Training on a 60-foot Multihull - Photos and Video

BMW ORACLE Racing starts a two-week training session this week from Lorient, on France’s Brittany coast. They are training on board the 60-foot multihull Groupama 2.

Sailing with BMW ORACLE Racing will be Groupama 2’s skipper, Franck Cammas (FRA), who is working with the team as a consultant for much of the team’s America’s Cup multihull training program. Among the afterguard for the Lorient session will be Russell Coutts (NZL), John Kostecki (USA) and James Spithill (AUS). Among the crew will be some of Franck’s regular crew including Thierry Fouchier (FRA), and Bruno Laurent (FRA).

“We are looking forward to sailing these big multis. It is going to be challenging and exciting,” said BMW ORACLE Racing tactician John Kostecki. “We started with the Extreme 40s in Valencia and this is the next step toward the maxi multis we will sail in the next America’s Cup. These multis are a different breed of boat from what most of us typically race so we can expect a steep learning curve in this session. We appreciate the chance to train on Groupama and to gain some insights from Franck and his team.”

In the second week of the training, the team will compete against a second 60-footer to gain some of their first racing experience in the high performance multihulls.

• Photo: Groupama 2 sailing by Yvan Zedda Groupama
• Video: Sailing Groupama 2