this void, Franck Cammas and his crew
will be participating in the entire iShares
Banque Populaire V record breaking
Cup circuit.
campaign is not going quite as planned
As was the case when he raced in the
ORMA Grand Prix circuit, Cammas
Having sat very patiently waiting for the right weather for an attempt on the Route
has surrounded himself with a fantastic
of Discovery record, Banque Populaire V returned to her yard. Whilst out on a
crew. Calling tactics is Tanguy Cariou,
training exercise in mid April are making a similar repai to the port float. they
who has already sailed on Groupama
discovered a crack in the starboard float that let in water. They returned and lifted
and Groupama 2. In charge of the
the boat and made an immediate repair to both floats. She will be relaunched
trimming is Thierry Fouchier, he too
in last week of May. In June, Pascal Bidégorry and his team-members will sail
a familiar face aboard Groupama 2.
her to New York in order to stand by for an attempt at the North Atlantic record
Performing the manoeuvres is Frédéric
(Newport - Cape Lizard).
Le Maistre, a newcomer in the team.
A former crew of Alain Gautier on the
It will be very interesting to see how this 40m (131 ft) multihulls performance
Decision 35, he knows what's called
compares with that of Groupama 3 who will also be attempting this course this
for: "We needed a powerful guy in this
summer.
position. Fred is exactly that, added to
which he is very personable at sea and
More details from: www.voile.banquepopulaire.fr
very determined."
The crew aboard Groupama 40 is well
grounded and well trained: "In Valencia, Challenge Julius Baer –
the bulk of the time was spent sailing
in light winds. We'll have to see what
happens in breezier conditions but one
the Decision 35
thing for sure is that the races are going
to be very hotly contested. We're in
The Challenge Julius Baer is organised by the
contact with each other the whole time.
‘Association des Multicoques de Compétition’, and
is an annual competition consisting of major races
It's full-on" concludes Franck, who's
on Lake Geneva and regattas intended only for the
just left Valencia for Venice, where the
Décision 35s.
maxi trimaran Groupama 3 awaits
him: "The boats don't have much in
Designed from the beginning as a boat intended
common. However, we're going to
exclusively for competition, the Décision 35 includes
make the most of the opportunity to
some innovative and revolutionary technological
stake out the race zone, which is a
solutions. It is produced by the Décision boatyard
and replaces the old reigning category on the lake,
good thing."
the Formula 40.
Meanwhile on the day that Groupama
The crews entered for the Challenge Julius Baer are
3 set off across the Mediterranean
amongst the top Lake Geneva regatta specialists:
their Extreme 40 was racing in Venice.
they benefit from very precisely defined regulations
Franck Cammas was quickly replaced
and the support of a Class Master. One-design allows the crews to meet on equal terms
and to highlight their sporting performance.
by Gildas Philippe and the team made
a good attempt at their first appearance
The first edition of the Challenge Julius Baer took place in 2004. It saw a victory by the
at one of these highly competitive
catamaran ‘Red’, helmed by Etienne David and crewed by the youngsters from the ‘Centre
events. Finishing a credible fifth place.
d’entraînement à la régate’.
A year later, it was the turn of Nicolas Grange’s Okalys to dominate, with support from Loïck
The next event is at Hyeres and with Peyron, before doing the double in 2006.
Franck back at the helm the team will
look to move up the leader board.
The Challenge Julius Baer is a genuine season-long championship which brings together
the classic events, as well as the Grands Prix reserved exclusively for the Décision 35s, and
at the last regatta of the season (the Beau-Rivage Palace Grand Prix), rewards the crew
More details on both campaigns can be
which has sailed the best over the whole of the season. With the America’s Cup swinging
found at: www.cammas-groupama.com
in favour of multihulls it has been interesting to see the profile of this class increase. With no
ORMA 60 circuit it is also interesting to see the offshore multihull stars hone their skills on
these smaller one design boats.

So at the Grand Prix Corum on 8 – 10 May it was interesting to see Alinghi enter two teams
with the campaign leader Ernesto Bertalrelli win the event in Alinghi. From Okalys-Corum
with Loik Peyron at the helm and Julius Baer in third. Also sailing were Franck Cammas,
Pascal Bidegorry, Karinne Fauconnier, Steve Ravussin, Michel Desjoyeux and a second
Alinghi boat helmed by Ed Baird. This is a very hotly contested event with close racing and
lots of action – bit like the Extreme 40s then!
Next up is the Grand Prix Romandie.com run on May the 23rd and 24th.
More details from: www.challengejuliusbaer.com
Groupama 40 racing at Venice »
  JUNE 2009 : MULTIHULL REVIEW  47
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