Sunday 14 March 2010

LVT: Tough Match for ALL4ONE against Emirates Team New Zealand




ALL4ONE against Emirates Team New Zealand in Auckland. Image copyright Frank Socha/www.franksocha.com

by Stephanie Nadin

ALL4ONE did a very nice match Saturday against the local team of Emirates Team New Zealand, even if the point was not for ALL4ONE in the end.

All the match was set after the start, even if the French-German team did a very solid race behind to come back as close as possible. Jochen Schümann and his crew sailed very close to Dean Barker's team all the match, but it hasn't been enough to take over the advantage in this race.

ALL4ONE improved a lot since the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice, and proved it again recently here in Auckland with nice points scored in the Round Robin of the regatta. The team has to carry on working and spending lots of time together sailing again and again to continue its progression.

Sebastien Col, Helmsman: "we are still in a learning process with the afterguard, and we have to focus to be more on the same page regarding our target for the start. Today we clearly wanted the left side of the race course. There were two steps on the start: on the first one we put ourselves in difficulty coming back late on the line, with a last jibe a bit too late. And the second mistake came from the fact that we were already in a difficult position being behind Emirates Team New Zealand, so we got close to the lay line on starboard of the mark (on the left end of the line) with less speed than them, and we found ourselves blocked.

"The frustrating side of it for me is that I could have realised 25 to 30 seconds before the start that it was not possible anymore to take the left on the start, which was our target. I should have tacked and left on port side, even if losing our target. I was too fixated on it and I didn't realise early enough that we couldn't start in that position. It is even more frustrating for me today as we have a great team that never gives up. Our team can win any match, provided that we have a good start. We'll have a debrief tonight with the team, in order to be on the same page at the start and to take the good decisions at the right moment."

A famous 18th man was on board Saturday to support team ALL4ONE: Jean-Pierre Dick, a famous French skipper, who is currently following up the building of his new boat in Auckland for the next Vendee Globe single handed race around the world.


ALL4ONE against Emirates Team New Zealand in Auckland. Image copyright Frank Socha/www.franksocha.com

Jean-Pierre Dick: "it was a fabulous day, and an extraordinary match between ETNZ and ALL4ONE. Everything was over in just a few seconds, with a start a little bit behind for ALL4ONE unfortunately, but we sailed a great race and gave some work to the Kiwis who were playing at home. For sure they are the team to beat in this regatta, as it will be difficult to get them at home, and they are a strong team. I think that ALL4ONE did a great job today, the team is getting stronger, and I hope to see them in the semis. I wish them the best for the coming days."

ALL4ONE will race against French team Aleph Sunday for the 5th match of the Round Robin.

RESULTS DAY 4
Race 1: Emirates Team New Zealand wins by 26 sec over ALL4ONE
Race 2: TeamOrigin wins by 2'11" sec over Aleph
Race 3: Azzurra wins over Artemis (retired from race)
Race 4: Mascalzone Latino wins by 19 sec over Synergy

ALL4ONE
Louis Vuitton Trophy

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