Extreme Sailing Series- Final curtain in Sydney
by Groupama Sailing Team on 15 Dec 2014
The Extreme Sailing Series 2014, Act Eight, Sydney, Australia. Lloyd Images
Extreme Sailing Series 2014 Act Eight - It was in Sydney that the eighth Extreme Sailing Series drew to a close today with Swiss crew Alinghi securing the crown. Not content with an overall win, the crew skippered by Morgan Larson also took victory in the Australian event ahead of The Wave Muscat and Realteam. A long way behind, in tenth position, Groupama sailing team didn't manage to convert the progress they've made over the second half of the season into points.
Disrupted by the atrocious weather conditions midway through the week, the eighth event of the Extreme 40 circuit enabled the eleven competitors to compete in 26 races beneath the gaze of a host of enthralled Australian spectators, known for being great sailing fans.
Perfectly reflecting the level of the players and the season's hierarchy, the podium demonstrates the strength of the two competing Swiss crews and the untiring consistency of the Omanis on The Wave Muscat, who have been present on the circuit since it was created.
Behind them, we note the constant progress of Ben Ainslie, who finished fifth in Sydney, one point shy of fourth place, and fifth overall, tied on points with Team New Zealand. It certainly augurs well for some fine matches in the 35th edition of the America's Cup.
Tenth in Sydney and tenth overall, Groupama Sailing Team wasn't able to make the most of the last event of the year to make up ground on Gazprom, SAP and Oman Air: 'As has often been the case since the start of the season, we totally stuffed up one day of sailing. It's a shame, as it has dragged us down in the overall ranking. We did do some great things though,' explained Franck Cammas.
Alongside him, tactician Tanguy Cariou reviewed the season as a whole: 'Those who are very familiar with the whole circuit have an unquestionable advantage. It's all about sailing with your reflexes. The top three quickly find a solution when they're in a bad situation. We, like Ben Ainslie's team, lack a bit of experience. However, in contrast to the English, we don't attack enough in the handling of the boat and in close tactics. We don't take enough risks'.
Franck Cammas' tactician for the past fifteen years, Tanguy Cariou, remains realistic though: 'We are doing battle with teams for whom the Extreme Sailing Series is objective number 1 for the season. For Franck, that isn't the case because he's also racing in the Nacra 17 circuit within the context of the Olympic preparation and also in the Tour de France à la Voile. In the medium term, this multiple programme will give him the edge, but in the short term it's more of a handicap. We lacked unity in the team and leadership too'.
So that's the score. We now have to share the lessons we've learned and take them into account for 2015, which promises to be very busy again, even though Groupama sailing team won't be present on the Extreme Sailing Series circuit.
Overall ranking in the eighth event of the season in Sydney
1/ Alinghi with 189 points
2/ The Wave with 177 points
3/ Realteam with 168 points
4/ Oman Air with 157 points
5/ BAR with 156 points
6/ Red Bull with 151 points
7/ SAP Air with 145 points
8/ Gazprom with 143 points
9/ Groupama Pindar with 124 points
10/ GAC with 90 points
Overall ranking for the 2015 season
1/ Alinghi with 85 points
2/ The Wave with 75 points
3/ Realteam with 61 points
4/ Emirates with 49 points
5/ J.P. Morgan with 49 points
6/ Red Bull with 40 points
7/ Oman Air with 38 points
8/ SAP with 36 points
9/ Team Russia Pindar with 30 points
10/ Groupama with 26 points
11/ GAC Pindar with 13 Event website
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