XXVI Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse
Photographic Assignment for the Yacht Club de Monaco
Montecarlo, February 4-7, 2010.
Photographs from Stefano Gattini and Bruno Cocozza.
Press release from the Yacht Club de Monaco, pages edited by Peter Andrews.
Notes for visually impaired users. Carlo Borlenghi's Website: www.carloborlenghi.com Contributors to outimage.net Carlo Borlenghi Stefano Gattini David Clifford Michael McCoy Peter Andrews Nishess Shakya David Lawson Recent yachting and boating events covered by Outimage Publications Rolex China Sea Race 2010. Alinghi, defender of the 33rd America’s Cup Photos by Carlo Borlenghi. Rolex Sydney Hobart 2009. China Cup 2009 by Carlo Borlenghi. Rolex Middle Sea Race 2009. Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2009. Rolex Fastnet Race 2009. The Club Marine Brisbane to Keppel Yacht Race 2009. Audi Sydney to Gold Coast Yacht Race 2009. Audi Winter Series Sydney Harbour 2009. RORC Caribbean 600 Antigua February 23-25, 2009. Photographs by Carlo Borlenghi and Stefano Gattini. Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009. 61st Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race 2009. Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race 2009. XXV Primo Cup Trophée Credit Suisse Montecarlo, Feb 5-15, 2009. Photographs by Carlo Borlenghi. Louis Vuitton Pacific Series Auckland New Zealand, Jan 24 - Feb 14, 2009. Photographs by Stefano Gattini.	A very intense 26th Primo Cup Sunday February 14, 2010. "That was tactically very exhausting!". The words of Nicolas Bérenger, big winner in the Longtze Premier category for the second year in a row, best describes the challenges faced by competitors in the 26th Primo Cup-Trophée Credit Suisse. After last weekend’s first round, which drew four one-designs (Dragon, Smeralda 888, Melges 20 and Esse 850), the bay of Monaco was again bustling with activity, colour and surprises, from Thursday’s snow blizzard to the offshore race on Friday through to the pleasant winter sunshine of the closing day. For this second weekend there were six series: Longtze Premier, Melges 32, Farr 30, Platu 25, J24 and the Surprises who were competing in their Europa Cup. Montecarlo, 4/7-02-2010, XXV Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse. Photo © Stefano Gattini / Yacht Club de Monaco www.carloborlenghi.com. Once again the Primo Cup-Trophée Credit Suisse confirmed its reputation as a demanding and top quality event for the 900 sailors (17 nationalities) who converge at the start of every season from across the world. With their boats already loaded onto the trailers, competitors gathered at the end of the afternoon for the traditional prize-giving with Bernard d’Alessandri, Secretary General of the Yacht Club de Monaco as master of ceremonies. The first three teams in each category all received clothing from the Advanced Technology Sportswear line of equipment manufacturer and event partner, Slam. The winning Surprise, Va... Rhum of Eric Monnin, was presented with the second Hublot Chronograph, one having gone to the first of the Dragons last weekend. The coveted gold ingot offered by Credit Suisse in a lucky draw was won by Gérard Garros who was racing on the J24 (Blue Eagle). Montecarlo, 4/7-02-2010, XXV Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse. Photo © Stefano Gattini / Yacht Club de Monaco www.carloborlenghi.com. Swiss Eric Monnin takes first place in the Europa Cup! Forty-one Surprise teams from five nations were in the Principality this week to race in their own Europa Cup as part of the Primo Cup-Trophée Credit Suisse. It was a chance for the Yacht Club de Monaco to pay tribute to this series which has been loyal to the Primo Cup for over 20 years now. A firm favourite and speciality with the Swiss (they have more than 400 of these attractive Joubert designed boats) it seems there was to be no escape from Geneva Lake for the title which went to match race specialist Eric Monnin. He showed impressive consistency throughout the seven races and clinched the trophy on his Va... Rhum. He resisted the storming return of Toulon’s Patrick Fiol (Zig Zag) who was particularly inspired in Sunday’s devious wind. The French completed a podium dominated by the Swiss as it was Jérôme Clerc (CER I Aéroport de Genève) from Geneva, in the lead for a long time, who took second place. The Surprise races produced some fierce clashes, notably in Saturday’s complex swell, with a veritable festival of general recalls and races competed under the black flag rule, so symptomatic of the fighting spirit that drives these crews. Olympic ends Dunkirk dominance The year 2009 was one for the Chti’s, and not just in the cinema, as in sailing it has been the Dunkirk team of Daniel Souben who left their mark on the Farr 30 class, winning all the events in the calendar including the Tour de France. Fabien Henry’s team from