Tag Archive | "Artemis Racing"

Artemis Racing wins Arzanà City of Venice Trophy

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Artemis Racing wins Arzanà City of Venice Trophy

Posted on 13 May 2012 by Valencia Sailing

[Source: Artemis Racing] Huge crowds lined the Grand Canal in Venice this afternoon for the Arzana’s City of Venice Trophy race. With more than 25 knots of breeze it was fast and furious racing for the €50,000 in prize money.

Artemis Racing sailed a solid race, with a clean start and good tactics throughout to win the top prize. Italy’s Luna Rossa Pirana and Luna Rossa Swordfish finished second and third respectively.

Plenty of current and tight boundaries, translated into several penalties at the start, but Artemis was unscathed. Then a glitch with the port daggerboard saw ORACLE Team USA and Emirates Team New Zealand roll Artemis, but the Swedish team hit the reset button and made a good recovery to come out on top of the leaderboard.

Artemis Racing cross the finish line victorious. Venice, 12 May 2012. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / America's Cup

“Jimmy and the Emirates Team New Zealand guys sailed a good race. The reach into the finish was dodgy. We were certainly in the right place at the right time,” said Skipper Terry Hutchinson (USA). “It was a narrow course. Nerve wracking, fairly windy and we were in asset preservation mode thinking ahead to next week’s ACWS regatta.”

Commenting on the vast fleet of spectator boats, both yesterday and today, Hutchinson said: “It’s amazing! The America’s Cup and yachting is alive and well in Italy.”

Racing starts on Thursday for the penultimate America’s Cup World Series event here in Venice. Artemis Racing currently leads the match racing element for the ACWS, while ORACLE Team USA Spithill is in combined first place overall (fleet and match racing), one point ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand and Artemis Racing lies in third.

Artemis Racing cross the finish line victorious. Venice, 12 May 2012. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / America's Cup



Artemis Racing cross the finish line victorious. Venice, 12 May 2012. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / America's Cup

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Artemis Racing starts D35 racing season with violent crash

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Artemis Racing starts D35 racing season with violent crash

Posted on 04 May 2012 by Valencia Sailing

[Source: Artemis Racing] Today was the beginning of another season in the D35 Class here on Lake Geneva. This first regatta, Grand Prix Les Ambassadeurs, is part of a series of regattas called “The Vulcain Trophy”, which includes the Bol d’Or in June. Artemis finished 4th last season and we were excited to get back out there this morning.

Six races were planned for the fleet of nine boats sailing out of the Societe Nautique de Geneve today. We had clear blue skies this morning and the wind filled in around noon. Racing got under way at 1230. We had a very mediocre day onboard Artemis during the first 3 races, with scores of 8th, 4th and 6th, in the 6-8 knot breeze from the Northeast. Nothing in particular happened but a lot of little things did not go well. Probably a little “rust” from not having sailed competitively in the boat for six months.

Then there was a long pause while the wind shifted 180 degrees and filled in at 20 knots with gusts to 22 knots and lulls to 9 knots. As the wind was coming off the city, it was very puffy and shifty. The sailing was very exciting and the boats were traveling at high speeds in the conditions. We’d had a decent third race in the 4th race of the day were sailing upwind on starboard tack and we were on a collision course with Zen who was on port tack. They tried to slow down to get behind us and miss judged it. The result was a violent crash into our port side. The hull is ok but the port “rack” is destroyed. We had to withdraw from further racing for the day. One of our crew members was thrown into the water from the impact and we narrowly avoided a pitch pole (capsizing by putting the bow under (a cartwheel) as Zen spun us away from the wind.

Anyway, we got the boat back to the dock at the SNG and are in the midst of a repair so we can compete again tomorrow.

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Vulcain Trophy: new season, new emotions!

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Vulcain Trophy: new season, new emotions!

Posted on 25 April 2012 by Valencia Sailing

[Source: Vulcain Trophy] The season started last weekend with the first practice races in Versoix. Snow on the peaks, winter temperatures, rough conditions, strong wind gusting to 35 knots, kind of a good start… The official launch of the Vulcan Trophy presented by Business & Decision will take place the weekend of May 4-5-6 at the Société Nautique de Genève with the Grand Prix Les Ambassadeurs. A great panel of fantastic sailors, with the presence of several international stars, and some exciting new features to the racing program…

More emotions: a new racing format!

