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Giraglia
Rolex Cup 2008 Société Nautiqe de Saint-Tropez France Yacht Club Italiano Genova Italy June 8 - 14, 2008. |
Photos By Kurt Arrigo and Daniel Forster for Rolex.
Edited by Peter Andrews.
Edited by Peter Andrews.
June
10, 2008.
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Claire Leroy is one of the most accomplished sailors in the world. The reigning ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year, she has won the past two Women’s World Match Racing Championships. But when she took up an invite to race at the Giraglia Rolex Cup in St Tropez, the talented 28-year-old felt like a fish out of water.
She rarely races in boats bigger than 30 feet long, with three or four crew at her command, engaged in the frenetic duel of one-on-one match racing. |
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This is sailing’s equivalent of a boxing match. Her visit to St Tropez showed her a very different, rather more relaxed side of the sport. She came to sail as one of the crew aboard the luxurious 94-foot Wally, Open
Season, in a handicap fleet of yachts ranging from 38 to 100 feet.
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“I’ve never been to St Tropez before, so I was pleased to accept Rolex’s invitation,” said Leroy.
“Sailing on Open Season, it was very new for me. Everything is so big, and the loads are enormous. But there is a lot of push-button technology and electronics to control the sails, so you don’t need a lot of muscles, you need to know which button to press.” |
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Leroy travels the world to compete in match racing events, but never in the same boat.
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“In match racing we compete in identical boats, provided by the organisation. We have a draw for boats every day, and you don’t have the chance to change things, because you swap boats after every fourth match.“ “It’s completely different to the style of racing in big boats. The difference is in the crew and team, not the equipment.“ “On big boats like Open Season, there is a lot of development to find the best speed, in the sails and equipment on the boat. This is all new to me.” |
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Sailing on the Gulf of St Tropez, with many minutes of gentle sailing between one manoeuvre and the next, the pace of life on board Open
Season is a good deal less frenetic than the flurry of activity that typifies a close match race. However, Leroy has a lot of respect for the standard of sailing on board Open
Season and the other Maxis at the Giraglia Rolex Cup. |
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Because of the time it takes for one of these huge boats to accelerate, Maxis cannot afford to tack every 30 seconds, but this does mean that when you make a decision, it had better be the right one, and at the right time. Which is why sailors of Jochen Schuemann’s calibre are in demand. A three-time Olympic Champion and two-time America’s Cup winner, the German legend calls the tactics on board Open
Season. |
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“Unfortunately I was sitting further along the boat, so I couldn’t hear
what Jochen was saying,” said Leroy. “But I would like to come back and learn more about this type of sailing. I am used to races where if you cross the line first, you know you are the winner. In handicap racing, you are racing against the clock. Where you finish across the line is not important, it’s how you perform relative to the other boats in terms of time.“ “For me it is very complicated, but one day I will come back to learn more about this kind of sailing. It would be nice if women could compete in the America’s Cup, so I need to build up experience if this is going to happen.” |
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Outimage and Rolex © 2008 |
For more information
about the Giraglia Rolex Cup 2008, including the entry list, please
visit: |
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