TF35 Mies Grand Prix - Day 1
by TF35 Trophy 7 Jun 12:11 AEST
6-8 June 2025
Day one of the TF35 Mies Grand Prix on Lake Geneva saw six-cutting edge foiling catamarans transition from becalmed to racing in a steady 11-knot breeze, completing two fast-paced races.
After a lengthy delay ashore, racing finally got under way at 17:15. ZEN Too got off to a strong start, heading towards the pin end of the line, while Sails for Change 8 navigated the dirty wind, just managing to squeeze in before the pin. The two boats raced closely up to the windward mark, where Sails for Change 8 inched ahead of the pack. Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier made notable gains on the left side of the course, moving ahead of ZEN Too and chasing down leaders, Sails for Change 8.
On the final leg, Ylliam XII chose a different tack from the rest of the fleet, which nearly paid off, but not quite, having to duck below Sails for Change 8 just before rounding the final windward mark. The positions held to the finish: Yann Guichard's Sails for Change 8 took the win, followed by Ylliam XII in second, and X-Wing edging out ZEN Too for third just meters from the finish line.
In Race 2, Sails for Change 8 chose to start at the pin end once again, but this time ZEN Too pulled ahead to round the windward gate in first place, closely followed by Ylliam XII in second. The racing remained tight, with several position changes keeping tensions high. As the boats approached the final windward gate, Sails for Change 8 moved from fourth to first, taking advantage of the right-hand gate and extending their lead in the final run to the finish.
"The wait was long, and usually, we have little gusts that give us some hope, but this time it was completely calm for quite a while. We had a good start in the first race, positioning ourselves well, which allowed us to round the top mark effectively and maintain our lead for the rest of the race. In contrast, the second race didn't go as planned; we ended up heading left when we wanted to put weight on the right side. However, we managed to get back into the race," said Noé Delpech, tactician of Sail for Change 8.
As the day concluded, the overnight standings showed Yann Guichard's Sails for Change 8 leading with two points, followed by Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier with five points. Guy de Picciotto's ZEN Too is just a point behind with six. X-WING and Sails of Change 10 are tied at nine points, while Ylliam 17 sits in sixth with 11 points.
Racing continues tomorrow with the Genève-Rolle-Genève race, with the warning signal scheduled for 13:25. Stay tuned for live race updates.
"Overall, we focused on navigating technically well, and I think that was the strong point of the day. We are quite pleased to have won both races, especially the last one, which started off poorly for us." - Noé Delpech, tactician of Sail for Change 8
Race results available here.