A new racing format will be spicing up this year’s Vulcain Trophy. The organizing committee first decided to reduce the length of the regattas to only 25 to 30 minutes, to maximize their intensity. In addition, the race course also undergoes a significant change with a new windward gate (a passage formed by two buoys). So instead of always leaving the mark to port, the boats will have the freedom to choose to leave one of the two marks on port or starboard (on the left side or right side of the course). The purpose of this change is to increase the tactical possibilities and avoid “single file” patterns sometimes faced by boats before, when they had to all leave the mark to port.

More sensations: a new website and live reports on the web!
To allow fans to follow the action more closely, the www.vulcaintrophy.com website has been completely rethought. It now comes in two modes, classical and live. The live mode will be activated during the racing weekends with updates posted on the website minutes by minutes, supported by text and images. The news will be simultaneously published on our social networks, facebook and twitter. Be informed! Follow us!

More passion: renewed crews fighting for the trophy!

What are the news on the teams’ side? First: Dona Bertarelli is this year at the helm of a brand new team on the Ladycat, with new colors. On De Rahm Sotheby’s, Philippe Cardis hosts a new tactician, Christian Wahl, and a trimmer / skipper Jean-Pierre Ziegert, both great Geneva Lake specialists. Ernesto Bertarelli is, meanwhile, presenting the same team, more cohesive and efficient than ever. Fred Moura, Nickel’s helmsman and skipper, also remains faithful to his crew of Lake Geneva sailors. As for the CER, they confirm their ambitions loud and clear and the boat presents the new colours of their main partner Realstone. Also to be noted is the return of Paul Cayard aboard Artemis Racing with Tornbjorn Tornqvist, while Loïck Peyron is no longer part of the core crew of Nicolas Grange on Okalys Corum. Onboard Veltigroup, Marco Simeoni gives carte blanche to Boris Lerch who is surrounding himself with his former team from Cadence, while on Zen Too, Fred Le Peutrec is back at the helm, alternating with Guy de Picciotto.

Alinghi – SUI 1: Ernesto Bertarelli (Skipper, helmsman), Pierre-Yves Jorand (Main trimmer, performer), Tanguy Cariou (Tactician), Nils Frei (Trimmer), Coraline Jonet (Trimmer), Yves Detrey (Bowman), Claudy Dewarrat (Coach), Joao Cabecadas (Boat captain), David Nikles (Shore crew)

Okalys – Corum – SUI 2: Nicolas Grange (Skipper, helmsman), Eric Monnin (Tactician), Andrew Graham (Main Trimmer), Damien Cardenoso (Trimmer), Kristoffer Jonsson (Trimmer), Thomas Mermod (Trimmer), Fabien Froesch (Bowman), Cédric Pochelon (Trimmer, Bowman), Malko Pasteur SUI 46°16’ (Shore crew)

De Rahm – Sotheby’s – SUI 3: Philippe Cardis (Helmsman), Christian Wahl (Tactician), Guillaume Bérenger (Main trimmer, performer), Alexandre Quiblier (Bowman), Jean-Pierre Ziegert (Trimmer, Skipper), Nicolas Anklin (Trimmer)

Zen Too – SUI 4: Guy de Picciotto (Helmsman, Main trimmer), Fred Le Peutrec (Helmsman), Gildas Philippe (Tactician), Nicolas Berthoud (Trimmer), Bertrand Seydoux (Trimmer), Lucien Cujean (Trimmer, Bowman), Jeff Kerleguer SUI 46°16’ (Shore crew)

Realstone Sailing – SUI 7: Jérôme Clerc (Skipper, Helmsman), Bruno Barbarin (Tactician), Denis Girardet (Tactician), Arnaud Psarofaghis (Main trimmer), Cédric Schmidt (Trimmer), Christian Monachon (Trimmer), Thierry Wasem (Trimmer), Nils Palmieri (Trimmer), Bryan Mettraux (Bowman)

Nickel – SUI 8: Frédéric Moura (Skipper, Helmsman), Emmanuel Chomel (Main Trimmer), Olivier de Cocatrix (Trimmer), Alex Greenwood (Trimmer), Ludovic Bournisien (Tactician), Christian Roelofs (Bowman), Laurent Chatelanat (Trimmer)

Ladycat – SUI 10: Dona Bertarelli (Skipper, Helmswoman), Yann Guichard (Tactician), Billy Besson (Trimmer), Devan Le Bihan (Bowman), Arnaud Jarlegan (Trimmer), Emmanuelle Rol (Trimmer), Nicolas Débordes (Shore crew)

