Nacra 17 European Championship - Exploring Europe

by Vincent Borde on 16 Aug 2013 From Sunday onwards, for the first time in his young pre-Olympic career, Franck Cammas will be participating in the European Championship for the Nacra 17, a catamaran with a mixed crew, which will be making its Olympic debut in Rio in 2016.

The Groupama skipper, the recent winner of the Tour de France à la Voile, who has teamed up with the excellent inshore racer, Sophie de Turckheim, will really have his work cut out to make the best of the tactical characteristics of Lake Como in Italy.

Since his victory in the Tour, Franck Cammas hasn't had a great deal of respite. After spending a few days with his family, he switched from the helm of the monohull to dividing his time between that of the Nacra 17 catamaran with Sophie and that of Groupama C with Louis Viat.

He does four hours of sailing in the morning aboard one and then five hours in the afternoon aboard the other on the waters off Lorient.

Suffice to say that at this pace, the reflex actions have progressed considerably in terms of the manoeuvres: 'In relation to the World Sailing Cup in Hyères (last May), we've turned a corner in our manoeuvring and we are a lot more at ease on the boat. In the breezy conditions, it's also been a lot easier since Sophie's back has healed (fractured sacrum)'.

Performing very well in the light and medium airs during the French race week, the Cammas - de Turckheim duo had been a lot less efficient in a steady breeze.

Yet, despite this considerable progress, the Groupama skipper is well aware of the amount of work that still needs to be accomplished: 'We're still lacking a great deal of time on the water racing against other Nacra 17s and that's what enables you to make sure your course and speed are in line when you sail together as a fleet'.

Up against European competitors whose Olympic preparation is the main aim over the next three years, Franck Cammas is expecting a difficult week: 'We still have a lot of things to discover. In this European championship, there will be around forty or so competitors. And though Billy Besson, who's just won the World Championships, won't be there (he's training for the World C-Class Championship where he'll be back on the water against Cammas at the end of September in England), the other members of the French Sailing Team will be racing'. Spaniard Iker Martinez, who the Groupama skipper has been getting to know well since the Volvo Ocean Race, will also be competing.

Once these elements are in place, the racing can begin on Lake Como, which the Groupama skipper is only just discovering. 'We've been on site for three days and we've encountered some very different sailing conditions. The first day was stormy and the wind picked up to 30 knots. The second was more reminiscent of the usual local phenomena with a thermal breeze settling into position from 1100 hours in the morning, in line with the lake. As such there's certainly some room to set the course'.

Questioned about the local tactical characteristics, Franck Cammas appears to be quite surprised: 'We thought that it would be pretty stereotypical with some obvious effects related to the landscape, but visibly that's not the case. During our second day of training we saw that it's pretty open'.

It now remains to be seen what the Groupama duo's aims are for this European debut: 'It's hard to say. We'll do our best, in a relaxed fashion, but clearly our competitors have done more racing,' concludes Franck Cammas, keen to get down to business...