Video: Highlights from the 2nd day of the Louis Vuitton Trophy

Video highlights from the 2nd day of the Louis Vuitton Trophy. Nice, 8 November 2009. Video copyright Louis Vuitton Trophy

Team French Spirit to use Alinghi's SUI-64

[Source: Team French Spirit] Team French Spirit will use her for its training program and compete during the multi-challengers regattas in Valencia in July 2009. “With this boat in the hands of Bertrand (Pacé) and Philippe (Presti), the French will be tough contenders and we are pleased to look forward for some common training sessions”, says Brad Butterworth, three times winner of the Cup.

A more positive future

Registered since December 2007 under the burgee of the Yacht Club de Saint-Tropez, Team French Spirit, and the other 10 original challengers (12 including the Defender), has now been joined by 7 new candidates including Prada Challenge, a Russian team as well as a second French team. Missing is BMW Oracle who is pursuing its legal action, trying to force Defender Alinghi into a direct confrontation with a multi hull dog-match. The New York Court of Appeals is expected to issue its decision sometime by the end of February 2009.

“19 teams, from 12 nations : it’s more than the previous record (14 entries in 1987 in Perth, AUS). It certainly demonstrates that organising eliminatory races in a similar way to the Louis Vuitton series is the right method for ACM to select the one going to challenge the Defender” comments Marc Pajot (twice in the semi-finals).

“I regret that, given the current economic situation and despite our attempts to unify our efforts, K-Challenge has chosen a different path. Our sole objective was and remains to see a French team competing successfully.

With the strong experience of our skipper Philippe Presti and helmsman Bertrand Pacé – they together total 9 participations to the Cup – and the support of the younger talented generation represented by Mathieu Richard – N°1 World Match Race ISAF 2008 - Team French Spirit is able to build a strong, efficient and experienced French crew.

Supported by a dozen founding members, Team French Spirit is now going to put more efforts to associate major partners and sponsors to its endeavor to bring home this prestigious trophy.”

A tight schedule

- AC management will issue the Protocol governing the 33rd AC within a few days.
- The new Measurement Rule for the new, lighter and faster, monohull Class America boat will be issued on January 31st, 2009. Only one boat per team as well as a set of additional restriction should enable to split previous budgets by half.
- For Team French Spirit, this means that construction of the new boat is due to start in June 2009.

Team French Spirit also drops from the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series

[Source: Team French Spirit] Marc Pajot’s America’s Cup syndicate, French Spirit, has decided not to take part in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series.

Pajot says that, having put forward its wish to participate, at the very beginning, it was placed on a waiting list and then invited to take part, after Team Germany and Mascalzone Latino had dropped out. He added “On reflection, we decided that participating in that event does not really fit with our programme, which is aimed at taking part in the next America’s Cup.”

A super-maxi yacht for Team French Spirit

[Source: Team French spirit] The probability to see the 33rd America’s Cup being a multi-challenger event is now on everybody’s mind (the dispute between Alinghi and Oracle is still pending, following an ultimate appeal at the US Supreme Court) while, in all likelihood, the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series will take place next February in Auckland. Meanwhile, Team French Spirit is making steady progress with its preparation.

FRENCH SPIRIT ONE

The all carbon-fiber yacht was built in 2003 at the Boat Speed shipyard in Australia. A Hugh Welbourn design, FRENCH SPIRIT ONE features are pretty close to the future America’s Cup measurement rule :

29 meter long
35 meter mast
Sail area : main 300 m2, spinnaker : 600 m2
20 crew members

French Spirit One, the french team's new 90ft yacht. Photo copyright Team French Spirit

The boat was selected by Team French Spirit to carry on its training programme. Philippe Presti, Bertrand Pacé and Mathieu Richard - currently No 1 of the ISAF World Match Race ranking - are going to set up various training sessions in Saint-Tropez during the winter 2008-2009 to recruit and test new talents, select grinders and get everyone more acquainted with a 30 meter mono-hull yacht.

“It’s a major step for our team’s preparation. With this super-maxi, things are becoming more concrete, of course for the crew, but also for our future partners” says Marc Pajot. “This week-end we went to Marseille to participate in the Juris’ Cup and then, from September 29th to October 4th, in the prestigious Voiles de Saint-Tropez”.

Team French Spirit intends also to compete in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series and congratulates Bruno Troublé, Louis Vuitton and Team New Zealand for setting up this new big boat Match Race event. Philippe Presti, skipper : “It will be an excellent opportunity for our new crew to get back on the water and test its skills against redoubtable opponents.”

Designer contest : Projects delivered !

On September 18th in Marseille, 7 design teams submitted their files to public notary Maître André Gildas (this to protect their identities during the first stage of evaluation). Under the guidance of Philippe Gouard, President, the Jury of the designer contest is now facing a long and hard working period.

Team French Spirit builds two 1/4 scale models of the future AC 90

[Source: Team French Spirit] Team French Spirit begins an intensive optimisation programme of its numerical simulation methods

- Performing numerical simulation methods for the Jury of the Designer’s Contest.
- The H2X yard in La Ciotat is milling two 7 m. long models.

To build an America’s Cup Team able to compete with the best, Team French Spirit is taking into account the various components required for a great team : resources in terms of men, material, finances as well as making the best use of the time available. In view of the 34th America’s Cup, the designer’s contest’s is a major component of this strategy.

Team French Spirit has now realised two 1/4 scale models of the future AC 90 (as per the currently known data). These models will be tank tested from July 7th at the testing facilities of the DGA in Val de Reuil. “The purpose of these tests– explains Yann Roux, aerodynamics & coordinator of the Jury – is to validate a methodology based on numerical simulation. By testing two radically different hull shapes, we will be able to compare the tank-testing results with the numerical results, as these will be one of the selection criteria among the various projects submitted to our Jury.”

Based in Saint-Tropez, Team French Spirit makes the best use of local qualifications. Jacques and Nicolas Fauroux – they drew the lines of the two models – are located in Cannes while Franck de Rivoyre – structural engineer – and Yann Roux, have their offices in Sophia Antipolis, near Nice.

From left to right, Marc Pajot, Président and Team Manager Team French Spirit, Nicolas Fauroux, Naval Architect, Sébastien Grall, CEO H2X Yachts & Ships yard. Nice, 23 June 2008. Photo copyright Thierry Seray / Team French Spirit