The long road to the 35th America’s Cup for the legendary French sailor starts with the first training session onboard his C class catamaran, Alpha, winner of the 2007 International C-Class Catamaran Championship, in Lorient, together with Louis Viat.

Franck Cammas trains on his C class catamaran. Lorient, 13 January 2013. Photo copyright Yvan Zedda

Franck Cammas trains on his C class catamaran. Lorient, 13 January 2013. Photo copyright Yvan Zedda

Franck Cammas trains on his C class catamaran. Lorient, 13 January 2013. Photo copyright Yvan Zedda

Franck Cammas trains on his C class catamaran. Lorient, 13 January 2013. Photo copyright Yvan Zedda

[Source: C Class Cup] At the 2012 International Boat Show in Paris, Challenge France, the French challenger for the 2013 International C Class Catamaran Championship (ICCCC) in partnership with the French National Sailing Centre (Ecole Nationale de Voile et des Sports Nautiques – ENVSN), announced details about the C Class Cup: the first French C Class Catamaran sailing event.

The C Class Cup will take place at the ENVSN – Saint-Pierre-Quiberon, France, from 22nd to the 26th of May 2013.

Four sailing teams already registered for the C Class Cup including Swiss team HYDROS with Jérémie Lagarrigue, the French GROUPAMA team with Franck Cammas and the French CHALLENGE FRANCE team with Karine Fauconnier and Gwénolé Gahinet.

The event lasting 4 days will include 3 types of racing format: Fleet Races, Match Racing and Speed Matches. It will be a unique opportunity for the teams to compete, train and see how their boats measure up in the same sort of environment that they will encounter during the ICCCC, the class’s world championship in Falmouth, UK in September 2013.

The C Class Cup promises to be an important event in the spring of 2013. To support the promotion and organization of the C Class Cup, the organization is seeking a title sponsor and technical partners.

Quote from Steve Clark (President of the C Class Association): “France has been at the vanguard of multihull development for many years, yet has been absent from the C Class competition which has always been the most advanced multihull class. We hope this regatta is the start of a new union between the French passion for speed and development with the C Class which has been the principle proving ground for new multihull technology.”

The C Class Cup will be the first ever to be held in France. Photo copyright Christophe Launay

[Source: Groupama Sailing Team] Extracts from an exchange between the sailor and Sylvain Burel, Director of the Group’s Communication:

What stays in your mind from the past fifteen years of this partnership?

Franck Cammas: It’s obviously coloured by emotion. Beyond that though, to perform well, a sportsman and a sailor in particular needs to have the financial means to match his sporting ambitions, the necessary time to achieve them and, most importantly I think, trust in his partner or partners. Since the signing of our first contract with Groupama, on 12 November 1997, these three conditions have always been a part of our dealings together.

Sylvain Burel: Thank you Franck. The connection and the quality of our exchanges have always been a strength of ours. I’d especially like to highlight your basic qualities, which combine technical, competitive and mental prowess. I can safely say, in Groupama’s name, you have always excelled in this area.

How can a boat owner make the decision to switch its programme after such a fine victory in the Volvo Ocean Race?

Sylvain Burel: After announcing such heavy financial losses in 2011, Groupama has redirected its strategy by focusing on the French market and its insurance expertise. In these conditions, the budgets involved thus far and the aim of extensive international communication no longer satisfy our criteria for moving forward.
As such we’ve decided to refocus on French and European programmes, which are closer to our territories and our offices with a third of the previous budget for the period spanning 2013-2015.

Franck Cammas: Groupama has never behaved like a sponsor and that’s another reason why our association has worked well. It isn’t for me to discuss their decision to refocus on the French market but rather to adapt to it. That’s what we’re doing by getting involved in the Tour de France à la Voile, which has been constantly developing since the A.S.O. took it over. As regards our research department, one of the team’s real assets, which has been continually progressing for the past 10 years, this will continue to have free expression through Groupama’s support. That’s essential because without a high performance research department, I cannot tackle my next challenge, the America’s Cup.

Franck Cammas, the master of the oceans, will now focus on the 35th America’s Cup. Galway, 3 July 2012. Photo copyright Ian Roman / Volvo Ocean Race

Actually, can you tell us more about your programme over the short and medium term?

