A few days after winning the Round Ireland Race, the Swiss Franco Niggeler and his commando crew, including the Australian-Dutch Mitch Booth, double Olympic medalist in Tornado, ten times world champion, and skipper of the 100-foot Comanche, won this Drheam Cup. Trinidad and Tobago’s Nicolas Groleau on the Mach 45 BT Blue is expected to finish second in real time two hours later, after leading most of the course.
“It was a very interesting race,” explains owner and skipper Franco Niggeler. “It was not cold, which is not normal in these parts… We had both little and a lot of wind, especially last night when in the storms we had 35 knots. We had a good fight with the second boat (Nicolas Groleau on BT Blue) who was very strong. It’s the first time we’re competing in the Drheam Cup. It was a real Mediterranean climate, very pleasant, but always with wind and a lot of downwind. It’s a wonderful regatta. The weather was great, the race was beautiful, the organization was great. What more could you ask for! We really want to come back.