Change of pace in Nice today for these 8 races held in erratic winds. The award ceremony will take place at 6 PM at the podium in the Race Village near the Théâtre de Verdure.
While a strong breeze of 22-25 knots from the East dominated the first 14 races on Thursday and Friday, today’s 8 rounds of this penultimate day were held in light winds (maximum of 10 knots from the southeast).
Getting a good start, tracking any slight air flow, and avoiding being trapped by numerous shifts, the tacticians were heavily relied upon today.
After a lackluster start to the day, the 2012 title holders and current provisional overall leaders after 5 Acts, the Omanis, led by British skipper Leigh McMillan, ended the day with two victories and two second places, keeping them at the top of the rankings for this 7th Act in Nice.
The surprise today came in the late afternoon from a slight drop in momentum of the Swiss team Alinghi, which seemed to have lost the momentum from its good start to the day. However, Morgan Larson’s men retain their second place in the provisional French Act rankings but now have a 28-point deficit behind the leaders.
Ernesto Bertarelli’s men are also starting to feel threatened by the 3rd and 4th place teams in the provisional rankings of this 7th French Act, namely the Austrians of Red Bull and the Swiss of Realteam, whose boat is helmed by Rochelais Pierre Pennec, one of the most experienced sailors on the circuit, having won in Nice in 2011 and 2012 on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.
The team invited to Nice to represent France, the first club by ALL4ONE, held its own against its highly trained Extreme 40 competitors. Jean-Christophe Mourniac and his team were often at the forefront during the 8 races of the day, securing a 2nd place and two 3rd places
in their achievements.
As for the Chinese team, which has Frenchman Louis Viat on board, recent winner of the “Little America’s Cup” with Franck Cammas, they achieved a magnificent first victory in the Bay of Angels in the last race of the day. A remarkable performance for this team that made its debut in Cardiff a month ago.
