Written by FFvoile
49er and FX Fleets
Sweden’s Vilma Bobeck & Ebba Berntsson mastered the conditions best, winning the first two races and finishing second in the last to jump into third and open a gap on those behind.
Australia’s Laura Harding and Annie Wilmot continued their march up the leaderboard, hopping over Italy’s Sofia Giunchiglia & Giulia Schio, who could only finish nineteenth in the last race, but stayed second overall.
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As all others struggled, consistent excellence also rewarded France’s Erwan Fischer & Clément Péquin with the lead after they finished 3, 1, 2 in their three races to move ahead of Ireland’s Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove.
Erwan Fisdher & Clément Péquin (FRA)
“We had three races in conditions between 16 and 18 knots, with quite a bit of chop. We’re really happy with how we sailed. Tomorrow, the final day of the qualifying rounds, the conditions will be very different again with a southwesterly wind, so we’ll have to adapt. The idea is to maintain a good mood, get good starts, and continue working on communication and the mental aspects. Winning a medal here is a goal. We love the Hyères sailing area; the wind is constantly changing, it’s really great. We’re determined to perform well here. The World Championships are in three weeks, the 49er fleet is strong, and the level of competition is exceptional. We know it won’t be easy to win a medal. But we have the opportunity, and we’re going to give it our all.”
© Sailing Energy / French Olympic Week Hyères – TPM
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Nacra Fleet
Another 80% day for Nacra 17 on the Charlie course, one of the furthest out and in the biggest competitions. The wind was dropping from the peak by the time they raced on Wednesday, but increasing today, and every 30 seconds the choppy sea state threw up 2-3 metres cross waves. It was powerful and technical, the crews could attack, but only if they could keep the bows and platform under control. It was a test even for the best.
Tita & Banti’s (ITA) broken spinnaker pole in the second of three races has thrown the class wide open. They had been the dominant force, and If they can make a satisfactory repair overnight they will try to storm back tomorrow, but in their absence the top three took the opportunity to put some distance between them. Their compatriots, Gianluigi Ugolini and Maria Giubilei, took the overall lead after two impressive second place finishes in the last two races, ahead of the Argentinians Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco, and the French duo Tim Mourniac and Aloïse Retornaz, who won the last race. The French beat the Italian leaders after battling the whole way round the race 3 course, then the French were ruled over the line at the start, but that was overturned on appeal. On such fine margins are champion boats broken, races won and titles decided.
© Sailing Energy / French Olympic Week Hyères – TPM
© Sailing Energy / French Olympic Week Hyères – TPM
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Caterina Banti (ITA)
During the second race we broke the spinnaker pole. We tried to replace it for the third race but we didn’t have time. We nosedived and just broke the pole – it can happen. There is some work to do (on the boat)!
Gianluigi Ugolini & Maria Giubilei (ITA)
GU: We were not sure if we were OCS on the last one. They (the French) finished first, but they were out (over the line at the start).
It’s the first event after a long time, we are happy with our winter training and we are trying to apply all we learned this winter – and it’s working out!
We are really fast in a lot of different conditions and we are managing to do a good race.
MG: Yes, the first two days, because the whole fleet was altogether on one course, it was not easy at the start (line). But then we managed to climb the ranking during the race, so it was good for us. still a lot of learnings for sure. And then the last two days, we had similar conditions because a lot of wind, big waves. so quite challenging and fun. I would say this regatta is a good one for testing all the things we want to test from the winter training. We’re pretty happy with it.
Our main goal is the worlds. So we are using this to be sure that everything is working so that we try to be ready.
GU: The level of the fleet has risen a lot. I think now you need to be happy with top five results now if you want to be on top because all the fleet is pretty fast, the top boats are really, very fast and really consistent and competitive.
[On how close they were to the maximum capacity of the boat in yesterday’s conditions]
GU: I think today was just as hard because the wind was dropping yesterday when we did our two races, and the wind and sea state was as big today at least – maybe harder.
MG: I think during training we also experienced worse!
But for sure it’s quite challenging, having those conditions.
[In terms of what the boat can handle, what percentage?]
GU: 80%. For sure, this boat lifts quickly with all the adjustable rudder and foils but it can handle this sea state. You need a lot of training because it’s not easy.
MG: You need to be confident in those conditions.
[What separates the top boats]
GU: The top group have the ability to look out of their boat (to what else is happening).
MG: To not only be focused on what you’re doing. You can have one person on the boat getting the boat going fast and the other focussing on the race. If you are taking your first steps , you have both sailors watching in the inside the boat. If you are more experienced and you sail more with this conditions, you’re able to have one person looking outside of the boat.
French Olympic Week schedule
Monday, April 20 to Friday, April 24: Qualifying series
Friday, April 24: iQFOiL & Formula Kite Medal Series
Saturday, April 25: ILCA, 49er, Nacra 17 & 470 Medal Races
Saturday, April 25: 5:00 PM – Prize giving & closing ceremony
Sailing’s Grand Slam Calendar
– Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels, Spain (27 March – 4 April)
– Semaine Olympique Française – TPM – Hyères, France (18-25 April)
– Dutch Water Week à Almere (30 may – 7 june)
– Kieler Woche – Kiel, Germany (20-28 june)
– Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta – Long Beach, USA (13 july – 7 august)
Contact presse
Soazig Gueho – 06 62 08 75 44 – presse@ffvoile.fr
