C-Class Catamaran Championship at Restronguet Sailing Club - Day 2

Day 2 at the C-Class Catamaran Championship © Tom Gruitt / www.tom-gruitt.co.uk

Day 2 at the C-Class Catamaran Championship © Tom Gruitt / www.tom-gruitt.co.uk

Day 2 at the C-Class Catamaran Championship © Tom Gruitt / www.tom-gruitt.co.uk

Under steely grey skies and howling winds on Monday, Franck Cammas and Louis Viat on Groupama C dominated the fleet on the first full day of racing for the 2013 International C-Class Catamaran Championship. More than half the fleet suffered damage of some kind, though most will return Tuesday stronger than before.

"It is not easy to start a regatta like this in so much wind, but we certainly enjoyed the day out there." said Cammas, who sailed to an easy three victories in three races while more than half the fleet returned to shore to tend their wounds and fight another day. As those boats struggled with wing and hull damage and their shore crews tended to their problems, Cammas and Viat made the 18-22 knot winds and lumpy, spectator-boat filled course look simple. "We luckily have some really good upwind speed on Groupama C in those conditions, so it makes the racing a bit easier when you can start with some advantage," Cammas explained.

Only one boat would challenge Cammas on Monday; Jeremie Lagarrigue and Billy Besson aboard Hydros I showed moments of blinding speed as they flew a meter above the water's surface to speeds of over 32 knots, nearly catching Cammas during race 2. "The boat was absolutely wild at those speeds, and we were definitely out of control at times!" said Besson. The Swiss team struggled with their upwind speed, but downwind, they came alive. "When designing these boats there are some important compromises to decide on," explained Lagarrigue, the team principal for the two-boat Hydros program. "We chose a foiling system that would allow us a higher top speed at the expense of some control – we need to continue to work on our competitiveness against Groupama clearly, but we're very happy with our downwind speed."

While Besson was able to keep the boat upright and sail to a strong second place on the day, team members Mischa Heemskerk and Bastian Tentij weren't so lucky aboard Hydros II. "I lost control of the rudder – perhaps due to ventilation -- and the boat rounded down into a gybe," explained Heemskerk. "I couldn't recover before capsizing thanks to a broken tiller extension." The boat was largely unscathed until the team began to flip it over, when the wing suffered extensive rib damage. Lagarrigue said his shore team will work all night to replace many of the carbon-fiber ribs forming the skeleton of the wing, and he hopes to see Heemskerk on the course Tuesday morning for up to five more races in lighter air.

Results after Day 2: (three races)

In a Class known as the ultimate test bed for the latest, leading-edge sailing technology, here's the damage report from Day 2.

• Team Cascais (Portugal): Forward beam. Unlikely to return.
• Canaan (Canada): Boom box, lower wing structure. Will be on course Tuesday
• Hydros II (Switzerland): Second element wing structure. Likely on course Tuesday
• Invictus (UK, host team): Forward beam. Likely on course Tuesday
• Cogito (USA): Second element wing structure. Likely on course Tuesday
• Aethon (USA): Second element wing structure. Unlikely on course Tuesday*

Day 2 at the C-Class Catamaran Championship - photo © Tom Gruitt / www.tom-gruitt.co.uk

More Information:

• The Event Website
• C-Class Facebook Page
• Little Cup Live Video @ UStream
• Live Tracking @ Sailracer
• HD video @ Vimeo
• C-Class Twitter Feed
• Hashtag: #LittleCup

Mixed start for Hydros (from Team Hydros)

The two Hydros crews representing Switzerland during the C-Class World Championship - technological lab welcoming some of the most famous international sailors -were finally able to race in Falmouth (U.K.). After a first day cancelled due to fog and capricious winds, the sailors could finally do the first races of the Little Cup next to the Restronguet Sailing Club today.

Once the fog gone, both Hydros C-Class Catamarans along with their eight competitors were finally able to go to the racing zone in the bay in a pretty strong wind between 16 and 18 knots. Right from the very start, the English boat of Team Invictus capsized and set the tone of the race which was going to be quite intense.

The two Hydros flying catamarans with wingsails, fiercely defending the Swiss Flag and their partners, were powerful, but the wind constantly going up made the adjustments difficult as testified Jérémie Lagarrigue, project manager and crew member of Hydros: "I was focusing on the balance of the boat, and the adjustment of the foils, but it was really difficult to control the wing at the same time and to hold out on Groupama, steered by Franck Cammas, who was impressive upwind. We have very powerful boats and perhaps a little bit too powerful for this weather." The result is encouraging and worthy of the work accomplished by all the Hydros team over the months of preparation: SUI 1 (Besson - Lagarrigue) finished second and SUI 11 (Heemskerk - Tentij) third.

The wind went up a notch for the second race, almost up to 20 knots. A violent gust surprised SUI 11 while flying. Their C-Class capsized which seriously damaged the wingsail and forced the Dutchmen to go back to base. SUI 1 finished second again not far behind Groupama C.

Day 2 at the C-Class Catamaran Championship - photo © Tom Gruitt / www.tom-gruitt.co.uk

A third race ended the day in the same conditions. The match Groupama C - Hydros 1 was launched: upwind, the French were a bit better, downwind, it was the opposite. The wind was too strong for either a subtle strategy or navigation. The debate was closed for the day: three second places for Hydros 1, and very strong feelings for the crews.

"It was incredible! At 30 knots, the boat is sailing but no mistake is allowed. It is a constant attention. We had some frights, and it requires a lot of energy to handle these situations" Billy Besson said, obviously relieved by the results of the day.

On its side, Mischa Heemskerk is affected, emotionally; the damage on the wingsail of his C-Class will have consequences: "We know that's part of the game, but we have been investing our energy on this project for more than 9 months. We will do everything to repair, but the damage is not minor. I really hope to be able to go back sailing quickly!"

The technical team is now working on the C-Class in order to evaluate the importance of the damage and start the repairs.