Reefs and storm jibs

iShares Cup Extreme 40s knuckle down for Mistral winds in Hyeres

The iShares Cup fleet of now up to 11 Extreme 40s are readying themselves for Round 2 of the Extreme 40 Sailing Series in Hyères.

An early indication of how testing the French leg of the circuit might be came yesterday, when Holmatro suddenly capsized while training in around 25 knots. Crewmember Mischa Heemskerk recounts what happened: "We were sailing with two reefs in the main so the boat was pretty under control, but we went for a bearaway, dug the nose in and the rudders came out of the water. Andreas [Hagara, helmsman] knew what was happening because he'd lost the steering, and I knew what was happening so I held on, but the other guys didn't."

Bowman Gerd Habermuller was sent flying into the water, hitting the boat on the way down. He was taken to hospital nearby for treatment, but released later the same evening, and will be replaced by Ed van Lierde for the rest of the regatta.

Things calmed down a little for today's informal races and media day, giving French singlehanded round the world sailor Francis Joyon a chance to join the Extreme 40s for the first time. "It was a really great day! I discovered a new boat, learn how to steer it, how to allow it to fly. It's powerful and fast, exactly what I like!" he enthused.

The round the world legend sailed on board iShares during training in the morning, before taking part in some informal races in the afternoon. "This afternoon was more serious with three races on three different boat. Shirley Robertson allowed me to be a crew in the second race so I really discovered the pressure during a race," said Joyon.

In the three races Team Aqua scored two firsts to win the practice day, with Alinghi second overall and Holmatro third - bolstering predictions that the racing for this second event could throw the form wide open. JPMorgan Asset Management, which won the first event of the iShares Cup Sailing Series in Lugano, finished the day in fourth overall.

There will be more French interest to come on board iShares for the rest of the event, when multihull ace Fred le Peutrec joins the crew. Le Peutrec is downsizing from his most recent ride, the 105ft Groupama 3, which he helmed on their Jules Verne round the world attempt last year. He will enjoying his first taste of iShares Cup racing: "My first impressions are that the class is very well organised and very professional. I've met most of the guys onboard before so am very happy to see them again. The first thing with the monotype [one-design] is that it will be very close boat-by-boat racing so I'm really impressed.

"I'm getting a good feel for the boat. It's very powerful especially in winds like we had yesterday, we were very close to sailing on one bow most of the time! So it could be an impressive spectacle."

Le Peutrec is looking forward to being part of the crew for the second event of the series, where he hopes to bring a little local knowledge to the team. "I'm going to be tactician and mainsheet trimmer. I spent 10 years on the Olympic sailing team on Tornados so I used to sail here a long time for the Olympic series, and training also in winter time, because in Brittany it's a bit hard sometimes so we came here a lot. I'm really happy to be here again."

USA team Tommy Hilfiger is back in the Extreme 40 fold. While yesterday was also a chance to see the new French team, Eric Maris' Twins, on the water for the first time. But will the local teams have an advantage reading the breeze in the Bay of Hyères? Or will the crews with best boat handling skills cope with the conditions?

"Hyeres will undoubtedly be interesting weather-wise," explained Alan Hillman, Race Director for the iShares Cup. "If we get a full blown Mistral the crews will have a bit on for sure! With the race track positioned as it is right against the harbour wall no matter what weather we get the crews will find it a challenging obstruction and the spectators will find it the prefect viewing platform."

For the first day of racing tomorrow Friday, 13 June around 20-25 knots of breeze is forecast from the northwest, so the teams are preparing for a day of racing in the Mistral wind - mainsails are having reefing points put in to allow the crews to reduce sail area, and several teams are getting in some last minute practice with the small storm jibs. Six races are scheduled tomorrow afternoon, starting at 2pm local time.