| SAINT TROPEZ, FRA-(8-10-2002) Tension is getting higher, decks are full of little “ants” who are working as hard as they can to prepare the IC45, boats for the One Ton Cup which will be on the start line tomorrow morning in the Saint-Tropez bay.
6 boats did finally come to try to get the 10kg solid silver cup that Georges Andreadis, the owner of Atalanti X, brought back from Greece to defend his title. And he really counts on keeping it back home as Paul Cayard (who went 2 times to the finals of the America’s Cup in 1992 and 1995), will be at helm of this boat, and the only fact to pronounce his name already scares and motivates 2 times more the other competitors.
So there is a fleet of an incredible high quality, where skippers and crew members let everybody anticipate a fantastic show on the water and tactic fights that make think of America’s Cup regattas… It’s nearly like if Saint-Tropez looked like a competition in the Pacific area this week.
It was also the last day of training for the boats, with weighing of the crews, measuring of the boats and sails, skippers briefing : everything is ready to dive in the famous One Ton Cup tomorrow morning.
Cavale Bleue (Michel Duquenne) will be leaded by Thierry Peponnet and François Brenac for tactics, a team-member who will with no doubt make the difference as he’s a master in match-racing. Groovederci will be at the start with Deneen Demourkas at helm and Chris Larson for tactics.
K-Challenge 1 with Dawn Riley and Alain Fedensieu as the tactician, as well as K-Challenge 2 skippered by Nicolas Charbonnier and Laurent Pages for tactics will do everything they can to get a victory.
Wolf will lastly defend the English colours with Glynn Williams and Tim Powell at helm.
Tomorrow morning, boats and crews have to be ready by 10:00am, the weather probably won’t be good, as rain is coming with rough seas and strong wind, but all the sacrifices are good to see those racing boats going through the seas and fight till they are exhausted.
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