Hyères on Olympic finally broke the northerners run of success in Monaco, clinching the title on a knife edge after seven tightly fought races. With Bernard Mallaret (Tendrisse) as referee, the duel between the two main protagonists in the next Tour de France à la Voile was nail-biting at times in the light, unpredictable winds of Monaco which change direction at the drop of a hat upsetting even the most carefully thought out strategy. "There was a lot of stress on board because the slightest mistake could have cost us dearly," Henry admitted. "By winning the first race in the morning, Daniel Souben, the Dunkirk skipper, had come within a point of winning overall. So it was the very last race which decided it in the end. We had managed to leave from the middle of the start line with a fresh breeze. Maintaining our lead was a matter of keeping our cool." Snow in Montecarlo, 11/02/10, XXV Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse. Photo © Bruno Cocozza / Yacht Club de Monaco www.carloborlenghi.com. Melges 32s put on a show Fast, elegant and floaty, the Melges 32 were the one-design series that had no problem coping with the changeable conditions in Monaco. Here for their first regatta of the year, the American world championship team led by Pieter Taselaar took a little time to find their feet and make their mark. Although they lost their first three races, the champions were quick to correct their errors and to finish this Primo Cup-Trophée Credit Suisse in fine style with three victories in the last three races. "We have sailed very little in the last few months," confessed Pieter Taselaar who was clearly delighted with the week in Monaco. "All our crew were at the same point in terms of development and we saw that during the races, the instinctive, automatic reactions returned very quickly." It was a little too late however to catch up with the talented young Italian Luca Lalli, who grabbed first place in his B Linsailing.com. The nine Melges 32s proved to be a very homogenous class, racing neck and neck round the marks and providing a great spectacle in well organised boats and with crews who were concentrating to the full. It was another Italian, Edoardo Lupi (Torpyone) who took third place in this high performance, professional and spectacular class. Happy Birthday Eckhard! Earning a well-deserved second place in the Longtze class, behind the untouchable Nicolas Bérenger (Un maillot pour la vie), the German Eckhard Kaller (wetfeet.com) celebrated his birthday on the Sunday by winning the day’s two races. He remains the most threatening of Bérenger’s rivals in this colourful series that is growing fast. Fifteen of them delighted spectators with a spectacle of how these boats can fly, their shinning hulls surfing the swell and their battened sails whipping round in the gybes like a Class America. Laurent Berjon and his crew from the HEC-Ecole navale with skipper Stéphane Christidis took third place, and also pose a threat to the dominance of the superb Nicolas Bérenger in the future. Montecarlo, 12/02/10, XXVI Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse. Photo © Bruno Cocozza / Yacht Club de Monaco www.carloborlenghi.com. J/24: Monaco’s sovereigns With 18 J/24s on the water, this Johnstone design series was one of the biggest and most consistent in this 26th Primo Cup-Trophée Credit Suisse. The Monegasques Blandine Medecin were unstoppable on their territory, a fourth place being their worst result and winning four of the seven races validated. The Italian Claudio Buiati (J Di Quadri) came in second overall, and another Monegasque, Pierrick Devic (Miaou) took third. Platu 25: A German among the Spanish The series may be hugely popular in Spain where the next championships will be held (Alicante, July 2010), but it was a German who came out on top in Monaco in the Platu 25 series. Faced with the Spanish specialists but also the Swiss and Italians, Jens Ahlgrimm (Farr Bar) only showed his limitations in Sunday’s races. But his total domination from the Friday onwards gave him a comfortable lead which allowed him to take a relaxed approach to the swell that day. The Italian Gianrocco Catalano (Nanuck) was the one to benefit from this slackening of pace to take third overall behind the consistent Pepe Lis Santos (Xacobeo 2010) who was delighted to have had the chance for some intense preparation in Monaco, which he hopes will take him to the top in the world championships in Alicante. Photo Page Links. Photo Page 1. Photo Page 2. Photo Page 3. Photo Page 4. Visit www.carloborlenghi.com for more information about the photography of Carlo Borlenghi, Stefano Gattini and Bruno Cocozza. Visit http://www.primocup-ycm.org/ for more information about the XXVIth Primo Cup - Trophée Credit Suisse and the Yacht Club de Monaco. Scuttlebutt Europe Daily News Feed. 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