Puerto Calero RC44 Cup, primi scontri
MonotipiaRC44Vela 25 Febbraio 2009 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=1819,250,170,,left]RC 44 Championship Tour – Puerto Calero – Ha avuto inizio oggi pomeriggio nelle acque delle Canarie la Puerto Calero RC44 Cup, prima tappa dell’RC44 Championship Tour. Rispettando il format ormai consolidato, gli equipaggi hanno aperto le ostilità dandosi battaglia tra le strette boe dell’uno contro uno. Tanti i velisti al debutto nella classe, molti dei quali titolari di carriere straordinarie, come nel caso di Martin Kirketerp, Luis Doreste, Yann Gouniot e Christian Scherrer.
Le condizioni non hanno certo aiutato gli equipaggi a mettersi a proprio agio: il vento leggero e instabile l’ha fatta da padrone. Anche Peter Reggio, presidente del Comitato di Regata di navigata esperienza, ha avuto il suo bel da fare per gestire una situazione davvero complessa. Al termine di questa prima giornata, infatti, sono stati solo due e mezzo i voli portati a termine: davvero pochi se si pensa che gli organizzatori speravano di completare due Round Robin in altrettanti giorni.
Venendo ai risultati si scopre che il team da battere è sempre lo stesso: Team Ceeref di Igor Lah che quest’anno regata con Sebastien Col, chiamato a sostituire l’indisponibile James Spithill. Per lo skipper francese 3 vittorie e 0 sconfitte, una in più di Russell Coutts e BMW Oracle Racing, vincitore di tutti e 2 i match disputati al pari di Philippe Presti, timoniere di No Way Back del debuttante Pieter Heerema. Secondo alla pari con i sopracitati è Artemis di Dean Barker, sconfitto nel match contro Ceeref. Nessun punto, almeno per il momento, per i polacchi di Organika guidati da Karol Jablonski e per i due equipaggi griffati Puerto Calero.
Match-race, risultati provvisori dopo 2½ voli:
1) Ceeref, Sébastien Col, 3/0 – 3 points
2) BMW Oracle Racing, Russell Coutts, 2/0 – 2 points
2) No Way Back, Philippe Presti, 2/0 – 2 points
4) Artemis, Dean Barker, 2/1 – 2 points
5) Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton 1/1 – 1 point
6) Team Organika, Karol Jablonski 0/2 – 0 point
7) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias 2, Carlos Morales, 0/3 – 0 point
8) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, José Juan Calero, 0/3 – -1 point
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La prima giornata della Puerto Calero RC44 Cup. Video courtesy RC44.
BAPTISM OF FIRE FOR THE CLASS NEWCOMERS ON DAY ONE PUERTO CALERO RC 44 CUP
[RC44 Press Release] The RC 44 Championship Tour 2009 started today in Puerto Calero with the first matches of Round Robin one. It was also the baptism of fire for Pieter Heerema’s Team No Way Back and Carlos Morales’ Team Puerto Calero Islas Canarias 2. The Dutch boat had an excellent day, with two victories over the two Spanish boats. On the contrary, the local entries didn’t have such a good day, suffering respectively from a trim tab failure and a broken crash box following… a crash.
Many top sailors also discovered the Class today, including Olympic champions Martin Kirketerp or Luis Doreste and veteran America’s Cup sailors Yann Gouniot and Christian Scherrer. The conditions weren’t too difficult for an initiation, although the breeze’s lack of consistency made Race Officer Peter Reggio’s life difficult. At the end of the day, two and a half flight could be completed, most probably putting an end to the event organiser’s desire to complete two round robins in two days.
Winner of last year’s match race ranking, Igor Lah’s Ceeref is still the team to beat, with three victories in as many matches today. Sébastien Col is Ceeref’s substitute driver in James Spithill’s absence. Needless to say that he did a great job, particularly during a fantastic regatta against Organika, who were sailing for the first time with their new match race helmsman Karol Jablonski. Leading the race by half a boat length, Organika couldn’t stop Ceeref’s come back, until the Slovenian spinnaker touched the Polish boat’s runners. With a penalty to complete, Séb Col and his team had to attack, which they did in style, taking the lead and increasing it just enough to complete their penalty turn before crossing the arrival line.
Pieter Heerema and Philippe Presti’s team No Way Back and Russell Coutts’ BMW Oracle Racing are also unbeaten so far, however with one less match under their belt. Team Aqua and Cameron Appleton had an excellent match against Artemis, inflicting a penalty to their opponent at the start and winning the race, before loosing an important match against Ceeref. Finally, Dean Barker’s Artemis won two matches against Organika and Jose Maria Ponce’s Team Puerto Calero Islas Canarias 1.
Organised by Puerto Calero, a superb real estate development on Lanzarote’s seafront, the RC 44 Cup consists in two days of match racing followed by three days of fleet racing. The DHL coastal race will take place on Sunday; it will count for double points.
Match-race, provisional results after 2½ flights:
1) Ceeref, Sébastien Col, 3/0 – 3 points
2) BMW Oracle Racing, Russell Coutts, 2/0 – 2 points
2) No Way Back, Philippe Presti, 2/0 – 2 points
4) Artemis, Dean Barker, 2/1 – 2 points
5) Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton 1/1 – 1 point
6) Team Organika, Karol Jablonski 0/2 – 0 point
7) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias 2, Carlos Morales, 0/3 – 0 point
8) Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, José Juan Calero, 0/3 – -1 point
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