RC44 Championship Tour, ad Artemis la lunga e il DHL Trophy
RC44Vela 13 Dicembre 2008 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=1088,250,170,,left]RC44 Championship Tour – Puerto Calero – Che fossero in forma lo si era visto già ieri nel’unica regata disputata prima che rompessero la trozza del boma. Gli svedesi di Artemis, riparato il danno, sono tornati tra le boe della Puerto Calero RC44 Gold Cup e si sono eretti a protagonisri della giornata, raccogliendo, nell’ordine, un quarto, un terzo e un primo. Un successo, l’ultimo, ottenuto nella Long Distance Race e premiato con la consegna del DHL Trophy. Una consolazione tutto sommato gratificante per Dean Barker che, grazie ai piazzamenti odierni è salito dal sesto al quinto posto della classifica provvisoria, ora calcolata sulla base delle sette manche svolte.
Davanti resiste Team Ceeref, anche se il binomio Spithill-Lah non è apparso incontenibile come gli altri giorni. Fortuna per loro che anche gli avversari, tra uomini finiti fuori bordo, giri di boa e incroci serrati, non sono andati poi tanto meglio, anche se Banco Espirito Santo è riuscito a rosicchiare qualche punto ed è ora titolare della seconda posizione davanti a BMW Oracle Racing.
La conclusione dell’evento, valido come ultima frazione dell’RC44 Championship Tour, è prevista per domani.
RC44 Championship Tour
Puerto Calero RC44 Gold Cup, regate di flotta, classifica provvisoria
1 – Team Ceeref, 1,1,2,1,2,4,4 pt. 15
2 – Banco Espirito Santo, 5,4,3,3,3,1,3 pt. 22
3 – BMW Oracle Racing, 4,3,1,2,5,2,6 pt. 23
3 – Team Aqua, 2,2,4,4,1,6,5 pt. 24
6 – Artemis, 3,7,7,7,4,3,1 pt. 32
5 – Islas Canaria Puerto Calero, 6,5,5,5,6,5,2 pt. 43
ARTEMIS GOES THE DISTANCE TO TAKE DHL TROPHY
[singlepic=1089,250,170,,left][RC44 Press Release] Saturday saw the RC44 fleet compete for the DHL Trophy, the long distance race which on this occasion was a 15-mile race along the coast to Arrecife Airport and back to Puerto Calero. Dean Barker called some good wind shifts up the windward leg to the first turning mark near Puerto Calero, allowing Torbjorn Tornqvist to steer Artemis into a small lead ahead of the chasing pack.
However, Patrick de Barros is the proven master of the long distance format in the RC44 fleet, and gradually the Portuguese owner steered Banco Espirito Santo to within striking distance of Artemis on the final reach to the finish. Just as it looked like these two might be in for a photo finish, one of the Portuguese crew lost his footing and suddenly de Barros was forced to tack round and fish his man out of the Atlantic.
It was a quick man-overboard recovery, and no one was harmed, but it did allow Artemis to race home to an easy victory, with local boys on Islas Canarias Puerto Calero sweeping past to second place ahead of Banco. Daniel Calero was delighted after a frustrating week of gear breakdowns and poor crew work. Today his team showed real signs of improvement and they could well be a force to be reckoned with by the time the fleet returns next February for the first event of the 2009 RC44 season.
Even if Patrick de Barros was upset not to win the day, his third place at least secured him a comfortable overall season victory for the DHL Trophy. He also had a good outing in the two windward/leeward heats which took place before the long distance race.
In the first race it didn’t start at all well for de Barros as he was called back after breaking the line by little more than a second. Russell Coutts now had his work cut out as tactician, but managed to grind Banco back into the pack, eventually claiming third across the line. This race should have been Artemis’s for the taking, as Tornqvist led nicely into the leeward mark. Instead of rounding it, though, the Swedish boat smacked the mark, forcing Tornqvist into a penalty. In so doing, he failed to keep clear of BMW Oracle Racing and by the time he had completed all his penalty turns the Swede was back in last place, although Artemis would eventually pull back to fourth at the finish.
Team Aqua was the boat to profit most from this leeward mark mayhem, with Chris Bake stealing the lead up the final beat and taking the winner’s gun ahead of Team Ceeref.
In the second race, Aqua had a brief spell at the front of the fleet on the first beat, but with the 18-knot wind flicking from side to side in dramatic fashion, the United Arab Emirates lead was shortlived. In fact Aqua would eventually slide to the back of the fleet through no major error other than falling out of phase with the wind shifts. It was Larry Ellison’s turn to lead around the windward mark as BMW Oracle Racing surged down the run ahead of the pack. Towards the top of the final beat, however, Coutts had found some good shifts and Banco Espirito Santo sneaked around ahead of the Americans. De Barros did a gybe-set out to sea, Ellison continued shoreside, but the Portuguese move proved to be a winner. A good day for de Barros and his crew.
Not such a good day for Team Ceeref, with Igor Lah just turning in average set of scores. Fortunately for him, no one else has managed to find much consistency. So going into the final day of competition the Slovenian boat still holds a useful points advantage over a tight-knit bunch of three – Banco Espirito Santo, BMW Oracle Racing and Team Aqua.
Tomorrow the Puerto Calero RC44 Gold Cup concludes after the final three fleet races, with the prizegiving due to take place later in the afternoon.
RC44 Championship Tour
Puerto Calero RC44 Gold Cup, fleet races, ranking
1 – Team Ceeref, 1,1,2,1,2,4,4 pt. 15
2- Banco Espirito Santo, 5,4,3,3,3,1,3 pt. 22
3 – BMW Oracle Racing, 4,3,1,2,5,2,6 pt. 23
3 – Team Aqua, 2,2,4,4,1,6,5 pt. 24
6 – Artemis, 3,7,7,7,4,3,1 pt. 32
5 – Islas Canaria Puerto Calero, 6,5,5,5,6,5,2 pt. 43
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