Gitana and ECOVER on day one in Trapani. Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/ECOVER Sailing Team.
by Lucy Harwood
The battle for the top spot remains close after day one in Trapani during the penultimate event of the Extreme Sailing Series. It was a mixed bag of results for the top four boats today, but Ecover are still in contention and are third overall at the end of today.
ECOVER on day one in Trapani. Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/ECOVER Sailing Team.
"It's great to still be close to first and second after what we consider an 'ok' day on the water, but it was clear everyone had a mixed day out there, although I thought Groupe Edmond de Rothschild would have been more advanced than they are," commented Ecover helm Leigh McMillan. "We had some steady conditions out there, but with these short 15 minute races there were few opportunities for overtaking so the start was absolutely critical and the reality is we just didn't nail it today".
Extreme 40s on day one in Trapani. Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/ECOVER Sailing Team.
Set on the westernmost tip of Sicily, surrounded by fishing towns and breath-taking seascapes, Trapani is the Italian city closest to Africa. No stranger to the world of professional sailing, in 2005, Trapani was the location for chapters 8 and 9 of the Louis Vuitton Cup, part of the 32nd America's Cup. Racing got underway at 1430 local time (GMT +1) in the main bay. A consistent 8 to 10 knots of breeze filled the race course and the backdrop of this traditional city and glorious sunshine provided the perfect setting for todays racing. Whilst overall series leaders Groupe Edmond De Rothschild dominated the first few races posting no less than three bullets, they were unable to hold off the fleet and completed the the day with a third and sixth. Ecover posted a mixture of thirds and fourths, but it was enough to keep them in third overall and just five points from The Wave Muscat in second.
Gitana, ECOVER and The Wave, Muscat, on day one in Trapani. Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/ECOVER Sailing Team.
Six short course races were completed this afternoon in the bay, but tomorrow will see a big change as the race course heads inside the harbour, and current forecasts predict big breeze in the region of 20 - 25 knots.
Extreme 40s on day one in Trapani. Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/ECOVER Sailing Team.
"When the breeze build it always adds an element of tension onboard, and throughout the fleet but it makes it more exciting and hopefully it will be a spectacular day for everyone both onshore and on the water. We did ok today, but we know we can do better and we really need to get our strategy in place for the starts and hopefully that will ease the pressure on the race course," skipper Mike Golding.
Current overall standings after Day 1 - Stage 4 Trapani
1 Groupe Edmond De Rothschild - 33 points
2 The Wave Muscat - 32 points
3 Ecover Sailing Team - 27 points
4 Groupama 40 - 26 points
5 Oman Sail Masirah - 23 points
6 Red Bull Extreme Sailing - 18 points
7 Trapani, The Sailing Seacily - 9 points
ECOVER Sailing Team
Extreme Sailing Series Europe
