Team France, AC-37

dg_sailingfan

dg_sailingfan

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Forourselves said:
If Team France are quick learners and can get to grips with the AC40/ AC75 quickly, and they receive a competitive design package from the Kiwi's, they could well be competitive, especially given France is as competitive as the other teams in SailGP, France may be able to spoil some of the other teams plans.
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A lot of wishcasting by you. France won't have their AC40 OD until August and then they have to race it in September while other Teams have will have locked in as much as 50 Days or more in the AC40. Nope, they won't be competitive, at least not during the two AC Preliminary Events/Regattas that will be held prior to the CSS & Match.
 
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symbio2

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For those who understand french, and who are interested about the genesis of this french campaign, plus some its perspectives, there is the crazy amazing Tip&Shaft bio-podcast "Into the Wind" of Bruno Dubois (made by the excellent P.Y. Lautrou), in which the first 45min is fully about this matter (it starts at 1min25),
(and there for more usual podcast diffusers).
Hugely informative.

By the way, this whole "bio-podcast" of Bruno Dubois is fantastic ! (there is a second part)
A crazy huge page of the sailing history of the last three decades is contained therein (mainly related to NorthSails).
 
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jaysper

jaysper

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jmh2002 said:
Orient Express is owned by the French Accor (Hotel) Group.

But there are/were a few different 'Orient Express' variants so that makes for some confusion.

Accor to revive original Orient Express train in 2025

Accor has unveiled images of its forthcoming Orient Express train that will feature sumptuous sleeper suites, a bar and a restaurant
globetrender.com globetrender.com

en.wikipedia.org

Accor - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
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Ah cool, I could have mis-remembered anywho.
I give them about as much chance to win as they had the last time they competed, but you don't want to see them kicked.
I long for the days where the French were actually competitive.
 
Sailbydate

Sailbydate

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jaysper said:
Ah cool, I could have mis-remembered anywho.
I give them about as much chance to win as they had the last time they competed, but you don't want to see them kicked.
I long for the days where the French were actually competitive.
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You mean in the AC, right? They're far and away the best ocean racers in the world today. Just sayin.
 
dg_sailingfan

dg_sailingfan

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Sailbydate said:
You mean in the AC, right? They're far and away the best ocean racers in the world today. Just sayin.
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Very well said! Should Holcim-PRB win the Overall TOR Kevin Escoffier would be the 3rd French Skipper in the last four Editions of the Race to win the Event after Franck Cammas (2011/12) and Charles Caudrelier (2017/18).

That doesn't include the countless Figaros French Offshore Sailors have won + they also have won a decent Number of Vendee Globes I think.
 
Sailbydate

Sailbydate

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dg_sailingfan said:
Very well said! Should Holcim-PRB win the Overall TOR Kevin Escoffier would be the 3rd French Skipper in the last four Editions of the Race to win the Event after Franck Cammas (2011/12) and Charles Caudrelier (2017/18).

That doesn't include the countless Figaros French Offshore Sailors have won + they also have won a decent Number of Vendee Globes I think.
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Top designers too, DG. France is a veritable giant in world yachting.
 
jaysper

jaysper

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Sailbydate said:
Top designers too, DG. France is a veritable giant in world yachting.
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Which is why it is sad to see them as the bunnies of the AC world.
They used to be up there with the Italians in terms of style and performance. Their boats were good too.
God knows how many 28 year olds are wandering around San Diego with decidedly French or Italian features due to the AC.
 
Sailbydate

Sailbydate

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jaysper said:
Which is why it is sad to see them as the bunnies of the AC world.
They used to be up there with the Italians in terms of style and performance. Their boats were good too.
God knows how many 28 year olds are wandering around San Diego with decidedly French or Italian features due to the AC.
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Maybe AC37 will be a turning point for them. They're certainly not short of talent.
 
Horn Rock

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dg_sailingfan said:
The Italians won't win the Cup either.
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They won races with a slower boat last time. Their high mode was quite deadly until Burling and Co figured out how to avoid it. They were easily the best challenger. They will improve on their last effort, making them formidable. I wouldn't be writing the Italians off. They have to be the favoured team to challenge at this early stage.
I expect a strong and improved effort from AM who were fast in a breeze, but had weaknesses in light air. They will remedy those issues.
You never quite know what we're going to get with the Brits, but I wouldn't be writing them off either. Even they had a little purple patch last time where they looked quite likely.
I think Alinghi are up against it starting so far back. Ditto the French.
 
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jmh2002

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A point to note - perhaps surprisingly given that a lot of focus regarding these boats has been that they foil and are very fast - is that they produce a devastating amount of dirty air from the mainsail.

Starts remain very important as even with a faster boat it's still difficult to get past if you lose the start, as @Horn Rock referred to - and that was even with ETNZ having a MUCH faster boat, knots faster in fact.

So the two new teams - the Swiss and the French - who we are generally assuming will be slower due to less development time, may well still give the other teams a fright with a well won start and defensive sailing - no different to the old match racing days.

But are they likely to be in the final? Probably not, unless all the other teams have a complete shocker (unlikely) or they somehow manage to achieve a huge design break through (possible, but also unlikely).

In any case as @Kiwing said it should still be an amazingly competitive Cup.
 
Sailbydate

Sailbydate

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Horn Rock said:
They won races with a slower boat last time. Their high mode was quite deadly until Burling and Co figured out how to avoid it. They were easily the best challenger. They will improve on their last effort, making them formidable. I wouldn't be writing the Italians off. They have to be the favoured team to challenge at this early stage.
I expect a strong and improved effort from AM who were fast in a breeze, but had weaknesses in light air. They will remedy those issues.
You never quite know what we're going to get with the Brits, but I wouldn't be writing them off either. Even they had a little purple patch last time where they looked quite likely.
I think Alinghi are up against it starting so far back. Ditto the French.
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My pick for the Challenger Series final is LRPP Vs ARBR with LRPP coming out on top. And I would not be surprised if they took the Cup off ETNZ, this time around.
 
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enigmatically2

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I agree that with gen 2 (or 3 depending on how you cou)boats it should be closer this time. And that does in turn mean that starts are important. Would be nice to see some match racing tactics
 
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