by Lucy Harwood
Ecover put in an outstanding performance today with two bullets to secure them fourth overall at the first event of the Extreme Sailing Series in Sete France.
It was solid performance today by Ecover as they went out fighting on the final day of racing. Conditions built throughout the day and by race four the race committee called for the 5th man to come off during what was expected to be the penultimate race of the day (20th race of the event). Ecover made a strong start hulls flying as they took control and moved into first at the top mark. From there on they extended in clear air and took a commanding lead. The rest of the fleet were bunched up at the second mark with penalties handed out to Oman Masirah and The Wave Muscat and they were forced to play catch up.
It was to be Ecover’s race and they crossed the line with time to spare as the rest of the fleet fought it out for the remaining places. A crash gybe from Groupama resulted in them being caught at the back of the fleet and into eighth and tied for fourth place overall with Ecover. Shortly after race 20, the race committee deemed it too dangerous to continue racing and the previous race was allotted double points, this meant 16 points for Ecover and a solid fourth place on the leaderboard just 3 points shy of the podium.
“A great day for us on the water, we’re very pleased to be able to finish on a win and on a double pointer,” commented Ecover skipper Mike Golding after racing. “It has moved us into fourth spot which is a great result for us. We knew we had the ability to deliver the performance we delivered today, after yesterday we sat down and talked through the issues that we had experienced during the previous days racing and went out with a very clear strategy. Everything came together on the boat and we got it right today, I’m so pleased for the team, and i think this is a fantastic start to the season for us".
It’s been building since we started racing on Thursday, we have come so close to getting a bullet and it was a great feeling to secure that first win today. It really fires the team up and from then on everything just seem to fit into place and we put in more consistent performances and another bullet, which secured us fourth place. All of us have bonded as a team and, its fantastic finish for us. This sets us up for the rest of the year and I think shows that we have the potential to be a threat to the other teams so watch out for Ecover! As a team we’re very happy and we’re now going to head back to the UK, put some more training in on the water and focus on getting a podium result on our home turf at the next event in Cowes”: Leigh McMillan Ecover Helm.
ECOVER Sailing Team
Extreme Sailing Series Europe
