Extreme Sailing Series - Hotly contested event promised

by Groupama Sailing Team on 2 Oct 2014 The seventh of the eight events that make up the Extreme Sailing Series circuit kicks off on Thursday in Nice. The only French stopover for the 40-foot catamarans, which are skippered by some of the best racers on the planet, the Nice-based event promises to be hotly contested. Back at the helm of Groupama 40 after the World Nacra 17 Championships in Santander, Franck Cammas remains loyal to his performance objectives, whilst stressing the need to improve consistency.

Up against the specialists of this one-design series, it's not always easy for a racer, who divides his sailing time between several types of boat, to be a contender for victory. Since the start of the year, the Groupama skipper has had experience of that on occasion:

'The majority of the crews devote all their time to this very specific circuit. Raced over very short courses set on rather atypical race zones, so as to be close to the public, the ingredients for success have very little to do with other competitions. Since the start of the year, we've been making progress, but it's not reflected in the results because we're still lacking consistency.'

With the start lines set beam onto the wind, legs which don't last more than three minutes and a breeze that is often disturbed by the proximity of the coast or the surrounding buildings, the Extreme Sailing Series circuit is often more reminiscent of a street brawl than an Olympic course:

'Over such short courses, it's imperative to get off to some excellent starts. During racing, opportunism often dominates over tactical considerations. You need to constantly adapt and find openings, whilst manoeuvring to perfection. It's tough at times but always interesting,' continues the skipper, who has been with Groupama for some 17 years now.

Alongside him, Franck will be with his trusty crew, Tanguy Cariou, Thierry Fouchier and Devan Le Bihan. However, the mainsail trimmer has changed. Replacing Romain Motteau, who is unavailable, the skipper of Groupama has called upon Valentin Bellet, he too preparing for the Olympic Games in the Nacra 17:

'It's nice to be back on the same boat as generally we're rivals.'

On a race zone he's very familiar with, having previously sailed here during the Orma trimaran era, the skipper of Groupama appreciates the spot:

'It's going to be good to compete on an open race zone off the Promenade des Anglais. The wind is set to be quite light over the coming days, but it's sure to be less messy than on some of the previous sites. The racing conditions could be somewhat reminiscent of those in Oman'.

Generally more at ease in the breeze than in light airs, the crew of Groupama 40 will have to draw on the solid results achieved in Istanbul in mid-September, despite breaking the mast on the first day:

'We were more aggressive in the start phases in particular and we had good speed,' recalls tactician Tanguy Cariou: 'It's down to us to pull off the same moves in a less steady breeze, whilst improving our consistency'.

Against the series' hotshots, who go by the name of Alinghi, The Wave Muscat, Emirates Team New Zealand and JP Morgan, Groupama 40 will quickly be able to gauge how well they can stick to these good intentions on the pretty race zone of Nice.