77th Bol d'Or Mirabaud – Spindrift racing finishes third

by Spindrift racing on 15 Jun 2015 77th Bol d'Or Mirabaud – What an incredible final yesterday evening in Geneva! Night had just fallen when D35 Team Tilt crossed the finish line to win the race, just ahead of Alinghi and Ladycat. Taking advantage of a final gybe towards the Swiss side of the lake, Dona Bertarelli and her crew accelerated in a vein of wind and crossed in front of their closest rivals to take the final place on the podium, finishing just a few hundred metres behind the two leaders. Ladycat powered by Spindrift racing led the first half of the race, but they had to battle with unstable conditions and maintain their pace during the thrilling final stages. Their efforts were justly rewarded yesterday evening.

Lake Geneva lived up to her reputation, dishing out all the conditions that are at her disposal at this time of year and testing the sailors' nerves once again. The race began at 10 am on Saturday morning in a beautiful sunshine, with light winds of five to 10 knots.

Ladycat powered by Spindrift racing led over the start line and quickly broke away from the 500-strong fleet. They held their lead all the way to the top of the lake, but an air pocket on the approach to the barge at Le Bouveret allowed Realstone and Team Tilt to pass the midway mark first and second, a few metres ahead of Ladycat. On the descent back to Geneva, dark clouds began to loom ominously over the lake. The storm broke out just after 8 pm, sending streaks of lightning across the evening sky and strong winds across the waters. The teams sought to ride the winds, but also to protect their equipment from damage. The D35 catamarans were now cruising along at 15 knots, with some even reaching speeds of 22-24 knots as they approached the Petit Lac to start the final sprint. Team Tilt pipped Alinghi to the line by just a few seconds, with Ladycat finishing third.

Reaction from Ladycat powered by Spindrift racing skipper Dona Bertarelli
'The race had so many twists and turns and the weather conditions were relentless, so we're delighted with our third place this evening. We had a great race that went all the way to the wire. We made a phenomenal start, breaking away from the field, but we knew all too well that the race wasn't over. Far from it! The wind died down before Le Bouveret, allowing Realstone and Tilt to pull ahead as we approached the barge. The race then became even tougher, with transitions in unstable conditions. The brewing storm energised the wind over the water, and eventually the storm broke out. Lightning flashed all around us, and with the wind reaching speeds of 30 knots, we were concerned that the mast might break. It was so tense. We opted to head along the French side at first, as the wind was stronger over there, then, as we closed in on Geneva, we switched to the Swiss side. We were neck and neck with Veltigroup when we decided to do one last gybe to pick up the wind on the Swiss side. The move allowed us to overtake Veltigroup and finish third, crossing the line just over a minute behind the leaders, despite twelve hours of racing!'

77th Bol d'Or Mirabaud, D35 results:
1. Team Tilt in 12:05:58
2. Alinghi in 12:06:16
3. Ladycat powered by Spindrift racing in 12:07:09
4. Veltigroup-Swisscom in 12:08:48
5. Okalys in 12:10:13
6. Realteam in 12:11:01
7. Racing Django in 12:11:20
8. Mobimo in 12:12:17
9. Safram in 12:14:28
10. Zen Too in 12:30:35

Ladycat powered by Spindrift racing crew:
Dona Bertarelli, skipper/helmsman
Yann Guichard, tactician
Xavier Revil, mainsail
François Morvan, trimmer
Jacques Guichard, trimmer
Christophe Espagnon, bowman
Nicolas Débordes, shore crew

2015 Calendar | D35 Trophy:
May 8th-10th – Grand Prix d'Ouverture - SNG
May 23rd-24th – Open de Versoix - CNV
June 6th – Geneva-Rolle-Geneva - YCG
June 5th and seventh – Open de Versoix – CNV
June 13 – Bol d'Or Mirabaud – SNG
September 5th-6th – Grand Prix Comptoir Immobilier – YCG
September 12th-13th – Open de Crans – CNC
September 25th-26th – Grand Prix de Clôture – SNG