After two days of good racing, Lake Geneva was in a lighter mode for today's final, with the temperamental southwesterly Joran wind failing to reach more than 5 knots all morning due to an impending storm forming.
When the wind finally reached a relatively stable 10-knots at 15:00 CET, the race committee was able to squeeze in two solid races: the first won by Bertrand Demole's Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier and the second won by Realteam Sailing, putting them on tied points.
"It was a great fight and an excellent finish with Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier. Bertrand (Demole) and his team have done a fantastic job this weekend; they won the Geneve-Rolle-Geneve and came into today on a high, whereas we were on more of a low after a disappointing day yesterday. It was all in for the last race. We just needed to finish in front of them, and the crew did a good job of winning the last race and the championship", commented helm Jérôme Clerc after the prize giving.
In the overall standings, going into the final day, the points for the podium were unusually close, with only one point between first-place Realteam Sailing and second-placed Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilier, and ZEN Too only three points off in third.
In the afternoon's first race, ZEN Too had the best start and led the fleet for the first half but was overtaken on the final downwind by Ylliam XII - Comptoir Immobilie, who took a comfortable win with ZEN Too in second. A costly fifth-place finish for Realteam Sailing saw Clerc's team replaced by Demole's on the leaderboard.
One more race and one last chance for Realteam Sailing. On the first beat, the two teams were matched on the left-hand side of the course, but at the first windward gate, Spindrift squeezed between the two boats and from their Realteam Sailing was able to extend away to take the race win.
In the overall points, including a discard, this put both teams on six, and with two firsts and two seconds a piece, the final race result broke the tie and handed Realteam Sailing the win.
"I think we need to have two first prizes today! The points were so close. It was a beautiful way to finish the weekend; I'm very happy. The team is stepping up, we are making good progress and the boat is going well. It's a lot of fun to race like that when everything goes well," explains a jubilant Demole.
"It was a special pleasure today for our team because we went for a sail with the young people from Leman hope when the wind was light, and I think they enjoyed the opportunity to be onboard with us, " Clerc adds.
The TF35 Trophy 2023 season will continue next weekend when the teams take part in the Bol d'Or Mirabaud, the world's largest inland lake regatta.
