America's Cup: Swiss announce sailing team for Vilanova
by Sail-World.com/nz 11 Sep 23:14 NZST
11 September 2023
Luna Rossa, Alinghi RBR and INEOS Britannia - AC40 - Day 62 - Barcelona - September 1, 2023 © Alex Carabi / America's Cup
Alinghi Red Bull Racing has announced its four starting crew members for the America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in Vilanova, Spain, scheduled from September 14-17.
They are helmsmen Arnaud Psarofaghis (35) and Maxime Bachelin (25), and trimmers Bryan Mettraux (33) and Yves Detrey (44), who will sail the Alinghi Red Bull Racing AC40 One Design.
Helmsman Nicolas Charbonnier (42) and two trimmers, Nicolas Rolaz (23) and Lucien Cujean (34) were named as reserve crew, while the four sailing team advisors will also be at the regatta.
For the past year of training in Barcelona, Alinghi Red Bull Racing has been rotating its crew across the two AC40s and the AC75 regularly with an emphasis on learning and communication between team members.
“We wanted as a priority to have everyone improving. And by doing this, we learned what was the first configuration in terms of communication between the guys. We chose the four sailors and worked on the best two pairs that worked well together,” said Pietro Sibello, Sailing Team Advisor.
The first of three America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta will feature all six America’s Cup entries: Alinghi Red Bull Racing, Emirates Team New Zealand, INEOS Britannia, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, NYYC American Magic and Orient Express Racing Team.
They will compete in AC40 foiling monohulls sailing with One Design equipment.
The regatta format calls for eight fleet races to be held over the three days, with the top two teams proceeding to a final head-to-head match race, in Race 9 sailed on Sunday.
The racing action is scheduled daily from 1530hrs-1730hrs CET or 1330hrs-1530hrs UTC.
Practice racing will be held before the Event, with Official Racing contested on Friday, September 15 to Sunday, September 17, 2023 inclusive.
Sail-World will carry full coverage of the Regatta and other events, including video of the live racing.