Franck Cammas: In sporting terms, we’re going to be participating in the Tour de France à la Voile in July 2013 in Groupama’s colours. It’s a race that appeals to me and, a bit like the Volvo, combines offshore and inshore racing. I’m also going to have a stab at Olympic preparation on a Nacra 17, with a view to competing in the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio.

Technically and competitively, we’re committing ourselves to the C-Class, which some refer to as the Little America’s Cup, again with Groupama.

This is a crucial point for us, for our team, because in the space of ten years we’ve created a really top-rate research department, which participated in the design of Groupama 2, Groupama 3 and finally Groupama 4, whose success people will be familiar with.

I say crucial because, over the medium term, my aim is to participate in the 35th edition of the America’s Cup. To this end, we’re creating Franck CAMMAS Racing and we’ll participate in the AC 45 World Series circuit in 2013 with some new partners.

In practical and financial terms, what is Groupama’s commitment to Franck in the sailing arena through until 2015?

Sylvain Burel: Despite this more constrained purse, we’re continuing to actively support Franck over the next 3 years, by putting everything in place to enable him to continue with his ambitions at the highest possible level.

Groupama has renounced any claim for exclusivity to enable Franck to search for some new partners. On a competitive level, Groupama is continuing to provide him with the means to train at the highest level so as he can one day have a crack at the America’s Cup with another partner who has an interest in this race.

In addition to the programme Franck has just outlined, I would like to further stress the support of a high performance research department (40% of our budget), which serves to sustain this added technological value, which proved so beneficial during the build of Groupama 2, Groupama 3 and Groupama 4 and the associated success of these three boats.

This is another reason why we’re committing ourselves to working with Franck in the Little America’s Cup, of which little is known about in media terms but is important in terms of technological development.

As regards our involvement in the Tour de France à la Voile, it is obviously linked to our Regional Offices’ need to have Franck close to them again. The fact that A.S.O., the body responsible for organising the cycle Tour de France, has taken over the reins, is highly encouraging for us. However, I’d like to reiterate the fact that Groupama will not be committing to the Cup. It is neither within our budget nor part of our approach.

Today Groupama 4 is on show at the entrance to the Nautic Paris Boat Show and Franck Cammas is one of the nominees for the title of Sailor of the Year. Are you satisfied, very satisfied or disappointed by the media coverage of your victory in the Volvo Ocean Race?

Sylvain Burel: The Volvo Ocean Race has generated over 10,000 press plays for Groupama, which equates to an overall increase in value of 9 million euros.

In terms of quality, there’s no doubt that there is more mixed feeling about a 9-month race which is less well known about in France, even though it should be noted that nearly 90% of the coverage generated by the sailing partnership has a positive connotation.

Ultimately it’s all about positioning. The Volvo Ocean Race is certainly one of the best mediums for a global group. As far as we’re concerned and given our strategy for refocusing, it is more appropriate for us to be involved in a programme of French races.

Franck Cammas: To conclude, I’d like to say thank you to Groupama for their support. Without them, I don’t know if I could have competed and won so many races. I also hope that I have brought them some good, such as a fine image for example. What I care about today is the ability to continue at the same pace with this new objective, which is the America’s Cup. It’s ambitious but we have to be able to pull it off!

Sylvain Burel: Knowing Franck, I don’t doubt his commitment for a second. Above all, I’d like to say again that we have our trust in him for the next three years that we will share together.

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad issued a statement on Wednesday expressing his concern at the continuing instances of boats suffering serious damage in the 2011-12 edition.

Frostad, who competed in the race four times himself, said it was not acceptable to have so many incidents of boats failing in a Volvo Ocean Race. Frostad said race organisers would continue to do everything possible to get the boats not currently sailing back in the race as soon as possible.

Text of statement, which was released after Groupama sailing team announced they had suffered a broken mast, leaving only two boats currently racing in Leg 5 from Auckland in New Zealand to Itajaí in Brazil:

“It’s too early to conclude exactly why this has happened but we are obviously concerned about seeing so many incidents of damage to our boats both in this leg and in the race as a whole.

“It is not acceptable that in a race like this we have so many failures. It is not unusual for boats to suffer problems, and sailors and shore teams are used to having to deal with some issues with their boats, but this has been on a bigger scale than in the past.

