Image copyright Francesco Ferri-Studio Borlenghi/Audi Medcup
by Guiliano Luzzatto
Audi Azzurra Sailing Team took a third and a seventh place in today's races in light and shifty air that penalized the fleet leaders.
In the absence of its famous Mistral wind, navigating on the regatta course off Marseille turned out to be a guessing game governed by light winds and unexpected shifts. The first regatta saw imperceptible breezes of 4 to 6 knots and Audi Azzurra Sailing Team fought hard to climb from the back of the fleet to round the second mark in third place, a position they then held to the end.
The wind increased to 14 knots for the start of the second race and Azzurra started well together with Synergy and navigated at the front of the fleet for most of the windward leg. However shifts of up to 40°, windless holes and patches with as much as 10 knots more breeze then favoured the back of the fleet and Audi All4One and Gladiator moved into the lead together with Synergy. From then on it seemed like the first three boats were racing a different race than the rest of the fleet. Azzurra was closing in on fourth-placed Ran when Quantum engaged her in a battle to avoid finishing last. In the end the crew of Audi Azzurra Sailing Team finished seventh ahead of Quantum.
"I honestly think we were really unlucky today," said skipper Guillermo Parada, "and I hope we've paid our dues in that respect now. Today we could easily have won, we didn't sail worse than the others but in these conditions there are no winning tactics."
Strategist Vasco Vascotto confirmed: "Today it was not our fault. We sailed well and in different conditions would have been assured a good result. In the last race in particular there was a complete about-face, in 20 seconds we went from being at the front to being at the back of the fleet. The fact that Quantum finished last says a lot, without wanting to take away from Gladiator who went on to win. We are still in the running, four points behind the leader, second in the overall series classification, we are satisfied and thats is the right way to look forward."
AUDI AZZURRA SAILING TEAM
Guillermo Parada - Skipper and Helmsman
Francesco Bruni - Tactician
Vasco Vascotto - Strategist
Bruno Zirilli - Navigator
Paul Westlake - Mainsail
Mariano Caputo - Bowman
Pedro Rossi - Mid Bow
Juan Pablo Cadario - Pitman
Maciel Cichetti - Trimmer
Mariano Parada - Trimmer
Simon Fry - Trimmer
Gabriel Marino - Grinder
Alejandro Colla - Grinder
Boat Captain: Pedro Rossi
Owner: Alberto Roemmers
Audi Azzurra Sailing Team
Audi MedCup
