SUI-2 Okalys-Corum, 3rd place on the Bol d'Or Mirabaud

Press release

 

 

A decisive step for the team OKALYS-CORUM at the 71st edition of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud. Even though the race started - on Saturday June 13th at 10.00 am– just a few miles off Geneva's Yacht Club with a lack of wind, it was punctuated by a very narrow dispute between all D35 (Decision 35 boat) which sailed along more than 550 boats. On arrival, it is in the last 200 meters that the final classification emerged. If the victory was taken by FONCIA, skippered by Alain Gautier and Michel Desjoyeaux, the team OKALYS-CORUM took the third place thus taking the lead of the Challenge Julius Baer with 6pts, followed by Alinghi SUI-1 with 9pts.

Review of racing (results of the races taken from the Grand Chelem release)
The first crew to turn around the buoy off Versoix was Banque Populaire, together with two other D35 (Julius Baer by Philippe Cardis and Zen Too by Guy de Picciotto) remained in the lead early in the race. On the way to the Bouveret (which is located at the other end of the Geneva Lake), Zebra 7-FirstCaution took the lead of the race, followed closely by Foncia (alternately skippered by Alain Gautier and Michel Desjoyeaux); Smarthome by Christian Michel and OKALYS-CORUM by Nicolas Grange, who after slow start made a fast comeback. In Bouveret, the top three Julius Baer, Banque Populaire, and Smarthome were extremely close. As night came, the race between the 7 boats intensified, and continued all the way through to the finish line. It is finally Foncia 200m before the finish line who raced ahead to win the 71st edition of the Bol d'0r Mirabaud, before Smarthome 2nd position and OKALYS-CORUM third.

Classification of Bol d'Or Mirabaud Race time

1. SUI-5 Foncia 1pt 19:33:26
2. SUI-9 Smarthome 2pts 19:34:34
3. SUI-2 OKALYS-CORUM 3pts 19:36:54
4. SUI-3 Julius-Baer 4pts 19:38:43
5. SUI-12 Banque Populaire 5pts 19:46:29
6. SUI-1 Alinghi SUI 1 6pts 20:34:15
7. SUI-4 Zen Too 7pts 20:39:06
8. SUI-7 Zebra 7-FirstCaution 8pts 21:06:55
9. SUI-6 Alinghi SUI 6 9pts 21:36:56
10. SUI-11 Veltigroup 10pts 21:44:46
11. SUI-8 Romandie.com 11pts 23:28:17
12. SUI-10 Ladycat 12pts 24:27:10
General classification of the Challenge Julius Baer

1. SUI-2 OKALYS-CORUM 6pts
2. SUI-1 Alinghi SUI 1 9pts
3. SUI-5 Foncia 9pts
4. SUI-3 Julius-Baer 14pts
5. SUI-6 Alinghi SUI 6 18pts
6. SUI-4 Zen Too 20pts
7. SUI-12 Banque Populaire 21pts
8. SUI-7 Zebra 7-FirstCaution 23pts
9. SUI-9 Smarthome 25pts
10. SUI-11 Veltigroup 27pts
11. SUI-10 Ladycat 29pts
12. SUI-8 Romandie.com 34pts

The results of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud reflects the teams' strengths, both of amateurs and professionals, which have been honed through years of experience making this a really exhilarating competition. Note that the rankings mentioned in this release take into account the Decision 35 only. In the classification of all classes of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud, some M2 have come in between some successful D35.

At the end of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud, Antonio Calce, Chief Executive Officer of CORUM Watches said: "The results achieved by the team OKALYS-CORUM proves that the success is built on long term effort. Although many teams including OKALYS-CORUM, have top ocean sailors on board, what really makes the difference in the team is the collaboration between each members. Finally the more we live and share together, the better our performance become. The victory was built through hard work, and is due to the stability and the maturity of the crew. The parallel with a brand like ours is striking, even if CORUM has a captain, the success of the brand, its effectiveness is increased tenfold by emotion, humanity, complicity and the quality of human relations that bind me to my closest colleagues and to all my employees ... our union is our strength. So even if at the Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2009, OKALYS-CORUM is not first, they are always participating and always among the best which is what really counts!

The impressions of the OKALYS-CORUM team after the race quoted by Damien Cardenoso, trimmer : "Even though the arrival is the highlight of this edition of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud and the moment that we retain as the major one, it is the whole film of the race, scene after scene which matters. The Bol d'Or Mirabaud is a major race that remains very difficult and very strategic. Difficult because this type of race is played on the strength of teams, both physical and psychological, with more than 20 hours of racing, there needs to be good cohesion and that every one complements each other to ensure an effective rotation along the race. Strategic because we must remain in a group of boats, but of course the right one and avoid the big gaps. This race was especially important for our team OKALYS-CORUM, as it was the opportunity to finally win this prestigious trophy (you have to win three times in 5 years to finally be able to take it home). The first five places were played a few hundred meters from the finish line, so we tried our best until the end. If we are of course a bit disappointed to have missed the first place, our third place at the Bol d'Or Mirabaud is a good result that gives us the first place of the Challenge Julius Baer”.

Next step: 27 and 28 June, the Grand Prix Romandie.com Act II, 5th stage of the Challenge Julius Baer 2009.