Image copyright Nico Martinez/RC44 World Championships.
Split in two groups, the fleet of 13 boats is tied
Image copyright Nico Martinez/RC44 World Championships.
by RC44 media
Two months have passed since the previous RC 44 event, but the fleet remembered to bring its competitive nature among an array of equipment to the Canary Islands.
Coupled with some wild shifts due to an offshore breeze, the RC 44 World Championship for the Islas Canarias Puerto Calero Cup began with the fleet alternately thanking and ruing the wind gods.
“We’re pretty happy with the day," said Rod Davis of Ceeref. "It was very shifty."
"The conditions were challenging, but it’s always challenging in offshore breeze," said Joey Newton, headsail trimmer aboard 17.
"Except for a bad set that was our fault and a miracle puff for AEZ, we were 6 seconds away from being 5-0," said Paul Cayard of Katusha.
Image copyright Nico Martinez/RC44 World Championships.
"We were one mistake away from a very good day," said Ray Davies, helmsman aboard No Way Back.
"Due to the shifts, it was quite hard to get the positioning right off the start line and be in phase," said Cameron Appleton from Team Aqua. "The shifts are going to be the theme for the week."
The wild conditions kept the crews on their toes and the scoreboard tight.
In Group A, Jimmy Spithill’s 17 and Terry Hutchinson’s Artemis are tied for the lead at 5-1, but the grey-hulled 17 holds the tiebreaker after a head-to-head victory in Flight 6.
Group B sees four boats – No Way Back, Katusha, Ceeref and Russell Coutts’ BMW ORACLE Racing – tied at 3-2.
"We didn’t have the best of days and were up and down, so we’re happy to have the wins we’ve got," said BMW ORACLE Racing headsail trimmer Ross Halcrow.
Image copyright Nico Martinez/RC44 World Championships.
A total of 36 matches were run today in about seven hours of racing. The breeze was from the west to northwest and between 12 and 18 knots.
The crews once again displayed fantastic boathandling, throwing the light-displacement 44-footers around like dinghies. It’s quite impressive when the trailing boat heats up on a run, jibes and rolls over the top of the boat to leeward to steal a win at the finish line. That’s how 17 lost its only race of the day, to Team Aqua.
Similar to the previous event in Valencia, there were come-from-behind wins and downwind duels where the lead boat attempted to unload a penalty. Such was the final run between Ceeref and Katusha in Flight 6, where Ceeref had to unload a penalty to score the win.
"We had a heck of a battle with Davis and Ceeref," said Cayard. "We got a penalty on him on the second upwind for tacking too close. So both boats went down the run with no spinnakers. We got a penalty at the end so we both had to do circles, but we were just able to get him before the finish."
Video of Day One of the RC44 Match Racing Worlds:
At the finish line the on-water umpire Marco Mercuriali gave Katusha a red-flag penalty when it bore off across Ceeref’s bow trying to cross the finish line. Mercuriali said that Katusha gained an unfair advantage in the maneuver.
He didn’t assess a standard penalty because that would’ve canceled out Ceeref’s and allowed Katusha to win the race. By giving Katusha the red-flag penalty he made both boats perform the 270-degree exoneration turn, and Katusha completed the turn more quickly.
"That was a real tussle with Cayard," said Davis. "Down the run we were trying to set some traps and he was trying to avoid them. We finally executed one. We were doing our penalties at the same time, but he just got us."
The match racing portion of the regatta is scheduled to resume tomorrow with the first warning signal slated for 1130 local.
Image copyright Nico Martinez/RC44 World Championships.
RC 44 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ISLAS CANARIAS PUERTO CALERO CUP
Group Alpha
1. 17 (USA) Jimmy Spithill – 5-1
1. Artemis (SWE) Terry Hutchinson – 5-1
3. Team Aqua (UAE) Cameron Appleton – 4-2
3. Team Sea Dubai (UAE) Markus Weiser – 4-2
5. Peninsula Petroleum (ESP) John Bassadone – 2-4
6. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) Daniel Calero – 1-5
7. Synergy Russian Sailing Team (RUS) Maxim Logutenko – 0-6
Group Bravo
1. BMW ORACLE Racing (USA) Russell Coutts – 3-2
1. Ceeref (SLO) Rod Davis – 3-2
1. Katusha (RUS) Paul Cayard – 3-2
1. No Way Back (NED) Ray Davies – 3-2
5. AEZ RC 44 Sailing Team (AUT) – 2-3
6. Mascalzone Latino (ITA) Vincenzo Onorato – 1-4
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