All boats, with no exception, had to suspend or abandon racing at some stage. Photo copyright Amory Ross / Puma Ocean Racing

“It’s important that we don’t leap to any conclusions about why these breakages have happened. Some of them are clearly not related. However, we will take the current issues into account as we make decisions on rules and technology we will be using in the future.

“We have already put in a lot of work, discussing with teams, designers and all other stakeholders about the boats and the rules we will use in the future, and we expect to be in a position to announce a decision on that before the end of the current race.

“For the time being, our focus continues to be on the safety of the sailors. We are doing everything we can to help Groupama, and the rest of the teams not currently sailing, get back in the race as soon as possible.”

It’s very hot inside Groupama 4

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] The complete Volvo Ocean Race line-up will head into battle for the first time in more than a month on Sunday, January 22, as the second stage of Leg 3 gets underway to the Chinese city of Sanya.

The leg start is scheduled for 0800 UTC and will see the six-strong fleet race more than 3,000 nautical miles across the Indian Ocean, through the Malacca Strait and into the South China Sea.

The fleet will have to tackle monsoon winds, painfully long stretches of upwind sailing through rough seas and there will be container ships to dodge as they pick their way through some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

The five teams currently being shipped to an undisclosed port in the Indian Ocean are expected to arrive in the early hours of Saturday where they will be reunited with Team Sanya, forced to suspend racing during the first stage of Leg 2.

Once docked at the safe haven, the five boats will be unloaded and work will begin to prepare them for the second stage of the third offshore leg of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Just seven points separate overall leaders Team Telefónica on 71 points and second placed CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand on 64, while third placed Groupama sailing team lie 20 points behind Telefónica with 51 points.

PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are split by just five points on 36 and 31 points respectively, with Team Sanya on 11 points.

After a string of consistent results but no leg win, CAMPER skipper Chris Nicholson said Leg 3 Stage 2 could fall in their favour.

“We just have to bide our time for this next leg,” he said. “There’ll be a bit more upwind which we’re comfortable with and just keep chipping away at where we’re weak.

“We have a lot of homework in regards to the weather and geographical obstacles that we have in the next leg.

“I don’t think the next leg will be won by boat speed, it will be won with being smart and keeping the boat in one piece and going the right way.”

For Mike Sanderson’s Team Sanya, stage two of the Leg 3 represents an opportunity to race into their home port as heroes.

“A nice end for us will be to secure a solid result in Sanya after a decent run,” he said. “Obviously, a win in the in-port race at home would be a dream come true but just finishing the leg will be a milestone after all we’ve been through.”

Leg 3 Stage 2 comprises of three sections: firstly, a stretch of more than 1,000 nautical miles to the northern tip of Sumatra, an area prone to monsoons.

The next section will see the fleet take on the Malacca Strait, a narrow stretch of water between Sumatra and Malaysia notorious for shipping hazards.

Volvo Ocean Race Chief Meteorologist Gonzalo Infante said this stage could prove costly for any team not 100 percent focused on the task ahead.

“It is very tricky, you can lose everything you gained in the Indian Ocean with one bad decision or lack of attention in here,’’ he said. “It’s unlikely that the yachts make big gains, but you can certainly make big losses.”

The final stage will see the teams race upwind for up to a week through the shallow South China Sea in potentially boat-breaking conditions.

“They are likely to be beating for one week in conditions that are very hard on the boat,’’ Infante added. “The waves could reach four to five metres, and could be very steep.’’

The course is tipped to take the teams around two weeks to complete, with a finish in Sanya in early February.

<strong>[Source: Groupama Sailing Team]</strong> Little wind and glorious sunshine coloured this return to racing after a few days rest in Abu Dhabi: between five and seven knots of SE’ly wind graced the coastal course which involved a great deal of manoeuvres and various sides of the race zone, which was encircled by spectator boats. Indeed, though the fleet only had eight miles to cover (in less than an hour for the Emirati winner), there were no fewer than seven marks to be rounded with a spinnaker start, a few short stretches of reaching, two beats and another section under spinnaker in a relatively stable wind in terms of direction.

With Laurent Pagès calling tactics, Franck Cammas was put into a difficult position just prior to kick-off by Chris Nicholson, Camper keen to hang onto her pole position at the Committee boat end of the start line, leaving Groupama 4 in her wake… In the middle of the line, Puma was also knocked off course a bit as Telefonica managed to block her and a light contact forced Ken Read to perform a penalty turn after the start, which caused him to lose contact with the head of the fleet as he was already sailing under spinnaker before beginning the 360° move!

