Best and worst memories for China Team

by China Team on 13 May 2007
For seven teams including China Team, the 32nd America´s Cup has become history last Wednesday. It is already time for taking stock of recollections or memories (good and bad) in this campaign with small tour on the dock to get reactions.

Hubert Lemonnier, interpreter and translator: 'My best memory, is when I was the 'sewer man' for 4 days and the worst, it is today because it is the end of a story.'

Emmanuel Alban, structural engineer: 'My best, the first time sailing, the not so pleasant, when we had the problems with the keel and the deck.'

Willy, lead chef: 'To participate in the life of a close team and a few nights at the Estrella Dam are some of my best memories. The not so good; returning late at night with the work starting very early for me in the kitchen in the morning.'

Wearn Haw Tan, sailor: 'I love the daily routine of a team, the life of a group, the 'team spirit' which starts with morning sports, then preparing the boat for sailing, the day’s race and returning to the base all together. It is something fantastic, which has been a big event in my life. The worst moment is today, when it all stops.'

Sylvain Barielle, sailor: 'The day that Chenqi LIU got on board, ( the youngest Chinese sailor at 19yrs) was fantastic, for him it was a big moment in his life which he passed onto all of us with the look of joy on his face. Otherwise, where there any bad memories? A few times getting up in the morning…'

Gilles Andre, sailor: 'The last regatta, at times is my best and worst memory.'

Lionel Antognelli, construction coordinator: 'My best memory is launching the boat and the first sail outings; it was the culmination of quite a few months of work. My worst is when we had problems with the keel, which stopped us from finishing sailing in Round Robin 1.'

Guillaume Florent, sailor: 'The victory against Oracle was a big moment, and there was a super atmosphere in the team. The not so good, well, it is today because it is finishing. And even if it wasn’t always easy, it was a beautiful experience with super people.'

Lei Yang, translator and interpreter: 'My best moment was when my Chinese girlfriend came to live here in Valencia and work with the team. The worst moment, was getting the fruit juices Huiyuan through customs. Normally it takes 8 days but we had scheduled a press conference and Ivo negotiated like a mad man all morning.. We managed to get them at the end of 5 hours. It was the worst and the best souvenir because we arrived with the orange juice 5 minutes before the start of the press conference with the president of Huiyuan, I was happy, and frankly, it was a crazy history'.

Ivo Marconi, hospitality manager: 'The victory over Oracle, of course, remains my best memory but the worst as well because it just happened to be the day that I wasn‘t on the base, I had been in Taragona for a few hours and I missed the party!'

Maryelle Bordessoulle, administrative and financial director: 'The bad memories, I don't really have any, I forget them. My best was in Trapani, otherwise, for me, the memories are a series of moments, globally... I have overall feeling about this Cup, I feel good, that’s all.'

Caroline Calvet, sail technician: 'My best souvenirs, are the Acts, the smiles coming from the sailors when they came back at night, and certain people on the team. The worst was moving to the new base before the races and the dusty conditions we had just up until April'.

Thierry Barot, sailor: 'My best memory? The victory over Oracle, of course. The worst? Our defeat against the Germans in Malmo because we had a superb contact match and after an error at the windward mark we lost by a boat length at the finish line. During that day, our young sailors understood what match racing was all about.'

Luc Gellusseau, chief operations manager: 'Chengqi Liu’s indescribable joy when we told him he could sail on board. For someone who had been in China only six month ago, it is incredible isn’t it? Otherwise, I don’t really have a bad recollection, everything which has happened to us, the keel problems, and the performance was normal.'

Pierre Mas, skipper helmsman: 'I hold on to excellent memories of the 10 days we spent in Xiamen, because we had a group of Chinese sailors who really wanted to develop sailing in China. They welcomed us so openly during those 10 days of sailing, for me, I felt that it was the true dimension of our project. By far the worst was when the boat broke and we had problems with the keel.'

Jeremy Koo, sailor: 'It wasn't planned that I would be sailing, so when I had the opportunity to get on board, it was fantastic. The worst souvenir was when Mickael Mergui broke his finger onboard'.

Gilles Andre, sailor: 'The last regatta, at times is my best and worst memory.'

Ming Feng Tang, sailor: 'My best memory was the feeling of victory when we won. My worst was the chronic lack of sleep during the last 3 months'.

'Jue wang, sailor: 'Daily, my biggest joy was in the morning when I saw my name on the list of sailors for the day. My worst, is when I didn’t see my name on the list and I had to stay on shore'.

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