RC44 Championship Tour – Portorose – Seconda giornata di regate di flotta nell’ambito del Bank Sarasin RC44 Portoroz Cup e Artemis, grazie a una progressione da applausi e al secondo posto ottenuto nel Trofeo DHL, valido per l’assegnazione di un doppio punteggio, ha preso la testa della classifica, staccando il leader della prima ora BMW Oracle Racing di 7 lunghezze e No Way Back di 14.
A sperare in una piazza sul podio sono Team Katusha, portato dalla coppia composta da Pieter Taselaar, fresco campione del mondo Melges 32, e Paul Cayard, e team Ceeref, coordinato dal suo armatore Igor Lah.
Tra meno di 24 ore, sperando in condizioni analoghe a quelle odierne, i protagonisti della frazione slovena torneranno a darsi battaglia. Saranno gli scontri decisivi: la chiusura dell’evento è prevista proprio per il tardo pomeriggio di domani.
RC44 Championship Tour
1. Artemis, 2-2-5-6-2-2-1- pt. 20
2. BMW Oracle Racing, 1-1-8-4-10-1-2, pt. 27
3. No Way Back, 11-6-1-1-4-8-3, pt. 34
4. Team Katusha, 3-7-10-2-8-6-4, pt. 40
5. Ceeref, 9-9-2-7-6-4-7, pt. 44
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[flashvideo filename=video/rc44/RC4409_Portorose_day4.flv /]
Video courtesy RC44.
RC44 CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR, A GOOD DAY FOR ARTEMIS
[RC44 Press Release] The double points DHL Trophy took place this morning in perfect conditions, with up to 20 knots of wind and a great sunshine. Artemis started the race at the Committee end of the line and tacked immediately, heading for the right of the course when all the other teams carried on to the left. The decision was right and Artemis reached the windward mark first.
The teams then sailed towards the medieval town of Piran, following the beautiful Slovenian coast. Some tried to cut the course by sailing close to the shore, whereas the local teams Ceeref and Modri Gaj knew that there would be windless patches under the cliffs and made a good move sailing further out. A confused sea and gusts of wind blowing up to twenty knots welcomed the teams past the cape of Piran. The eleven strong fleet then sailed upwind towards the next mark, in Isola. A wild spinnaker ride towards the arrival line – back in Portoroz – followed, giving the helmsmen the opportunity to test their skills. Artemis never got threatened during this ride, extending their lead and winning comfortably, ahead of Pieter Heerema’s No Way Back and Igor Lah’s Ceeref, quite unhappy in this regatta until this good result.
Two windward–leeward races followed the DHL Trophy. BMW Oracle Racing, who seems to be the only team capable of challenging Artemis’ leadership in the fleet regatta, won the first one and finished second of the next whilst Artemis did the opposite. The second race turned out to be a match between the two boats, followed at a respectable distance by Chris Bake’s Team Aqua and Igor Lah’s Ceeref. The third race seemed to be one too much for some of the exhausted crews. The last windward mark rounding turned to carnage, with Aqua broaching, Ceeref twisting its spinnaker around the headstay, Islas Canarias Puerto Calero unable to bear away due to a blocked halyard and several other mishaps. Leading the fleet, No Way Back, BMW Oracle Racing and Artemis extended their lead, Artemis managing to overtake both during the last beat to win the race.
Today’s races allowed some of the new teams in the Class to have their moment of glory. Sailing well in the breeze, Team Austria managed to challenge the best teams on several occasions, finishing the DHL Trophy in sixth – their best result so far. Also alternating the worse with the best, Modri Gaj finished seventh of the long distance regatta and sixth of the last race – after sailing in fourth for most of the regatta.
The last races will take place tomorrow. There are only fourteen points between the top three boats and everything remains possible.
RC44 Championship Tour
1. Artemis, 2-2-5-6-2-2-1- pt. 20
2. BMW Oracle Racing, 1-1-8-4-10-1-2, pt. 27
3. No Way Back, 11-6-1-1-4-8-3, pt. 34
4. Team Katusha, 3-7-10-2-8-6-4, pt. 40
5. Ceeref, 9-9-2-7-6-4-7, pt. 44
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