Extreme Sailing Series Act 7 - Realteam continues to progress

by MaxComm Communication on 8 Oct 2013 Realteam added another success at the Extreme Sailing Series in Nice last weekend to what has so far been an excellent season. Just last week they posted a third overall at the Decision 35 series Vulcain Trophy and last weekend they continued their run to finish fourth overall in Nice, just three points off the podium, which means they maintain their fifth overall for the season title.

Pierre Pennec, one of the most experienced sailors on the Extreme Sailing Series circuit, helmed the multihull for the four-day event, winning five races, including the final one that counted for double points.

'It was a bit frustrating to finish so close to the podium, but very encouraging for the end of the season and with next year in mind,' said Pierre Pennec. 'We can definitely take away some positives from this event, we rotated three crew in for Nice which is always quite challenging to manage especially when we haven’t trained together. The level of the racing is very high, all the crews have impressive CVs so at this level, a little error makes a big difference.'

Realteam welcomed Dominique Wavre, a VIP guest of note, onboard during the racing off the Promenade des Anglais. He was able to give an informed opinion of the team: 'They are very serious and very professional, but they are also, very obviously, enjoying what they are doing. The Extreme circuit is very fast moving and the sailors have to be extremely focussed and able to react very quickly!'

The team raced in varied conditions during the event, for two days they had over 25knots and a big 2metre swell and for the second half of the event over the weekend, the wind dropped to just 6-10 knots. Realteam demonstrated it could handle both extremes: 'Considering this is the team’s first Extreme 40 season and its first Grand Prix circuit, this is a really good result,' said Pierre Pennec. 'Realteam has put a very professional structure in place across all areas: sponsorship, coaching with Etienne David, boat preparation. It is all well done.'

Jérôme Clerc made the most of having Pierre Pennec onboard to continue the team’s learning curve: 'We have rotated the team a lot this season in order to define the best configuration,' explained the skipper. 'Sailing with Pierre shows us the level that we must aim for and the work that still remains to be done.'

Next on the Realteam calendar is the final event of the Extreme Sailing Series, Act 8, in Florianopolis, Brasil from 14-17 November. Mathematically, everything is possible on the leaderboard. The results at the final event of the season count for double which means that if Realteam does well, it can still finish on the podium. Until then, the team will train on the Decision 35 back in Switzerland and will take part in the TeamWork Geneva Match Race at the end of October.

Realteam crew at Extreme Sailing Series Act 7 – Nice, France

Pierre Pennec, helmsman
Jérôme Clerc, skipper
Arnaud Psarofaghis, mainsail trimmer
Bryan Mettraux, trimmer
Thierry Wasem, bowman

Overall results, Extreme Sailing Series Act 7 2013 – Nice, France

?1. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) - 237 points.
?2. Alinghi (SUI) - 217 points.
?3. Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) - 216 points.
?4. Realteam (SUI) - 213 points.
?5. ChinaSpirit (CHN) -183 points.?
6. SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) - 175 points.?
7. the first club by ALL4ONE (FRA) - 170 points.?
8. GAC Pindar (NZL) -130 points.

Overall season ranking, Extreme Sailing Series 2013 after Act 7

?1. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 56 points.?
2. Alinghi (SUI) 54 points.?
3. Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 45 points.
?4. SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 41 points.?
5. Realteam (SUI) 35 points.
?6. GAC Pindar (NZL) 30 points.?
7. Team X Invitational 26 points.?
8. Team Korea (KOR) 16 points.