Ah, Monaco

Primo Cup racing for Stars, Dragons, Laser SB3s and J24s with pictures from Fi Brown

Two Irishmen came out top in their one-design classes as the first weekend of the 23rd Primo Cup–Trophée Credit Suisse kicked off the Mediterranean sailing season.

Michael Cotter in Whisper beat off 26 competitors in the Dragon class to take first prize, while Colin Galavan at the helm of Flash walked away with top honours in the Laser SB3 series, again out of 26. There was a remarkable triumph of three Swiss teams in the Surprise class, which was the largest fleet, with 37 entries. Thanks to three victorious races, Sky Sweeper, skippered by Olivier Legeret won a few points ahead of Philippe Durr and Alain Marchand, winner of the 2006 Primo Cup.

A brisk easterly breeze ended the first weekend of Monaco's Primo Cup which brought together some of the best sailors from 13 nationalities divided into five classes: Dragon, Star, Laser SB3, J24 and Surprise. The wind whistled up and down the Beaufort scale, giving the 122 sailors a chance to flaunt their talents in all types of weather. From the outset, this first half of the Primo Cup–Trophée Credit Suisse has set a high standard, not only in the level of competition but also in the weather conditions, mid-winter in Monaco where sponsor Slam clothing came into its own.

Even without looking ahead to next weekend's programme, for the Melges 24, Bénéteau 25, Mumm 30, First 40.7, Smeralda 888 and H22 classes, the 23rd edition is sure to go down in the Primo Cup's history - and that's in the opinion of the competitors themselves. A stable wind direction allowed the race committee set up the starting lines without having to change them, and to set courses of varying distances according to the conditions. Eight legs in total were held for this edition, programmed for the first time over four days to accommodate the Dragon and Laser SB3 classes.

In every class, first, second and third prizes were taken by sailors whose reputation goes before them, and some who are regulars on world and olympic podiums, such as Ulli Libor, 2nd in the Dragon class, the Swiss Philippe Durr, 2nd in the Surprise category, or the Irishman Michael Cotter, winner of the Dragons. In the Star series, Régis Bérenguier finished second behind the Ukranian Gureyev who created the sensation of the week by completely dominating this prestigious class. In the Laser SB3, Xavier Leclair on Marçon Yachting clinched third place and in the J24s it was the Monaco yacht of Blandine Médecin, led by the Rodelato brothers, which beat off the competition.




The second part of the Primo Cup–Trophée Credit Suisse begins on February 9th and promises to be just as passionately fought out as the first. A number of personalities are expected: Dimitri Deruelle, Jimmy Pahun, the Italian Nicola Celon, world champion in the Melges 24 class, also New Zealander Hamish Pepper, world champion in the Farr 40 2005, on board the Italian Mumm 30, Matrix. The numbers of foreign team will be high again too with entries from USA, Spain (Bribon the Bénéteau 25), Russian and Croatia.

Thursday offered ideal conditions for competitors from colder northern climes. Beautiful sunshine and a steady 10 knot wind was the order of the day for the SB3 and Dragons in their first races.

The Star, Surprise and J24 took to the water on Friday in much more variable conditions, favouring those tacticians with nerves of steel and the perfectionists. The Dragons and Laser SB3s battled it out with two races, while the Stars, Surprises and J24s only managed one. Conditions the following day enabled them to quench their thirst for regattas and the provisional ranking after the first two days gave a clear enough idea of the strength of competition, particularly among the Dragons and the Stars.

Thierry Leret, President of the race committee, found Friday's conditions ideal to satisfy his appetite for regattas. A south westerly wind gradually got up, allowing the first departures to go off in 7 knots of wind and on a flat sea. The following hours saw the Stars and J24s complete five races , the Dragons, Lasers and Surprises managing four. It was a challenging day in light airs that truly tested the skills, constancy and determination of the participants.

The icing on the cake was the morning that the wind swung round to an easterly at 20 knots, whipping up the sea sometimes by a meter. Equipment suffered a little, and some crew members on the Lasers took their first swim in the sea of the year, and others were forced to retire. It was a beautiful sight, with spinakers flying even though it was not really advisable, but the Lasers demonstrated their enormous potential.

Final ranking:

Dragon (26 particpants) – 10 legs – 8 counted to final result
1 Whisper (Michael Cotter) 26 pts IRL
2 Gaudium (Ulli Libor) 27 pts SUI
3 Justine (Jesper Bendix) 34 pts DEN

Laser SB3 (26 participants) - 10 legs – 8 counted
1 Flash (Colin Galavan) 33 pts IRL
2 Risk Premium (Mark Rushall) 38 pts GBR
3 Marçon Yachting (Xavier Leclair) 43 pts FRA (Martigues)

Surprise (37 participants) - 8 legs – 6 counted
1 Sky Sweeper (Olivier Legeret) 19 pts SUI
2 Fou du Vent (Philippe Durr) 27 pts SUI
3 St Jacques (Alain Marchand) 29 pts SUI

J24 (18 participants) - 8 legs – 6 counted
1 Topo Too (Blandine Medecin) 8 pts MON
2 J Di Quadri (Claudio Buiatti) 12 pts ITA
3 Quick Step (Rydlöf Hahan) 16 pts USA

Star (15 participants - 8 legs – 6 counted
1 Arctur (Vasil Gureyev) 8 pts UKR
2 Etoile de Mai II (Régis Bérenguier) 14 pts FRA (Hyères)
3 Dr Evil (Graham Bailey) 17 pts GBR