Brouwer leads the way on Holmatro at Bol d'Or
June 17, 2007 by Team Holmatro | 0 comments
Female skipper and Olympic campaigning Tornado sailor, Carolijn Brouwer, led the Extreme 40s across the finish line onboard Holmatro at 2052 local time (+1hr BST). Then 5 minutes later Nick Moloney, skipper of Offshore Challenges Sailing Team, crossed the line obviously enjoying the conditions and the company of Swiss sailor Yvan Ravussin and Australian Olympic Tornado crew Darren Bundock onboard. The third Extreme 40, Volvo Ocean Race, this time steered by Herbert Dercksen finished just over 20 minutes later.
In typical Lake Geneva conditions with winds varying in speed and direction and after 12 hours of racing, the Bol d’Or Mirabaud came to a close in a tight finish for the three Extreme 40s who successfully completed the 82-mile journey of endurance in the 69th edition of this classic inland regatta.
Female skipper and Olympic campaigning Tornado sailor, Carolijn Brouwer, led the Extreme 40s across the finish line onboard Holmatro at 2052 local time (+1hr BST). Then 5 minutes later Nick Moloney, skipper of Offshore Challenges Sailing Team, crossed the line obviously enjoying the conditions and the company of Swiss sailor Yvan Ravussin and Australian Olympic Tornado crew Darren Bundock onboard. The third Extreme 40, Volvo Ocean Race, this time steered by Herbert Dercksen finished just over 20 minutes later.
Alan Hillman, iShares Cup Race Manager for the Extreme 40 class at the Bol d’Or Mirabaud reported: ‘The Bol d’Or Mirabaud is a classic endurance race and today it has been amazing to see 40 multihulls on the start line alongside over 500 other boats. Lake Geneva is a stunning venue and the 82-mile course very challenging – the Extreme 40s would be doing 20 knots, flying one of their hulls, and the next sailing into a wind hole and only managing 2 knots of speed. It was very challenging for the crews and to sail with the Decision 35’s was great – they are optimised for the lake and certainly proved this today. We are grateful to have been invited by the Société Nautique de Genève to take part in this prestigious race. Being granted ‘invited class’ status gave us a fantastic opportunity to showcase the Extreme 40 class. With fantastic organisation and warm hospitality, the Bol d’Or Mirabaud has been a great endurance event for the crews.’
A 0900 start released the 550-strong fleet in a steady six knots of wind with Moloney’s team first over the start line ahead of their Extreme 40 competitors Holmatro and Volvo Ocean Race.
Holmatro then slipped behind the Extreme 40s and into the monohull pack but Carolijn Brouwer, competing in her first Bol d’Or Mirabaud, caught up with her Extreme 40 rivals and overtook them to lead the Extreme 40 class up to the only race mark, set in the south-east corner of the lake, close to the village of Bouveret.
‘It was an exhausting and really challenging race. It’s really tiring helming for 12 hours but let me get some rest and we’ll do it again on Monday!’ said 34-year-old Brouwer. ‘It was really cat and mouse with all the Extreme 40’s throughout the day. We would break clear then everyone would bunch up and we would start the race all over again. It was fantastic sailing against so many fast cats. We were slower against the lake optimised boats but as soon as the breeze came up we were starting to reel them in but the distance was too great to catch up. There’s no doubt I would love to do this race again.’
Offshore Challenges Sailing Team skipper, Nick Moloney, had some big talent on board for the first of three iShares Endurance Races in Olympic Tornado sailor, Darren Bundock ranked number one in the catamaran Tornado class, and multihull sailor Yvan Ravussin who provided some ‘local knowledge’: ‘It has been an amazing trip down here, amazing scenery and an awesome race against some of the fastest sailing machines built. I hope we get invited back. It was a thrill for us to have the great man, Darren, on board!’ said Moloney.
Darren Ashby: ‘It was a great, well-organised race with a whole spectrum of conditions. To race against boats like the D35s and the M2s that I had never seen before was incredible. Their performance in the light conditions was really very impressive.’
Complete results from the Bol d’Or Mirabaud can be found on the official event websitehttp://www.boldormirabaud.com
From 22-23 June the Extreme 40 fleet will take part in the next chapter of iShares Endurance Racing when they compete in the JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race from Cowes, Isle of Wight. Follow the event from the website www.iSharesCup.com
by Emily Caroe
OC Events