Veltigroup – SUI 11: Marco Simeoni (Trimmer), Boris Lerch (Helmsman, skipper), Quentin Freymond (Tactician), Alex Detrey (Trimmer), Sebastien Ravussin (Bowman), Pascal Lavarelo (Main trimmer), Philippe Gaudin (Manager, Helmsman), Yann Burkhalter (Shore crew)

Artemis Racing – SUI 12: Torbjorn Tornqvist (Helmsman, skipper), Paul Cayard (Tactician), Noel Drennan (Main trimmer), Franck Citeau (Trimmer), Sarah Gundersen (Trimmer), Gille André (Bowman)

Vulcain Trophy Program 2012
Grand Prix Les Ambassadeurs, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) – 4-6 May 2012
Open de Crans, Club Nautique de Crans-près-Céligny (CNC) – 26-27 May 2012
Genève-Rolle-Genève, Yacht Club de Genève (YCG) – 9 June 2012
Grand Prix de Versoix, Club Nautique de Versoix (CNV) – 8 et 10 June 2012
Bol d’Or Mirabaud, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) – 16 June 2012
Open du Yacht Club, Yacht Club de Genève (YCG) – 25-26 August 2012
Open de Morges, Club Nautique de Morges (CNM) – 8-9 September 2012
Grand Prix Grange et Cie, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) – 21-23 September 2012

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Artemis Racing capsize in first race of first day of AC World Series Naples

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Artemis Racing capsize in first race of first day of AC World Series Naples

Posted on 11 April 2012 by Valencia Sailing

Once again, a spectacular photo sequence by Carlo Borlenghi. Still, one wonders whether Terry Hutchinson really has got what it takes to helm the AC45′s:

Artemis Racing capsize in the first race of the first day. Naples, 11 April 2012. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi / Luna Rossa



Artemis Racing capsize in the first race of the first day. Naples, 11 April 2012. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi / Luna Rossa



Artemis Racing capsize in the first race of the first day. Naples, 11 April 2012. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi / Luna Rossa



Artemis Racing capsize in the first race of the first day. Naples, 11 April 2012. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi / Luna Rossa



Artemis Racing capsize in the first race of the first day. Naples, 11 April 2012. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi / Luna Rossa



Artemis Racing capsize in the first race of the first day. Naples, 11 April 2012. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi / Luna Rossa



Artemis Racing capsize in the first race of the first day. Naples, 11 April 2012. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi / Luna Rossa



Artemis Racing capsize in the first race of the first day. Naples, 11 April 2012. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi / Luna Rossa



Artemis Racing capsize in the first race of the first day. Naples, 11 April 2012. Photo copyright Carlo Borlenghi / Luna Rossa


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Paul Cayard reports from Naples

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Paul Cayard reports from Naples

Posted on 08 April 2012 by Valencia Sailing

[Source: Artemis Racing] A great day for racing in Napoli. The America’s Cup World Series was in full flight today with match racing and fleet racing. The winds were 8 to 12 knots from the West and there was a bit of cloud around. The rain stopped for exactly three hours and those were the three hours of racing.

I was the guest racer onboard Artemis today. It was nice for me as CEO to see my team in action from up close. The six weeks of two boat training the team has done in Valencia looks to have given them a strong base to operate from. Notwithstanding the fact that our AC45 crew is in constant rotation, the boys seemed solid and tight as a group. They won their match race against Emirates Team New Zealand, the first fleet race and were leading the second fleet race when they dropped out to be first to the crane for hauling the boat out.

This weekend was ‘practice’ racing, but still the Italian public made it down to see the action. Italy is known to be one of the most passionate nations when it comes to the America’s Cup and we are expecting big crowds both here in Naples and next month in Venezia.

Artemis Racing training for the AC World Series. Naples, 8 April 2012. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget

The teams will take a couple of days off now and be back on for the official racing which starts on Wednesday.

The first challenge for Artemis Racing was to form our team. Our main competitors, ORACLE Racing, Emirates Team New Zealand and Prada are ongoing entities. Just in the last month, it feels like Artemis is operating as an America’s Cup team. Now, our challenge is the same as the others, to build an AC72 and become proficient at sailing it in the demanding conditions of San Francisco Bay.

To that end, I am heading back to Valencia tomorrow morning as we are sailing our trimaran with the AC72 wing in it this week, as well as racing here in the ACWS. We are a busy team with both operations going on simultaneously, but there is so much to do and so little time. I will be back in Naples on Friday for the racing at the weekend.

