3 - Zen Too: 34 points 4 - Racing Django: 36 points 5 - Realteam: 49 points Click here for more results and the overall standings of the Championship after seven Acts. To find out more d35trophy.com Hashtags for the event #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. Photo credits: Loris von Siebenthal

After 5h11m of racing in dream conditions and a real match against Ladycat, Alinghi scored a seventh victory in the iconic Bol d'Or. At the same time, Pierre-Yves Jorand has now equaled the record number of victories for individual sailors, drawing level with Philippe Durr and Philippe Stern. After crossing the finishing line, Pierre-Yves said: "It was an incredible regatta, a duel from start to finish with a great team and great opponents. Last week we lost by a single second to Swisscom in the Genève-Rolle-Genève and so we were certainly hungry. This great victory comes at the right time!” For Nils Frei, the key to the race was the Bouveret rounding: "We passed in second place, just seconds behind Ladycat, but were the first to engage the tack to take us heading back to the Swiss side of the lake and to get the Bise back. It was so rare to have the breezes we did across all of the Lake, but it allowed us to record one of the quicker times in the race’s history – the record being 5h01m. It was a real match with Spindrift, with so little in it." Yves Detrey, known not to be the biggest fan of the long distance races on the lake, did not hide his joie de vivre this time around: "If it's like this next year, I will sign-up right away!" Arnaud Psarofaghis, helmsman of the D35 on this occasion, said: "I am really proud to have won with this team, who are all fantastic. For me the key to the regatta was at the entrance to the ‘Petit-Lac', close to Geneva. We chose a different strategy to Spindrift and it was a choice that paid off." Ernesto Bertarelli: "Congratulations to our Team Alinghi for the great achievement on Lake Geneva today – winning the 79th Bol D’or Mirabaud! It was a fantastic day of sailing, with the famous "Bise" as strong as ever, a focus on skill and tactics and very little place for luck. Congratulations also to Ladycat and its team for being an exceptional competitor in this exceptional race. Every year we seem to encourage each other to do even better, which pushes both teams to perform at their best and is wonderful for the sport.   “I would like to pay a special tribute to Arnaud with whom I have the pleasure to share the helm both on the ESS and the D35 Trophy, as well as to the rest of the team, Pierre-Yves, Nicolas, Nils, Coraline, Yves & João who raced today on board as 7th crew and who is normally part of our shore crew who did an amazing job to keep our boat on top shape! Thank you also to Claudy and David who made sure this victory was technically possible. “And well done to all the boats who took part in the race today, many of which are still on the lake and sailing. “I am really proud to be the Vice-Commodore of SNG which organizes the Bol d'Or every year and I thank also all the volunteers who make this very special event so successful."   The crew will now dedicate their summer to four races in the Extreme Sailing Series (ESS), before returning to the D35 Trophy in September for the last three events of the season. Click here to watch the crew's reactions reaching the dock at SNG and being interviewed on the podium. The next event for the Alinghi team is Act 3 of the ESS in Madeira, from 29 June to 2 July. Overall real-time ranking - Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2017: 1. D35 Alinghi: 5h11'00 2. M1 Ladycat Powered by Spindrift Racing: 5h12'34 3. GC32 Realteam: 5:19:23 4. D35 Zen Too: 5h22'49 5. D35 Okalys: 5:23:54 Provisional general ranking of the D35 Trophy (the worst score being discarded): 1. Alinghi: 4 points 2. Zen too: 11 points 3. Ylliam Comptoir Immobilier: 13 points 4. Swisscom: 17 points 5. Mobimo: 18 points   Hashtags for the event #GoAlinghiGo  //  #BOM17  //  #D35Trophy To find out more boldormirabaud.ch  //  d35trophy.com 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. Photo credits: BOM2017-Nicolas Jutzi et EPmedias

