Sea Dubai match racing Ceeref in Copenhagen. Image copyright Nico Martinez.
by Sharon Allison
Danish skipper Jes Gram Hansen has stepped in to helm the two days of match racing with the Sea Dubai Sailing Team while the regular skipper Markus Wieser defends his Dragon European title on Hungary's Lake Balaton.
The first day of match racing at the RC44 Copenhagen Cup sailed out of the Royal Danish Yacht Club on the Baltic coast saw perfect conditions and Sea Dubai gaining three points beating Russell Coutts on the American BMW Oracle, Christian Binder on AEZ RC44 Austria Sailing Team and Terry Hutchinson on the Swedish Artemis. An unblemished record however, from Team Aqua with Cameron Appleton on fighting form put Aqua in the lead with six points and a near perfect score from Ceeref spun them into second place putting Sea Dubai equal third with Artemis, No Way Back, BMW Oracle and 17.
The practice on the previous day was in torrential rain and the teams welcomed the sunshine and good wind, which greeted the first day of the regatta. ‘We had some great moments on the water today and boats speeds of up to 14 knots and some really close racing especially the match with Ceeref,’ said Jes Gram Hansen, who is sailing on his home ground. ‘I had some practice with the team last year in Dubai and I’m looking forward to the next days racing.’
Sea Dubai in Copenhagen. Image copyright Nico Martinez.
Sea Dubai lies third in the overall ranking after a great start to the year in Dubai in the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy in February followed by fantastic round in Lake Traunsee in Austria which finished last month and introduced Harm Muller Spreer to the team as the fleet race skipper.
All matches should be completed on the second day with Sea Dubai facing No Way Back, 17, Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, Katusha and Team Aqua with rain and expected but wind is not usually a problem in Copenhagen which has a huge sailing culture. If all races are completed on the second day there will be a practice fleet race on the third day followed by three days of fleet racing.
Results:
1) Team Aqua (Cameron Appleton), 6/0 - 6 points
2) CEEREF (Rod Davis), 4/1 - 4 points
3) Team Sea Dubai (Jes Gram Hansen), 3/2 - 3 points
3) Team No Way Back (Ray Davies), 3/2 - 3 points
3) Artemis (Terry Hutchinson), 3/3 - 3 points
3) 17 (James Spithill), 3/3 - 3 points
3) BMW ORACLE Racing (Russell Coutts / Larry Ellison), 3/3 - 3 points
8) Katusha (Paul Cayard), 1/4 - 1 point
8) Team Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (José Maria Ponce), 1/5 - 1 point
8) AEZ RC 44 Sailing Team (Christian Binder), 1/5 - 1 point
Sea Dubai
RC44
