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KONE Dominates Monoco's Primo Cup |
Nicolas Bérenger’s KONE MONOSPACE dominated the Longtze one-design class in Primo Cup sailed in Monaco Feb. 13-15. Flying a brand new set of Kevlar Titanium sails and a very smart asymetrical spinnaker, KONE took four first places out of the seven races. No other boat won multiple races. The competition was fierce among the eleven-boat fleet, which included skipper like ErwanTabarly (Eric Tabarly’s nephew), Guillaume Florent (Quingdao 2008 Olympic Bronze Medal in Finn), Cédric Pouligny (Melges 24 European Champion), Luc Gellusseau (CHN 95, China Team manager), Marc Emig, and couple teams from Switzerland (Edkhard Kaller, Andreas BIENZ), etc. Nicolas Bérenger won the 2008 Cap Istambul (Nice to Istambul) and is a famous Figaro racer. This was the fist stop in the new Longtze European Tour and the crews got to a true test in a range of wind conditions -- 25 knots of wind, choppy seas, unbridled surfing for Friday’s three races and medium to light and unstable winds on the week-end when the fleet got two races per day. Designed by New Zealander Steve Thomson, Longtze One Design is built in Quingdao, China and is an outgrowth of the Chinese America’s Cup team. For more information on this exciting 22-foot (6.8 meter) sport boat, go to: http://longtze.org/index.php?lang=en You can also find more information via UKH France''s face book page. |