It was a successful start to the season for the Vulcain Trophy, the new name for the next three years of the Décision 35 championship. After a so-called “sausage-course” race between the Beau-Rivage Palace hotel in Lausanne and the Société Nautique de Genève, won by the famous skipper Paul Cayard on Artemis, the most prestigious sailors (such as Ernesto Bertarelli, Michel Desjoyaux, Stève Ravussin) vied with each other for two days aboard their high-tech catamarans in the Grand Prix Les Ambassadeurs. While it was no surprise to see Alinghi and Artemis on the winners’ podium, the real sensation came from the first place won by the youngsters from the Geneva Regatta Training Centre. Their skipper Jérôme Clerc accepted the winner’s prize from Joachim Ziegler, the new CEO of the Les Ambassadeurs group. Bernard Fleury was also present as CEO of Vulcain, main sponsor of this circuit formerly called the Challenge Julius Baer. For the first time this year, the D35 will leave Lake Léman in the 2nd part of the season to compete in two Grand Prix on the Côte d’Azur, still as part of the Vulcain Trophy.
