Sea, Sail & Surf news
Istanbul Europa Race
Guillermo Altadill wins leg 2 in Nice
"I’m happy with the work we did, and to have won this first leg"
lundi 7 septembre 2009 –
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The 1450 mile leg presented a number of challenges for Guillermo Altadill and Pachi Rivero’s team who had to contend with unstable conditions and at times very little wind, as well as sail against five of the most competitive IMOCA Imoca #IMOCA 60s in the world. The leg has provided its fair share of memorable battles,
“We have fought against them all,” said Rivero, “Foncia, Paprec-Virbac, Veolia in the Straits and also against Groupe Bel – and they were all head to head battles ! It is hugely satisfying to have got ahead each time. This morning Foncia had gained a few miles on us, and we knew it was going to be tough, but we also knew that the approach to the finish line was going to be complicated. We didn’t stop fighting for a second.”
The last head to head battle for victory with Michel Desjoyeaux’s Foncia took place in the very last few miles.
“In the end it was a good decision to stay high on leaving Corsica. That is where we managed to pass Foncia,” explained Altadill.
With only 15 miles to the finish the Spanish boat managed to slip away from the French team and open up a gap of four miles, and enough to finish the leg with a victory.
“I’m happy with the work we did,” said a satisfied Guillermo Altadill on arrival in the port, “and to have won this first leg. We had some pretty complicated situations and constant changes in the leader board. It was complicated but fun ! The level of crews in the fleet is incredibly high and the boats are all very even with similar performance, so the differences between us are minimal.”
After a number of position changes ; leading the fleet and slipping down again to fourth position in just two days, a tenacious Estrella Damm was able to climb back and win the leg,
“The Mediterranean is always complicated but this leg has been particularly difficult. Weather reports showed a radius of one hundred miles with practically every kind of wind imaginable, and each report showed a different situation. And when you have to cover your rivals as well, the chess game becomes even tougher,” explained the Barcelona-born skipper, “the key factor was that we never gave up. The team worked really hard right up to the very end, with perfect sail changes and the determination to win, and we have finally achieved it.”
Rivero describes the victory as “A huge satisfaction. Our fellow competitors are all great teams, and the same rivals we will have to face in the Transat Jacques Vabre Transat Jacques Vabre #TJV2015 , the round the world race and all the other competitions. We have done a great job, the whole team has been fantastic and worked really hard on sail changes and trimming every second necessary. Wouter’s (Verbraak) navigation was also excellent…everything has worked really well.”
Altadill seconds Rivero’s description of the great level of the crew made up by the two skippers alongside Dutch navigator Wouter Verbraak, Spaniard Antonio Cuervas-Mons and Antoine Mermod from France,
“We have a very good crew and although some of us are new to the class we have the experience of the America’s Cup America's Cup #AmericasCup , the Volvo Ocean Race and other round the world races. We are new to the class but not to offshore racing, and despite having sailed and trained very little time together we have worked incredibly well and made the right decisions at some key moments,” he said.
After an exceptional start to the competition, tomorrow Estrella Damm will compete in the Nice Trophy, a non-scoring coastal race which has no influence on the overall classification of the Istanbul Europa Race.
On Tuesday 8th September the fleet will line up for the start of Leg Two from Nice to Barcelona, an important leg for Estrella Damm who will be looking for a good result into home waters,
“After all we have done here, we now have a moral obligation to achieve the same at home,” admitted Altadill.
Similarly Rivero commented,
“If we can do the same in Barcelona, our home, and the home of our sponsor, it would be fantastic. We owe everything to Estrella Damm ; we are here thanks to them and it would be wonderful to dedicate a victory to them in Barcelona.”
Press info www.estrelladammsailingteam.es
Race site : www.istanbuleuroparace.com
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