Miami Grand Prix 2010 – Miami – Soffia vento di Maestrale a Miami, dov’è in corso di svolgimento il Miami Grand Prix, e lo fa tra i 7 e i 20 nodi. Condizioni che sarebbeo perfette per portare a casa altre tre manche, peccato però che l’instabilità sia tale da obbligare il Comitato di Regata a dichiarare chiusi i giochi dopo due sole prove. Una decisione giudicata con buon occhio da parte di tutti gli equipaggi, come si capisce dall’opionine di Pieter Taselaar, armatore di Bliksem: “Il vento era davvero imprevedibile. Potevi passare da primo a ultimo nel giro di pochi minuti e poi tornare nuovamente in gara”.
Al fronte di condizioni del genere il primo obiettivo è non compromettere la propria classifica, poi, se ci si riesce, scalare qualche posizione, proprio come ha fatto Bliksem, balzato al comando tra i Melges 32, seppur incalzato a un solo punto dal leader della prima ora, Teasing Machine, e dai britannici di Red. Resistono invece nella top ten gli equipaggi italiani, appaiati a pari punti: Fantastica di Lanfranco Cirillo è settima mentre Carlo Alberini con il suo Calvi Network è ottavo.
Grande giornata per Fiamma tra i Farr 40, l’unico parso in grado di resistere alla marcia di Barking Mad, sempre concreto, anche senza l’acume di Terry Hutchinson. L’equipaggio di Alessandro Barnaba e del tattico Lorenzo Bressani è a un solo punto dal campione del mondo in carica ed è seguito a una lunghezza da Flash Gordon di Helmut Jahn. Chi perde posizioni, invece, è Nerone, che ieri aveva ottenuto la prima leadership e oggi è scivolato in quinta posizione.
L’evento continuerà domani (sabato in Italia). Il Comitato di Regata spera di far disputare altre tre manche. Ricordiamo che la serie si articola su un massimo di dieci prove.
Sentito in banchina
Lorenzo Bressani, tattico di Fiamma: “E’ stata una giornata davvero difficile a causa dei salti di vento. Entrambe le regate si sono decise negli ultimi metri. Abbiamo dovuto regatare con gli occhi ben aperti per cercare di leggere in anticipo le oscillazione del vento. Quando la flotta è così livellata, basta davvero agganciare il salto giusto per fare la differenza”.
2010 Miami Grand Prix – March 4-7, 2010
IRC (6 Boats)
1. Gold Digger II, J/44, James Bishop, 2-3-13-1, pt. 10
2. Stark Raving Mad, J/125, James Madden, 4-5-3-2-3, pt. 17
3. Decision, TP52, Stephen Murray, 1-6-6-1-4, pt. 18
Farr 40 (10 boats)
1. Barking Mad, James Richardson, 5-4-2-5-1, pt. 17
2. Fiamma, Allesandro Barnaba, 3-2-7-3-3, pt. 18
3. Flash Gordon, Helmut Jahn, 4-1-9-2-4, pt. 20
Melges 32 (23 boats)
1. Bliksem, Pieter Taselaar, 1-2-14-6-2, pt. 25
2. Teasing Machine, Jean Francois Cruette, 5-1-1-10-9, pt. 26
3. Red, Joe Woods, 2-10-4-4-10, pt. 26
MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2010, TACTICIAN RULE
[Premiere Racing Press Release] A northwesterly wind that ranged from 7 to 20 knots and shifted as much as 50 degrees during the day forced the boys in the back of the boat to take some risks and hope they guessed right.
“The wind was up and down velocity-wise and all over the place on the course. You could easily go from the top of the fleet to the bottom and back again in one race,” Bliksem skipper Pieter Taselaar said.
Flash Gordon was among three Farr 40s that handled the shifts and fared well on Friday. Bill Hardesty did his best to keep skipper Helmut Jahn in the pressure as the Chicago entry posted a second and a fourth to move into third place overall in the 10-boat fleet.
It wasn’t a surprise to see tacticians bellying up to the Tiki bar at Monty’s overlooking the waterfront at the Miami Beach Marina.