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Artemis Racing debuts full scale AC72 wing

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Artemis Racing debuts full scale AC72 wing

Posted on 15 March 2012 by Valencia Sailing

[Source: Artemis Racing] The culmination of more than 35,000 man hours and a tremendous amount of hard work on the part of the entire team came to fruition today when Artemis Racing sailed with the team’s first AC72 wing.

While the Defender and other Challengers for the 34th America’s Cup have chosen to train and test elements for the AC72 catamarans using smaller boats, specifically AC45 and SL33 catamarans, Artemis Racing opted to build a full size wing from the outset.

“We chose the full scale strategy. Our decision was more time consuming, but it allows us to learn how to handle this powerful wing. Before performance, there is the safety of our team. San Francisco Bay in July and August is an unforgiving place” said CEO Paul Cayard.

Towering more than 13 stories high, the AC72 wing is a pure work of art. The 40 metre high structure, predominantly built of carbon fibre, measures 260 square meters yet weighs just over one tonne.

“It was a team effort. It was amazing to see the wing out on the water. It looks great, but at the same time threatening. We will be going through a series of structural tests in the next few days,” said Principal Designer Juan Kouyoumdjian.

This is Artemis Racing’s first entry to the America’s Cup.

First sail of the Artemis Racing AC72 wing. Valencia, 15 March 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis Racing

First sail of the Artemis Racing AC72 wing. Valencia, 15 March 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis Racing

First sail of the Artemis Racing AC72 wing. Valencia, 15 March 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis Racing

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Artemis launch winged Orma60 trimaran in Valencia

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Artemis launch winged Orma60 trimaran in Valencia

Posted on 13 March 2012 by Valencia Sailing

A major milestone in the 34th America’s Cup was reached earlier this morning in Valencia when Artemis Racing launched their winged Orma60 trimaran. Although their modified trimaran has already sailed on the waters off Valencia, today was the very first time it had the newly-built, IMMENSE, wing stepped on.

Conditions are perfect today in Valencia, with sunny, warm weather, and, most importantly, very light winds. The trimaran was launched around 11am without any apparent difficulty, at least as observed from our vantage point. According to our information, the trimaran might even take her maiden sail today, later in the afternoon, depending on the breeze.

My apologies for the photos, clearly not up to the standards you have been used to on this website since now 7 years, but the Artemis base being inside the Sagunto commercial port (approximately 20km north of Valencia) it is impossible to get any closer without a special permit by either the Port Authority or the local police. Lacking both we had to shoot from behind the port’s fence.

I don’t know whether this wing is smaller than the ones the future AC72′s will have a mere 4-5 months from now but I’m curious to see how they will sail with 30 knots of wind in San Francisco. Russell Coutts promised races from 3 to 33 knots!

The Artemis Orma60 modified trimaran with her immense wing, ready for her maiden sail. Valencia, 13 March 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

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Torbjörn Törnqvist, owner of Artemis Racing, talks to VSail.info

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Torbjörn Törnqvist, owner of Artemis Racing, talks to VSail.info

Posted on 12 February 2012 by Valencia Sailing

Törnqvist has been a TP52 Medcup champion, RC44 world champion and current America’s Cup challenger of record. Who better then to talk about all of that? The light conditions in Puerto Calero on Sunday morning and the postponement ashore gave us the opportunity to catch up with him and discuss these issues.

VSail.info: You have won a Medcup Championship in the TP52 class and you are the current RC44 World Champion, so to say that you are a competitive onwer-driver would be an understatement. You must also be passionate about sailing. What drives you though to be in the world’s most competitive sailing circuits?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: First of all, sailing is a team sport and I have always been fortunate to have a very good sailing crew and a group of very good people that prepare the boats. I’m just a very small part of a team effort. When I started in 2007 I had a really very good team and we made a number of steps in the class that were never done before. We created an edge and I have to admit that. I’m passionate about sailing and I have been sailing during my entire life. I started when I was just a small boy in the Swedish archipelago in wooden dinghies.

Sailing has always been a part of my life since I can remember but never really in competition. It was more about cruising with my family and friends in the summer. Racing came much, much later. If I remember well, my first ever regatta was in 2004, in Porto Cervo, for the Swan worlds. Since then things have, obviously, changed, I moved on to the TP52′s, then the RC44′s and now the America’s Cup. This has been my journey in sailing.

