On the edge

Aleph makes its debut

Posted on 23 July 2011

With skipper Bertrand Pacé looking to win the Tour de France à la Voile for the eighth time this weekend, his Aleph teammates were busy in Cascais, taking out the team's AC45 for the first time.

Alain Gautier was at the helm. "We had beautiful conditions for a first day with10 to 20 knots of wind. In this narrow body of water, we have been able to learn a lot and get in a lot of manoeuvres," Gautier said. "Compared to a D35, the AC45 has more volume in the front, making it quite stable and, as might be expected, the rigid wing sail is very efficient."

Today was Gautier's baptism at the helm of the wing-sailed AC45. "Compared to a soft sail, the wing reacts much faster. One dose of power on demand and it is very easy to manoeuvre. After just a few hours on the water, we can already see that the AC45 has a lot of potential. It was also the first multihull experience for two of our teammates, Mikael Mergui and François Verdier, and they are not disappointed!"

Energy Team and Team Korea also took advantage of the more manageable conditions Saturday to get more practice in, making for a nice show for spectators on shore.  

"It's beautiful here," Gautier said. "We are currently housed within the River Tagus, while in Cascais, where I have been for eight years, everything is beginning to fall into place to host the event in two weeks."

More images are available here and onboard images are here.