Aon Racing enjoy the sangria in Calpe. Image copyright Aon Racing.
by Aon Racing media
Aon Racing had some good moments during the Open De Espana in Calpe, Spain. Unfortunately the boys came up short, two wins away from making the semi finals.
We managed some good wins during this regatta, beating Americas Cup skipper Bertrand Pace and World Matchracing Tour competitors Phil Robertson and Bjorn Hansen, however our regatta was marred by the “could’ve, should’ve, would’ve” races, where we gave away wins on blind mistakes.
The most notable today was a loss to world number 8 Pierre Anton Morvan. We were penalised twice (both completely justified) and both times managed to extend past and clear our penalty. However, we missed a change of course and went to the wrong top mark on the second time around, losing the race. In our defence, even the match umpires missed the change of course as the horn was quiet on a very windy day. However this was symptomatic of a regatta of missed opportunities.
Still there are many positives to be drawn from this regatta, as we were getting the complicated stuff right. Our boatspeed, starts and wind-reading were good, we just need to correct all things between.
The team is looking forward to putting things right at the GKSS spring cup in Sweden in 3 weeks time. This is a qualifier to Match Cup Sweden, a world tour regatta, so is a very important regatta for the lads.
However, now is the time to relax, recoup and enjoy a few Sangrias in the stunning Calpe, Spain.
We would like to say a special thank you to our principal sponsor, Aon Insurance Brokers, as well as Club Marine and Allianz. Thanks must also go to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, our home club.
Aon Racing is Reuben Corbett (Skipper), Adrian Short (Main), Tom Blampied (Trim) and Tom Bentham (Bow).
Aon Racing
RCNC
