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2008/04/11 - 18h56
| In Lorient, Brittany since 31st March, the BMW Oracle team have just completed a 10 day sailing session aboard Franck Cammas'
Groupama 2 trimaran this Friday. During this training period a dozen Anglo-Saxon racers were able to discover the pleasures
of sailing, which were as intense as they were enthralling. Their main aim is to win the 33rd edition of the America's Cup,
which will be contested in multihulls.
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"It was great for all of us to sail on a large boat and make good progress in our multihull sailing skills. The Groupama
team knows the boat like the back of their hand. We sailed in all kinds of conditions, from light wind with flat seas to breezy
conditions with big seas and it was fantastic to see that Groupama 2 always performed well" commented James Spithill,
helmsman on BMW Oracle sailing team.
After an initial week spent on our own so as to learn how to sail a multihull,
Groupama 2 did battle with the Banque Populaire IV trimaran for three days: "We worked a great deal on the starts as
well as the manoeuvres on some short courses. We learnt more than we'd hoped" said tactician John Kostecki. "We
saw that we still had a lot to learn if we want to be ready to race later this year".
As regards Groupama,
Franck Cammas couldn't disguise his satisfaction: "The past two weeks have been very intense with the programme respected
to the letter. A dozen crew sailed aboard, and though some adapted to it better than others, they were all extremely professional.
They have doubtless learnt a great deal, as have we, particularly as regards the analysis of the performances".
As
to whether or not multihulls are adapted to match-racing, Franck Cammas replies: "The start phases are certainly different
but, as regards the rest, it's a fairly similar process: to get ahead and then control your adversary".
Accompanied
by Bruno Laurent, Thierry Fouchier and Jean-Baptiste Levaillant, the skipper of Groupama particularly appreciated this assignment:
"I was really keen to sail on Groupama 2 again. Our programme is fairly limited this year with the SNSM Trophy in June and
the Transat Quebec St Malo in July. But then, as the sailors of BMW Oracle say, these are fabulous boats".
The
Cup guys are returning to Valencia in Spain, while Franck Cammas and his team are now setting their sights to the west where
Groupama 3 is currently powering towards them on the deck of a cargo ship which has just adopted the Panama Canal: "In
around two weeks, she will be unloaded and will make for the Multiplast yard in Vannes to undergo repairs. The aim then, if
all goes well, is a second attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy next winter".
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