VSail.info: Would you rather helm an RC44 or a TP52? How do they compare from the driver’s point of view?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: The boats are clearly different. The RC44 is an extremely fun boat to drive and the moment I stepped on the boat and sailed, I said “This is great!”. It’s a light boat, it’s very fast but there are also other things around this class that I like. I think that today it’s the best class in the world where owners-drivers can participate, without any doubt. There isn’t anything better than the RC44 class out there. I, obviously, always enjoyed the TP52 and I did four seasons. At that time, when we were there, it was certainly the most competitive sailing class and truly professional. Yet, at the end, I think I couldn’t put the time necessary to stay at the absolute top. We always were there, in third or fourth place, but in order to take that step up and regain the top spot it would have taken too much of my time.

VSail.info: Do you have enough time right now? Would you like to spend more time on the boat?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: I take as much time as I can and I think I’m right at the edge when my family starts complaining. They complain that even if they come to see me in a regatta, I always leave them behind because I spend the entire day on the water! Seriously, they do come to see me for a day or two in each event. That’s what I like with the current format of the RC44. We have five events per season and I could skip one if necessary. Still, I try to be in every event. It’s not too heavy but still, it is a month of sailing each year. I plan to do all five events in 2012 but, you know, it might not be possible.

Torbjörn Törnqvist helming the Artemis Racing yacht in the RC44 Puerto Calero Cup. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

VSail.info: You are also one of the very few owners, at least on a high, competitive level, that bought a multihull and race it. You have recently acquired a D35. Can you tell me the reason you did that?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: I had absolutely no experience on multihulls before and I had never steered or sailed on catamarans before we did the D35 campaign. I thought it would be a good idea for me to familiarize myself with multihull sailing and the D35 was for me the perfect solution. I walk from my house down to the boat, I sail it and then go back home. I still get a lot experience, the boat is fun and the class has a very, very high level. Ernesto Bertarelli is there and he’s an extremely skillful sailor and there’s a also a number of other top-level sailors.

VSail.info: Do you enjoy it as much as a monohull?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: If I think with my heart, I would say that sailing, probably, should be more in monohulls. The finesse and tactics you have on a monohull don’t exist on a multihull. Probably for the audience they might not be fun but for you, the driver of the boat, they are great. The multihulls have that also, don’t take me wrong, and as far as the America’s Cup is concerned, different aspects come into play in the question of monohulls over multihulls. For me, personally, the D35 is a great sail boat and I’m thrilled about it and the things I can learn.

VSail.info: You say that with your heart, sailing should be more in monohulls, yet you decided to present a challenge in the first ever America’s Cup to be held on multihulls. Can you tell me the rationale of that decision?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: I think that you now raised a bigger question about the America’s Cup. It has always been outstanding, cutting-edge technology but times have changed. I think the potential audience is asking for a different thing. If we want to reach out to a non-sailing audience something had to change and the choice was for multihull sailing boats and a racing format that was never been seen before. At least on paper, the America’s Cup is trying to create the most exciting event to watch. There is no doubt about that. For the first time ever you can watch a race from the shore. They will have superior TV coverage and they are going to be able to sell it.

VSail.info: Is the reality though what you would have on paper?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: The reality is that you will have less teams that will be able to do it.

VSail.info: Why? Because it’s more expensive?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: Yes, I would say so. It’s the first generation of those boats and you will have to put an enormous effort into the design and building of something that has never been done before. So, it’s expensive and as we all know, times are not exactly right for expensive projects. Sponsorship is hard to come by but I think that sailing in general has a problem. It’s so diversified with so many events and the audience is not there! I was reading an article the other day asking why young people aren’t attracted to sailing. They have so many alternatives these days, the extreme sports is something that has developed over the years, catching the attention of younger generations. That’s why I think this is an attempt to reach out to them. We will see.

VSail.info: So far, we have had three America’s Cup events. Being the challenger of record, are you happy with what the organization has delivered? Are you satisfied?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: Yes. Obviously, the Defender, with Larry Ellison, are putting a lot of resources. I know that Larry is putting a lot of his own money for this to succeed and become the highest profile sailing project ever. From this point of view, it’s well funded and the event will be great, thanks to one individual. However, this is not a sustainable thing in the long run. We all realize that you cannot ask somebody to sponsor it forever, it has to stand on its own feet at one point. It will take a bit of time and once these boats are on the water and we see what they are capable of, what type of racing they provide, I think more and more people will be interested in it.

