Artemis and Caixa tied

As the TP52s go into thier final regatta of the Breitling MedCup in Hyeres

Monday September 10th 2007, Author: Vicky Low, Location: France
The late afternoon Mediterranean sunshine bathes Hyères in a warm glow as the 15 boat Breitling MedCup TP52 fleet makes final preparations for the Hyères Trophy.

An evening promenade along the dockside wall of a venue well used to top level regattas may today paint a picture of regular activity, but on Tuesday the famous French Olympic regatta waters plays host to the ‘denouement’ of the Breitling MedCup TP52 circuit as the season’s fifth and final regatta begins in earnest.

At the top of the leaderboard Rusell Coutts and the crew of Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Swedish flagged Artemis are locked together with Vicente Tirado’s highly experienced CxG Corporacion Caixa Galicia team, sharing 173 points apiece.

A closer match for the season’s finale could not have been ordered.

Fourth last year, and within touching distance of the podium, with their new boat this year, skipper Roberto Bermudez de Castro and the Caixa Galicia crew lead the circuit after winning Breitling Regatta, and only at the end of the Portugal Trophy two weeks ago did they relinquish their outright lead.

Caixa Galicia have sought out the help, as coach, of France’s 2005 Star World Champion Xavier Rohart, the World No 1 Star helm, who has sailed here with France’s Olympic teams most of his career and lives in the village of Martigues near Marseilles.

The circuit arrives in France for the first time ever to the expectation of a typical mix of weather.

Tuesday should see the remnants of some brisk Mistral conditions but there is the promise of some lighter conditions to provide a good all-round test for this critical event.

The planned programme for the regatta, which finishes Saturday, is for just one two-part coastal race, around the Porquerolles islands, lying off the Hyères. This is scheduled for Thursday, otherwise the itinerary is for a maximum of 11 windward-leeward races.

Hyères have pulled out all the stops to provide a great platform for the conclusion of the world’s premier fleet racing circuit.

“We wanted to see this great fleet of boats come to Hyères which is a spectacular area for sailing," explained Edmond Bacci, Hyères’ Councillor for Nautisme. “We wanted to organise a great regatta here where there is a huge following for sailing, and a real passion for the sea.

“We were lucky to be invited to Alicante for the opening ceremony of this year’s circuit and as the class continues to evolve and develop and we have seen how important it is to Mediterranean destinations such as Alicante and Palma to be involved. We also wanted bring the TP52s to France, and to be the first French city to host a regatta. It will be fantastic to see this class evolving out on the water here in Hyeres, more used to Olympic sailing and dinghy classes.”

With a rich history as an Olympic regatta venue, there is no shortage of experience of the Hyères regatta waters spread among the fleet.

Balearia’s French double Olympic medallist Thierry Peponnet spent may years training here in the 470, but has bolstered Balearia's local expertise with the addition of Nicolas Charbonnier, former World Ranked 1 in the 470, Junior Match Racing World Champion, and double past 420 World Champion who was also with him at Areva Challenge.

“This was my home 20 years ago when I was sailing 470s when I was in the French team for the Olympics, so I used to know this place really well, so that is the reason I ask Nicolas Charbonnier to join us here. He can help us lot, knowing this area,” said Thierry Peponnet. “It is a really nice area to sail here, for sure, one of the best in France, and I think that the coastal race around the islands will be nice. What is certain is that we can sail in different conditions. We can have some Mistral, we can have some Mistral and then towards the end of the week some Easterly winds. Mistral direction maybe for Tuesday. I hope that we see some good winds so that everyone can see what a fantastic place this is.”

Peponnet continued: “It is difficult for us with a three year old boat, but I feel that a top eight finish is a reasonable target for us. But this is a great opportunity for France to see what a great circuit this is and what great boats these are, and so I hope this will help to build the knowledge in France."

Charbonnier commented: “I have never sailed the TP52 before today, but I sailed with Thierry on Areva Challenge, but I have sailed here a lot with the 470. We were lying second this year in the 470 class but had a protest on the final day.”

Bribon, who lie third on the overall standings, 20 points behind Artemis have recruited local sailmaker Jacques de Russo, who was also a former 470 sailor who campaigned for Los Angeles where Peponnet won Bronze and has sailed three America’s Cup campaigns for France with Marc Pajot and Bertrand Pace.

“I think we are in good shape," confirmed Bouwe Bekking, helmsman on Bribon. "The guys seemed to do a good job in Portimao without me. We are here to try and win the regatta but we are still in with a chance of the overall.“We have a little bit of a gap which in a way is good because I think we will see Caixa and Artemis getting involved with one another and we could be left to do our own thing. Anything could happen.”

Championship points after four regattas:
 
Pos Boat Skipper/owner Nat R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 Discards Tot
Alicante Portals Copa del Rey Portimao Hyeres 1 2
1 ARTEMIS   Torbjorn Torqnvist SWE   54 34 79 32 0 13 13 173
2 CxG CORPORACIÓN CAIXAGALICIA  Vicente Tirado ESP  58 24 73 44 0 13 13 173
3 BRIBON  Jose Cusi ESP  35 67 82 54 0 23 22 193
4 PATCHES  Eamon Conneely IRE  58 62 77 42 0 22 17 200
5 VALLE ROMANO - MEAN MACHINE  Peter de Ridder MON  43 81 98 17 0 19 16 204
6 SIEMENS  Alberto Roemmers A/E  62 59 55 61 0 16 14 207
7 MUTUA MADRILEÑA  Vasco Vascotto ESP  44 105 61 76 0 16 15 255
8 STAY CALM  Stuart Robinson GBR  94 78 81 58 0 23 21 267
9 BALEARIA  Adolfo Utor ESP  71 89 109 78 0 25 22 300
10 ANONIMO Q8  Riccardo Simoneschi ITA  64 87 130 81 0 19 17 326
11 CAM, CAJA MEDITERRÁNEO  Fernando Leon ESP  73 91 140 75 0 23 21 335
12 PLATOON  Harm Muller-Spreer GER  59 76 88 175 0 25 25 348
13 CRISTABELLA  John Cook GBR  77 109 136 69 0 23 20 348
14 ONO  Inaki Castaner ESP  74 99 167 71 0 25 22 364
15 BIGAMIST 6  Peedro Mendonca POR  106 120 126 91 0 21 19 403
16 RUSAL - Synergy  Alexey Nikolaev RUS  82 137 173 84 0 25 23 428
17 WINDQUEST  Doug de Vos USA  116 65 275 49 0 25 25 455
18 TAU CERAMICA-ANDALUCIA  Javier Banderas, Rafael Diaz ESP  130 148 178 104 0 21 21 518
19 GLORY  John Buchan USA  153 110 161 175 0 25 25 549
20 AIFOS  Jaime Rodriguez-Toubes ESP  125 161 184 126 0 23 22 551
21 C-QUADRAT - ASTRO  Rainer Wilhelm AUS  125 161 177 175 0 25 25 588
22 VALARS  Serguei Shevtsov RUS  142 171 203 131 0 24 23 600
23 BAMBAKOU  John Coumantaros USA  89 134 275 175 0 25 25 623
24 FRAM XVI  King Harald of Norway NOR  175 141 208 175 0 25 25 649

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