Good speed in light airs

Franck Cammas had us believe that the performance by Groupama 4 should be improved in breeze of less than eight knots. In this way, today’s In-Port was an opportunity to confirm that the newly adjusted rig and the arrival of a new Code 0 (large genoa for sailing with eased sheets) could bear fruit. From the first spinnaker dash, the French crew were piling the pressure on the New Zealanders. Indeed by gybing just before Camper, Groupama 4 managed to reposition herself to windward in a little gust of breeze, which enabled her to cover her rival and overtake her prior to the first course mark. On the opposite side of the racetrack, `local boy’ Ian Walker on Azzam, was first to round mark 1, with a lead of three boat lengths over the French boat, which was just ahead of Camper. Telefonica and Puma had already dropped back considerably by that stage. The first beat saw Franck Cammas, furthest to the right hand side of the race zone, cross in front of the Emirati boat, which was forced to bear away to avoid him. Azzam snatched back the lead at the end of this upwind section but only had a 43 second lead at mark 2, whilst the New Zealanders appeared to be less at ease in these light airs and the Spanish on Telefonica made a series of mistakes during their manoeuvres.

After two short sections of reaching, Ian Walker was controlling the fleet, shadowed by Franck Cammas, whilst the rest of the fleet were losing more and more ground. In this way Camper lost another minute to Groupama 4 after another spinnaker run, the wind still only reaching eight knots. For the Spanish meantime, a catastrophic spinnaker drop destroyed any chances of them making a comeback and their only hope was to continue their duel with Puma… As such the only teams vying for the two top spots were Abu Dhabi, unquestionably more at ease in these conditions, and Groupama 4, which was really hanging on in there! Indeed, the second beat enabled Ian Walker to open up his lead a little more on the French boat. The two final sprints with eased sheets, where Franck Cammas and his crew hoisted their Code 0, enabled them to make up over fifteen seconds in the last six minutes of the race…

Auguring well!

After Groupama 4′s victory in the coastal race between Sharjah and Abu Dhabi and following this second place in the In-Port race, the French boat stands a good chance of scoring well in tomorrow’s coastal course between Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, the first part of the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. Indeed, the NW’ly breeze is set to hit nearly twenty knots during the long reach, after a warm-lap off the Emirati port. These conditions should favour Groupama 4 and the ease of manoeuvring experienced by Franck Cammas’ crew today confirms that the sailors have made good progress in these short race formats. As regards the overall standing, the top three have bunched together following a poor performance by the Spanish today, whilst the Americans are now sixteen points shy of the French boat.

Quotes from the boat

Franck Cammas, skipper-helmsman on Groupama 4:
“It was a fine battle and a very fine score. Particularly of note was a fruitful confrontation with Camper, which is a real specialist in this type of short course. Our consistent performance enabled us to get past them. It’s also great for Ian Walker and his crew on Abu Dhabi! They weren’t the best conditions for us but we managed to get some good boat speed and that’s good news for the next stage… We have to believe in what we do, take the initiative and be aggressive: we have to keep up the work we’re doing. We’ve adapted the boat for the third leg where there will be a fair bit of close-hauled sailing and light airs and today’s results back up our options: it’s getting better and better aboard the boat in terms of communication and refining the trim. Even the best crews, such as that on Telefonica, can lose races, but we know that we’re all very similar in terms of performance and the Volvo Ocean Race is very long! Things are working well for us at the moment and it’s very hard to say who’s going to lose and gain places over the coming legs…”

Laurent Pagès, tactician on Groupama 4:
“We’re very happy with the result: some very good work by the whole crew and the tactics weren’t easy, even though the conditions were relatively stable. On a personal level I’m really fond of courses where it’s possible to play with the wind, both upwind and downwind. A spinnaker start is always very interesting. We had the opportunity to put more pressure on Abu Dhabi when it crossed just behind us on the first beat: we preferred to control Camper (currently more dangerous in the overall standing) which is still a threat to us at this stage of the race. I don’t regret our decision and it’s a very good thing for Azzam to have won today… I won’t be at the start of the next leg, but I’ll feel the same tension as the sailors! I have complete trust in the group which is homologous and really getting to grips with Groupama 4, an excellent boat, even in light conditions like today. We have no reason to have any hang-ups…“