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Paul Cayard (USA), helmsman Artemis (SWE),
“We are very very happy, mostly, because what we are trying to build here on Artemis is a process to go out and win races and that comes from a certain amount of confidence and stability and the boat the crew, our starting and we really lost that in Marseille, so more important really than winning the race, or being second, or third to me is just that we come back and we are very, very competitive. And that's a great way to go forward, for the Medcup becauset also we were trying to work with the America's Cup.”
“ We were really quick downwind the whole week, and noticed that on the first run obviously so as soon as we came round the mark I was kind of urging Cam just to give me clean lane.”
“We could go really fast if we don't have the wakes of the other boats so we had surfed right up to Prada almost immediatly and it didn't really matter which way we went, or which way the wind was going to go, we just wanted to get away from boats so we could just rip.”
“And it seemed we had a better gear than anybody else downwind and that let us slip just right on through. It couldn't have been more exciting than that, coming down to the last race”.
Cameron Appleton (NZL), tactician Artemis (SWE):
" In that sort of sea stake there was out there, we just needed clear water. We went around the top mark and we weren’t in great shape as I'd picked the wrong side as we went the wrong side on the first beat so my strategy changed quite a lot for the overall win, I was thinking that once Team New Zealand was clear but that we were probably going to see them again in that race.”
“ We came around the top mark and we had the most left that we’ve seen of the beat and a lot of pressure and I thought lets just try and go the opposite way here and tray and sail in clean water and there is really good pressure offshore apparently, so we used that pressure, went all the way down, gybed on layline and we had two minutes of sailing in someone else’s quarter wave and nine minutes sailing in free water. That was the big difference plus the extra pressure and the shift.
It was the first run that sealed a lot and then we used the same mentality a little bit on the second run; just get away from the guys.
On the secrets of their downwind speed:
“ Just getting your angle and keeping the boat hiking hard and trying to keep a constant heel angle with the power, on just sending it. When you’re in these boats and you’re not in someone else’s wake you can sail where you like. We picked up a bit of pressure when we gybed out on the first run, I thought well I’m one place behind Team New Zealand and there was one boat in the middle of us, we are not going to beat them by following them so let's just get a bit of separation if we lose Matador then we weren’t going to win anyway so lets just try and get around Prada and finish on this stern and just have a chance on countback and we actually overtook Prada and Team New Zealand and Origin so it just sort of fell into place.
And how big is it for the team?
“ It’s a real, real big deal for us, we worked hard and we wanted a good result here. We didn’t aim to be the guys who won it. We wanted to win it but we just wanted to improve on what we’d showed up to do in Marseille.”
And on Torbjorn Tjornqvist being absent this week:
“ Unfortunately Torbjorn Tornqvist wasn’t able to be here this week. What that did is it allowed us to get some real continuity over this eight-day stretch and it’s really unfortunate that he couldn’t be here to join in the celebration. Unfortunately for him he’s really busy with his business but I’m sure he’s feeling excitement for the team but also he’ll be upset he couldn’t be here to be part of it.”
On what changes they have made:
“ We just are refining and have been working on things but we’ve got a great team, It’s a great group of guys and we’ve and its just about installing confidence and trusting our ability in each other.”
Gonzalo Araujo (ESP), skipper Bribón (ESP):
“Winning the last race always adds a positive note. Today we confirmed our improvement throughout the second half of the event. And as I always say in this circuit we all have the level to win races, it's a matter of racing well. After the start we've gone to the right to get the clean air from the others, but we didn't have a good start, didn't get ourselves a gap. Marcel (Van Triest, navigator) told us to go further in, since it was going to shift to Garbí. So a big part of this win is his”
Paolo Cian (ITA), skipper/helmsman Madrid-Caser Seguros (ESP):
“If there was one thing we did well this week, it was our focus on the little things we did before the regatta to get us the small edge in speed. In a class this tight, this small edge means a lot.”
Juanlu Páez (ESP), navigator Madrid-Caser Seguros (ESP):
“We made a good start, Islas Canarias was called over the line what obviously helped us, cause we then had the control and our boat sails fast, so it all went perfect, the 17 knots wind were also excellent conditions for us. Islas Canarias is a very good team and they've been able to come back, it's clear she's our main rival. The boat is the same, and we also have same sails, mast, so we'll probably keep fighting against till the last day. It wouldn't surprise me if it all came to the last race in Cagliari”.. |
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