[singlepic=2088,300,204,,left]45ma Congressional Cup – Long Beach – Nonostante la giornata inaugurale li abbia visti dominare la scena, Terry Hutchinson e Ben Ainslie sono i primi a dire che la Congressional Cup 2009 è molto più equilibrata di quanto si possa pensare. I due fuoriclasse, tornati in porto con uno score di 6 a 0 e 5 a 1.
“Ci sono tanti campioni e se oggi sono uscito imbattuto, domani potrei finire con uno score di 0 a 6” ha commentato Hutchinson, che al suo attivo ha una vittoria nel 1992 e svariate partecipazioni (nel 2003 tattico di Ken Read, nel 2006 di Dean Barker).
L’ex tattico di Emirates Team New Zealand, eletto velista statunitense dell’anno, è stato l’unico a chiudere la prima giornata imbattuto. Dopo di lui, Ben Ainslie, sconfitto unicamente nello scontro diretto. Gli altri, chi più, chi meno, hanno attraversato momenti di difficoltà. Sebastien Col, Mathieu Richard , vincitore nel 2007, e Philippe Presti, infatti, si sono ritrovati in sesta posizione, con due sole vittorie ciascuno.
“Gli avversari sono talmente agguerriti che non puoi mai distrarti – ha spiegaton Cameron Appleton, tattico di Hutchinson – I nostri momenti peggiori li abbiamo vissuti contro Brian Angel, che ha uno score di una vittoria e 5 sconfitte” dichiarazione più o meno analoga a quella di Ainslie che ha raccontato di aver faticato molto contro lo svedese Johnie Berntsson, il cui bilancio è di 3 contro 3.
Positivo l’esordio di Francesco Bruni, terzo a pari punti con il vincitore del Grado 1 di Marsiglia, Adam Minoprio. Per il timoniere palermitano quattro vittorie e due sconfitte: “Siamo molto contenti per come sono andate le cose, per il vento e… per la pizza che ci è stata offerta dopo le regate”.
CONGRESSIONAL CUP, FLYING START FOR AINSLIE E HUTCHINSON
[ISAF Press Release] Two illustrious sailors—Terry Hutchinson and Ben Ainslie—are the first to say the Long Beach Yacht Club’s 45th Congressional Cup is a lot closer than it looks on the scoreboard that shows them with 6-0 and 5-1 records after the first day of racing Tuesday.
But the Annapolis veteran, who won here in 1992 and called tactics for winners Ken Read in 2003 and Dean Barker in 2006, said he isn’t pondering the choice between $30,000 or the keys to a new Acura awarded to anyone who goes undefeated all week.
“There are a lot of good sailors here,” said Hutchinson, who was recently honored as America’s Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. “You could easily go for oh and six tomorrow.”
And it wasn’t a perfect day for Hutchinson’s crew, which like all the others is lodged at LBYC members’ homes.
“The day started out,” he said, “with those five words no host likes to hear: ‘Do you have a plunger?’ ”
It did get better. Hutchinson dealt Ainslie, the triple Olympic gold medalist and ISAF World Sailor of the Year, his only loss, by five boat lengths.
Ainslie said, “The thing to do is roll with the punches and keep it going.”
Some had more punches to roll with than others. France’s Sébastien Col, Mathieu Richard and Philippe Presti, currently ranked Nos. 1, 3 and 6 in the world, share sixth place with only two wins each. Richard won the traditional Crimson Blazer here two years ago.
The depth of the field is a factor. Hutchinson’s tactician, Cameron Appleton of New Zealand, said their toughest race was against the U.S.’s Brian Angel, who stands 1-5. Ainslie said Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson—3-3 but second here the last two years—gave them their worst moments, next to their loss to Hutchinson.
New Zealand’s Adam Minoprio, a winner in the World Match Racing Tour opener at Marseille earlier this month, shares third placed with Italy’s Francesco Bruni, a late entry, at 4-2.
With 18 rounds to run through Friday, leading into Saturday’s championship sailoffs for the final four, principal race officer Mike Van Dyke made the most of steady southwest breezes building from 6 to 14 knots through the afternoon on the half-mile windward-leeward course inside the Long Beach breakwater.
Bruni, who wasn’t invited until two weeks ago when a spot opened up, said at the evening’s press conference, “We’re very happy with the sun, the wind . . . and the pizza [delivered to the teams] after sailing.”
Hutchinson was happy, too, after winning only two of his six starts and breaking even in two others.
“We clearly lost our last start to Angel,” he said. “I expect we’re going to have some hiccups on the way.”
But his best move saved the race against Angel, who led the final race going into the first windward mark.
Tactician Cameron Appleton of New Zealand said, “That was our hardest race of the day. He was first off the line and controlled the race. But at the top mark he hoisted his chute a little too soon and we came in between him and the buoy. Then we luffed him head to wind and he had to drop [the spinnaker], and we bore off, raised our chute and sailed away.”
Berntsson pulled off another slick comeback to beat Col by four seconds. First, he cut Col’s lead to less than a boat length with a quicker spinnaker hoist and jib drop at the last mark, and when Col tried to luff him upwind near the finish he was able to break the overlap and bear away to the line to win by half a boat length.
Racing continues Wednesday at noon, conditions permitting.
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