Extreme Sailing Series, Act 6 - Rising sharply in Istanbul

by Groupama sailing team on 15 Sep 2014 For the sixth event of the Extreme Sailing Series circuit contested on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, the crew of Groupama 40 has secured a very honourable sixth place despite suffering a dismasting on the first day, which deprived them of four of the 31 races run.

For the first time this season, it was Emirates Team New Zealand, skippered by Dean Barker, who won the event ahead of The Wave Muscat and Alinghi.

Fifth in the provisional overall ranking as they attacked the final day of racing, Tanguy Cariou and his crew had a tough start to the day, on a race zone swept by a good 20 knots of breeze, which prompted the Race Committee to call for the catamarans to race with one reef in the mainsail.

'We found it hard to get into the swing of things, resulting in poor starts, penalties and little tactical inspiration. At one point, we even slipped down to ninth place in the overall ranking. Fortunately, we got things back on track in the last three races, including the last one, which scores double points. We've finished ahead of Ben Ainslie, who was really in with a shot of the win in Cardiff. So, it's all good, and our progress is echoed in our solid result. We now need to continue with this same approach,' says the skipper of Groupama 40 in the absence of Franck Cammas, who begins the World Nacra 17 Championships in Santander on Monday.

Yes indeed, so with regards to François Morvan's arrival on the helm, what changes are afoot?

'He was just discovering the series and didn't make any changes in principle. He was highly receptive to our advice and to the recommendations of Bertrand Pacé, who was coaching us. Given his sporting background, François is also more aggressive with steering the boat and he's more pedal to the metal'. The same is true in the starts, though there's more progress to be made there. In any case, it was interesting for the whole team, as we need to develop this sort of aggressiveness in our way of sailing,' Tanguy explains.

Mathematically, if we were to allocate the average number of points obtained by Groupama 40 in the 27 races, compared with the thirty-one for the others, Tanguy Cariou and his crew would move up a place in the overall ranking, just a point shy of fourth. This sixth place remains outstanding though as testified by the fact that the organisers of the event awarded them the 'Land Rover Above and Beyond Award', which rewards the mental strength expressed by an individual or a group during the championship.

See you in Nice for the next event in the Extreme Sailing Series circuit, where Franck Cammas will be back at the helm of Groupama 40.

The crew of Groupama 40 in Istanbul:
Tanguy Cariou, tactician and skipper
François Morvan, helmsman
Thierry Fouchier, trimmer
Roman Motteau, trimmer
Devan Le Bihan, bowman
Bertrand Pacé, coach

The ranking in Istanbul:
1/ Emirates New Zealand with 210 points
2/ The Wave Muscat with 204 points
3/ Alinghi with 188 points
4/ Oman Air with 169 points
5/ SAP with 154 points
6/ Groupama 40 with 148 points
7/ JP Morgan with 143 points
8/ Red Bull with 142 points
9/ Realstone with 135 points
10/ GAC Pindar with 130 points
11/ Gazprom with 126 points
12/ Team Turx with 85 Event website