Alinghi’s red-hot form in all formats continued today with another win in the D35 Trophy, making it two out of two in the championship’s first two events. Taken alongside the team’s impressive performances on their GC32 in the Extreme Sailing Series, the season has started very well indeed. Alinghi had built up a good lead heading into today’s final day, the third of the Open de Versoix. The wind remained patchy, but when it did blow, four races could be run. Having notched a third-place in the first, the team were unlucky not to secure a win in the second when, having led for much, they were pipped by Ylliam, who took the opposite side on the second beat and found the wind. Still, a second place increased the team’s lead overall, and in the next race, amid a breeze that was threatening to go to sleep and with big differences in pressure across the racing area, the team managed a fourth-place. That was followed, fittingly given the team’s overall performance, by a win in the last race of the day and of the Open de Versoix. Having been in the lead, the win was declared as Alinghi’s as the wind finally gave-up. Overall, a very satisfying performance in challenging conditions and a great way to continue the start of this 2017 racing season, with the team’s lead at the top of the D35 rankings assured. The focus is now on keeping this kind of level throughout the summer, with the D35s back in action on June 9th for the Grand Prix Realstone. Afterwards, Nils Frei was able to give an update on the injury that has kept him away from sailing for the past few events. Speaking in a video that is on the team’s facebook page, Nils confirmed that his foot is a lot better than it was, but that he is still two-to-three weeks away from being able to sail with the team again. His crew send him their best wishes for his continued recovered and look forward to welcoming him back so that he can help them to continue this great run. Final Results Alinghi: 15 points Zen Too: 31 points Ylliam Comptoir Immobilier: 32 points Mobimo: 33 points Racing Django: 36 points Swisscom: 36 points Okalys: 40 points Realteam: 41 points To find out more d35trophy.com Photo Credit © Loris von Siebenthal 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. #GoAlinghiGo

Having built up a lead over the rest of the field after the first two days of racing in the opening Grand Prix of the D35 Trophy, Ernesto Bertarelli's Alinghi could afford to sit back a bit, focusing on staying out of trouble and protecting their lead. This, amid the rain and patchy wind on Lake Geneva, they did, finishing mid-fleet in the day's opening four races before stamping their authority with a convincing win in Race 12 that secured the victory even with the final race still to be launched. Following on from last weekend's GC32 win in China, this D35 performance caps an excellent couple of weeks for the team. Afterwards, the crew reflected on a job well done: Ernesto Bertarelli, helmsman and skipper: "We had very good wind conditions in the last two days, which made for very competitive races with a fleet very close to one another in terms of speed and talent, making for races in which positions were interchanged regularly. I think this regatta was won in our ability to improve on seemingly bad positions in races, picking up important points. That was the difference. "We are, of course, happy to have won and it's a victory more special because of the return of Pierre-Yves to the crew after a year off the water and who has stepped-up in Nils's injury-enforced absence. "Finally, I would like to thank all the volunteers who did so much to organise the event over its three days and who are out on the water come rain or shine - more often rain this weekend!" Arnaud Psarofaghis, headsail trimmer: "We did well and were pleased to win the Grand Prix in the penultimate race​, meaning we didn't need to participate in the last. We chose to take that option in order to let the others fight for second place without us influencing the race." Nicolas Charbonnier, tactician: "We had enough points to secure first place, so decided to exercise our option not to line-up for the start of the last. In the D35, as opposed to Extreme Sailing Series, a team's worst score is scratched, meaning our 'DNF' would not have counted in our tally, as we'd previously finished higher than the equivalent last place. With a nine point cushion over second, our decision was also influenced by the fact that these boats are quite fragile and there is no point seeking out risking it being damaged if, as we were, you are in a position to avoid it. Overall, it was a really good Grand Prix and, of course, we are very happy with the outcome." Yves Detrey, bowman: "It has been a great couple of weeks - we won in China and came directly to this Grand Prix, in which we've continued our winning form. It's also nice, after all this sailing, to have a week break ahead of the next Grand Prix." Next race: D35 Open de Versoix, 19th - 21st May. Final results Alinghi: 34 points Zen Too: 43 points Okalys: 49 points Ylliam Comptoir Immobilier : 49 points Racing Django: 54 points Realteam: 54 points Swisscom: 59 points Mobimo: 65 points To find out more d35trophy.com Credit for photos © Loris von Siebenthal 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 the recap at the bottom of this news story. #GoAlinghiGo