2015 Nacra 17 World Championship – Grand finale for Groupama duo

by Groupama sailing team on 5 Jul 2015 There's no point burying one's head in the sand: the World Nacra 17 Championship is indeed the grand finale of the Olympic season 2015 for Franck Cammas and Sophie de Turckheim. Having arrived in Aarhus, Denmark some seven days ago, the Groupama duo will do battle with the elite of the series with a year to go until the Rio Games. Suffice to say that the stakes are high.

Ten days after announcing the creation of Groupama Team France for the America's Cup 2017, Franck Cammas is continuing with his other challenge, the purpose of which remains the same: to race against the world's elite so as to develop the automatic reflexes and the sensations he will need at the helm of the flying catamaran.

Competing for the third year in this Olympic preparation with his crew Sophie de Turckheim, the skipper of Groupama is constantly progressing and is now a familiar face in the world's top ten. The performance in itself is already outstanding for a sailor with an offshore racing background.

However, this will not be enough if he doesn't manage to outpace the series' leader, reigning world doubles champions: French sailors Besson and Riou.
Dominating the series and always very quick across the water, they've displayed very few weaknesses over the past three years: 'We did a training race in breezy conditions this week. Besson was going really well,' says Franck Cammas.

For their part, Franck and Sophie aren't wasting any time: 'We've been putting in some good training on a fairly typical race zone. It's a bit like racing on a lake given the number of islets. When the wind is light, there are significant variations. You have to be tactically skilful'.
The benefit of this environment: the sea is flat, which should make things easier for the crews given a strong wind: 'We're likely to have all the different wind conditions: very light airs, medium breeze as well as a strong breeze with 25 to 30 knots of wind. It's going to be tense'.

In terms of predicting the outcome, the skipper of Groupama is wary: 'It's really hard to call. Out of the 68 entries, there are a good fifteen or so boats which stand a chance of winning. We're in with a shot, we have virtually no weaknesses, but the level of the fleet is very strong. The slightest mistake will cost dearly'.

Physically fit and mentally very happy having been successful in the search for a partner for the Cup project thanks to Groupama, the group's skipper is in the right frame of mind to tackle this championship. The challenge remains to dislodge Besson and Riou: 'It's going to be difficult as they really make very few errors, but we'll see. In any case, we'll do the best we can,' concludes Cammas.

Racing starts on Sunday at 11:00 am in two fleets of 34 boats. From Tuesday, it's the gold and silver round and then the Medal Race for the top ten on Thursday 9 July.