GENERALI: ONE STEP FORWARD AS SKANDIA MOVES UP LEADERBOARD

LA GENERALI MEDITERRANEE 14-28 JUNE 2003
RACE 4+5 : INSHORE RACES - PORT CARMARGUE
DISTANCE : APPROX 8 MILES PER RACE
CONDITIONS : 8-20 knots W / start time approx 11h00 / race duration 2 hours

IN BRIEF:

* SKANDIA move up one place on La Generali Méditerranée leaderboard to 26th overall just behind Vendée Globe sailor Marc Thiercelin, after scoring a 23rd and 24th place in today's two inshore races: "The wind went from 8 knots to 20 pretty quickly and it was shifty too...when you are not leading you have to play the shifts dependent on where everyone else is going so it has been a bit of a frustrating day..."

* After Yves Le Blevec's stunning 7th place in the offshore race from Marseille, the leading rookie falls out of the top 10 on the overall leaderboard today... Seventy points lay between Le Blevec and Davies' 8th place in the rookie standings so still plenty of room for manoeuvre in this newcomer class. Corrado ('Rad') Augusta (29th place overall) like Sam is brand new to the Figaro class and shares a common interest with Davies, having worked with the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team as préperateur for Nick Moloney's winning Class 2 Open 50 in the 2002 Route du Rhum.

* Never falling out of the top five since the start, consistency is paying for Eric Drouglazet (DAVID OLIVIER) as he maintains his winning form scoring a 1-2 today to maintain his place at the top of the leaderboard 9 points clear of Gildas Morvan... One points separates Jérémie Beyou (last year's winner) in 3rd place on 29 points and Erwan Tabarly in 4th...

* Tomorrow the Figaro fleet leave Port Camargue for the second overnight offshore leg - a 190 mile race to Beaulieu. Heading eastwards will give the potential for more downwind/reaching sailing if the winds stays from the western sector - a good point of sail for SKANDIA...

IN DETAIL:

After the long and tiring 110 mile offshore leg from Marseille to Port Camargue, the 32 skippers got some rest overnight before preparing for the start of racing again today. Two inshore races were held off Port Camargue - windward/leeward courses, 1.7 mile legs, four times round, each race lasting approximately 2 hours. The wind from the west started light, just 8 knots, but quickly built up to 20 knots kicking up a short chop.

"It was really shifty and unpredictably shifty," said Davies. "We were okay and seemed to be making the right decisions but at the back you have to play the shifts dependent on where everyone else is going which can be frustrating."

Unhappy with her starts today, Davies concentrated on the set up of SKANDIA to improve upwind performance: "We seem a bit slower than some others upwind, especially if its windy and there are waves," said Davies. "I was trying out different ways of trimming the boat like changing backstay tension and so on. Every incremental improvement feels just great and makes a huge difference to your morale, you just have to keep chipping away."

RESULTS - RACE 1/2/3/4/5 - 17 JUNE:
(Skipper/boat name/race result/overall position/total points)
NB: double points scored for offshore legs

Eric Drouglazet / DAVID OLIVER / 4-4-1-1-2 / 1st overall (13 points) Gildas Morvan / CERCLE VERT / 3-3-2-4-8 / 2nd overall (22 points) Jérémie Beyou / DELTA DORE / 2-5-8-3-3 / 3rd overall (29 points) Erwan Tabarly / THALES / 8-8-3-2-6 / 4th overall (30 points) Armel Le Cleac'h / CREALINE / 1-1-11-6-1 / 5th overall (31 points) Sébastien Audigane / E LECLERC / 12-6-5-10-7 / 6th overall (45 points) Laurent Pellecuer / AON / 17-2-6-7-15 / 7th overall (53 points) Gwenael Riou / ESPOIR CREDIT AGRICOLE / 9-12-4-16-10 / 8th overall (55 points) Gilles Chiorri / METEO CONSULT GROUPE / 14-9-9-9-9 / 9th overall (59 points) Charles Caudrelier Benac / BOSTIK FINDLEY / 11-18-18-5-5 10th overall (75 points) Samantha Davies * / SKANDIA / 20-27-30-23-24 / 26th overall (154 points)

* Newcomer to event or in French "Bizuth" ie rookie

ROOKIE STANDINGS:
Yves Le Blevec / REVE DE GRAND - ACTUAL INTERIM (84 points) Christopher Pratt / CAFE MALONGO (98 points) Christophe Artaud / PETITS-PETONS (110 points) Franck-Yves Escoffier / CREPES WHAOU! (110 points) Marc Emig / IN EXTREMIS (115 points) Christophe Bouvet / SOR TMC (117 points) Stéphane Sevaux / PLUS PHARMACIE (146 points) Samantha Davies / SKANDIA (154 points) Eric Pilat / ALTAVENTURE/SNSM (162 points) Corrado Agusta / SECTOR SPORT WATCHES (165 points) Sander Bakker / STERN GROEP (175 points)

For further information on La Générali Médierranée please visit http://www.generalimed.com

Course:
Friday 13 June-Prologue-Marseilles-Afternoon
Saturday 14 June-Inshore race 1-Marseilles-Start 11h00
Sunday 15 June-Offshore leg 1-Marseilles-Port-Camargue-Start 11h00 Monday 16 June-Offshore leg 1-Arrive Port-Camargue Tuesday 17 June-Inshore race 2-Port-Camargue-Start 11h00 Wednesday 18 June-Offshore leg 2-Port-Camargue-Beaulieu-Start 11h00 Thursday 19 June-Offshore leg 2-Arrive Beaulieu Friday 20 June-Lay day Saturday 21 June-Offshore leg 3-Beaulieu-Impéria-Start 11h00 Sunday 22 June-Offshore leg 4-Impéria-Hyeres-Start 11h00 Monday 23 June-Offshore leg 4-Arrive Hyeres Tuesday 24 June-Offshore leg 5-Hyeres-Porquerolles-Start 11h00 Wednesday 25 June-Lay day Thursday 26 June-Inshore race 3-Porquerolles-Start 11h00 Friday 27 June-Inshore race 4-Porquerolles-Start 11h00 Saturday 28 June-Inshore race 5-Porquerolles-Start 11h00

For further information on La Générali Médierranée please visit http://www.generalimed.com