Two days of extremely shifty sailing conditions in the Miami Grand Prix have driven the men who make the on-course calls to drink: “You could go from the penthouse to the outhouse real quickly today – said Hardesty, tactician aboard the Farr 40 Flash Gordon – It was pretty darn tricky out there.”
Former Star class world champion Joe Londrigan is trimming the main while Dave Gerber is trimming the jib and spinnaker aboard Flash, which has reunited the crew that was together for the Farr 40 Worlds. Evan Jahn is steering the boat during starts and upwind before handing the wheel to his father.
“Helmut has been our rock star. He has been passing boats downwind the entire regatta,” Hardesty said.
Barking Mad and Fiamma also totaled six points in two starts with a bullet in Race 5 lifting the former into the overall lead by a point over the Italian team. Barking Mad is without three regular crew members, including tactician Terry Hutchinson, due to the Louis Vuitton Series in Auckland, New Zealand. However, up and coming pro Steve Hunt has done a good job of filling in for Hutchinson and skipper Jim Richardson has been pleased with the crew work.
“We have a lot of new people onboard so there was some apprehension going in. It’s been a big transition and we’re doing some things well while there are other things we still need to work on,” Richardson said. “It’s been real shifty so far and we expect to see more of the same over the weekend. There’s a lot of good sailors scratching their heads because you can easily lose five places in an instant.”
Fiamma, skippered by Alessandro Barnaba of Roma, Italy, posted a pair of thirds on Friday to jump into contention. Tactician Lorenzo Bressani, regular helmsman for the standout Melges 24 program Uka Uka Racing, is calling tactics on Fiamma.
“It has been a very difficult day with big wind shifts. Both races went down to the last meter. It is necessary always keep the eyes open because things can happen in double-quick time – Bressani said – In this class the speed between boats is very similar so the fleet always stays united. A missed shift or tactical mistake can hurt you. Today, we sailed well and always in phase with the wind”.
Bliksem, the defending Melges 32 champion at Miami Grand Prix, moved from third to first in the overall standings with a second and a sixth on Friday. Australian Jeremy Wilmot is calling tactics for Taselaar, who proclaimed “I really like Miami. This regatta was good to me last year and hopefully it will be good for me again this year”.
Taselaar, a New York City resident, took delivery of a brand new boat on Friday and has outfitted it with new sails: “We are still tweaking the boat and feel we can get more speed out of her,” he said.
Teasing Machine, the French entry skippered by Jean-Francois Cruette, relinquished its opening day lead but is just one point behind Bliksem. “Teasing Machine has some very talented sailors onboard and is going very well,” Taselaar said of the relative newcomer to the Melges 32 circuit. “This class gets better and better ever year and there are an awful lot of good teams here at this event.”
There are five boats within 10 points of the leader in the Melges 32 class, which has attracted 23 entries and features a slew of top-notch pros. Jeff Madrigali is a new addition to the Star
team and skipper Jeff Ecklund said his expertise has come in handy so far.
“When the wind is as shifty as it’s been so far you really have to keep your head out of the boat. Jeff has been very alert and done a great job of making sure we don’t get caught on the wrong side of the course,” said Ecklund, who has Harry Melges focusing on boat speed.
2010 Miami Grand Prix – March 4-7, 2010
Class leaders after five races – March 5, 2010
IRC (6 Boats)
1. Gold Digger II, J/44, James Bishop, 2-3-13-1, pt. 10
2. Stark Raving Mad, J/125, James Madden, 4-5-3-2-3, pt. 17
3. Decision, TP52, Stephen Murray, 1-6-6-1-4, pt. 18
Farr 40 (10 boats)
1. Barking Mad, James Richardson, 5-4-2-5-1, pt. 17
2. Fiamma, Allesandro Barnaba, 3-2-7-3-3, pt. 18
3. Flash Gordon, Helmut Jahn, 4-1-9-2-4, pt. 20
Melges 32 (23 boats)
1. Bliksem, Pieter Taselaar, 1-2-14-6-2, pt. 25
2. Teasing Machine, Jean Francois Cruette, 5-1-1-10-9, pt. 26
3. Red, Joe Woods, 2-10-4-4-10, pt. 26
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