Artemis Racing carrying out two-boat training. Valencia, 31 January 2012. Photo copyright Sander van der Borch / Artemis Racing

VSail.info: Russell Coutts has sailed a lot with you and I suppose you must have a very good relation with him. Wouldn’t you say you have too good of a relation with him to be a real challenger to him?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: [Laughs] I don’t think so. Look around you. We are all competing here but we are all friends. Sailing is a gentleman’s sport and this is its beauty. That’s striking about this sport. You don’t have bad relations, generally speaking. We are good friends with Russell and I owe him a lot. I would even say that I took the decision to challenge because of the possibility to blend in with the guys that have been doing it and winning it, not only Russell but also Dean Barker, Paul Cayard and many other great sailors.

The answer to your question is no. Oracle is doing its campaign, we are doing our campaign and we will do whatever it takes to try and win. We are defending our position, we are defending the position of the challengers and we are fighting for the best interests of the challengers. In our point of view, what we fight for is also valid for the other challengers but as you know there are a lot of politics. It’s the America’s Cup after all.

VSail.info: Are you satisfied with the performance of your team in the America’s Cup World Series?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: In what regards the AC45 racing we haven’t won anything. We were third or second once, I don’t remember exactly. It’s true we wish we could have done a little bit better but we took the decision to mix our sailors from an early stage, to test and rotate them because only five of them actually race. We wanted to try many configurations and probably we did too much of that and we paid the price by not having a consistent performance. But it’s not so important. Our program is well on track and I’m very satisfied with how the campaign is going overall.

VSail.info: How much are you involved with the operations of the America’s Cup campaign? You previously said you wish you had more time to sail. Do you have time to get involved with the America’s Cup?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: Yes, I’m very much involved. We obviously have a very good organization, our CEO, Paul Cayard, knows all the aspects of it, I regularly visit the team in Valencia and I take part in the major decision-making aspects, the strategy to follow and so forth. I speak to Paul on a very, very regular basis and to the sailors as well. I try to be there and I think they feel that I’m there and well informed and even if I cannot be physically present they know I’m very much involved.

VSail.info: Do you also take the final decisions on the major, strategic aspects of the campaign? Is it Cayard that does that?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: Well, it has never come to a situation where we had to, let’s say, vote for something. We discuss the parameters, the strategy and, obviously, the budget. You have to do your best with the budget you have! Still, you can’t do everything even if you have a lot of money. The time is not enough and it would be a huge mistake to try to do too much. You have to get to one point and then get to the next one, otherwise you fall behind. Actually, even if right now September 2013 seems to be a long time away, it isn’t.

VSail.info: Is the construction of the AC72 boat on track?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: Yes, it’s on track. As you know, according to the rules, we can launch the AC72 on July 1st and sail for 30 days in the second half of the year, so it’s not so important that we start sailing on July 1st or September 1st. I think we want to catch the right sailing conditions but in any case we will be prepared.

VSail.info: You said you shared the vision of the current America’s Cup. Does that mean that if you win it you will keep the same boats and format?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: On the one hand, if you win it you obviously know what you are doing and you want keep your advantage. For me, it’s the first campaign and very rarely anybody has been able to win it the first time. I think Alignhi did but that probably doesn’t count because they actually bought over the winning team. You can’t say it was exactly the first campaign for the team. There will not be too many teams, for sure not many competitive teams but we will still have to beat Prada and Team New Zealand just to get to the America’s Cup match. Just that is an immense challenge. Team New Zealand is extremely well organized with a very strong budget and they have the advantage of knowing each other for so many years. They have such a great level of continuity and this is very important while we are still building our team. I’m sure it will be a very good and strong team but we still haven’t spent time together and we have to test how the chemistry will work out on the boat as well.

VSail.info: Then I will ask you what you will do if you don’t win. Will you try to challenge for a second time?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: Look, at the moment I’m just focusing on the 2013 Cup. I think we have a very good campaign, certainly very professional from the design point of view, from the building point of view and we have some of the best sailors of the world. I know we are doing a very good campaign, capable of challenging the best teams of the world. We are doing it more or less on the same level. From this point of view, my aim is to go out and see how far we go.

VSail.info: If you win would you hold the next America’s Cup in Stockholm?
Torbjörn Törnqvist: I haven’t even thought about that. I don’t know whether you could host an event like this in Stockholm and even if you could it’s still a very, very premature question. I don’t want to think so far either. I don’t know whether there would be an interest in Sweden but first we could try to host an AC45 event. Maybe we could have an AC45 event in Sweden in 2013 but we’ll have to see. We held some talks to see whether it would be possible to hold such an event in Stockholm but as you know the idea behind these events is to create an environment of stadium sailing and I’m not so sure if it’s possible there. We are checking but I don’t think there is enough space. In any case, I don’t want to speculate about what happens beyond September 2013.

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