Finally, strong shifty winds bring plenty of action in three races, though controversial black flag penalties take class leaders nearly out of contention
Image copyright Max Ranchi.
by Dobbs Davis
In stark contrast to the previous four days of light air, todayʼs northeasterly Bora winds varying from 8 to 12 knots in the morning and topping out to near 25 knots at dayʼs end brought plenty of action to the fleet on the water in the penultimate day of inshore racing at the 2011 ORCi World Championship. But the increase in breeze brought also an increase in aggression, and just as seen in previous races, the unruly behavior of the large classes (56 entries in Class A and 63 entries in Class B) at their starts prompted race managers to hoist the Black Flag, where any boat over the line within one minute of the starting signal would be disqualified for that race.
Image copyright Max Ranchi.
Image copyright Max Ranchi.
Usually when this is hoisted, the fleet behaves and there are no problems, but not today. In the dayʼs second race, a large wind shift to the right kept Class A piled up close to the signal boat, with many jostling for the inside position at the favored end. But soon after the starting signal, Principal Race Officer Bojan Gale had the General Recall flag hoisted, yet was still able to identify five boats as being BFD (Black Flag Disqualified), and therefore ineligible to start the next race. The right shift held and the next start saw a similar pile-up at the signal boat end, prompting a General Recall once again and an announcement of yet another 10 boats caught in the net. Class A was now down by 15 boats, including some top contenders, like Riccardo di Bartolomeoʼs GS 42R05 Man, Roberto Montiʼs GP42 Airis, Mate Arapovʼs GS 56R Marina Kastela, and Sandro Panicciaʼs Scuderia 50 Altair 3. All had top three finishes in the past two races and were in contention for the series lead before this disaster struck.
Image copyright Max Ranchi.
Image copyright Max Ranchi.
In Class B the Black Flag plague was not quite as extreme, catching only four boats each in the second and third races of the day, but two caught in the net were contenders in this class too: Pietro Saccomaniʼs X-35 Spin One did poorly in the distance race but had a 1-3 going into the second race, and Francesco Siculianaʼs GS 40R Alvarosky, reigning Class B European Champion, was lying in fourth place before their disaster happened in the third race.
Image copyright Max Ranchi.
Between these controversial decisions and a lot of right-of-way incidents around the track, the International Jury is assured of a long night, and the results accumulated thus far would are therefore considered provisional.
Image copyright Max Ranchi.
But as of now, the Action Team APDʼs TP52 Aniene 1er Classe, skippered by Gabrielle
Benussi, is leading Class A on 49.75 points, while Alberto Rossiʼs Farr 40 Enfant Terrible is runner-up on 66.5 points.
Image copyright Max Ranchi.
And in Class B, Giusseppe Giuffreʼs M37 Low Noise is in the lead on 41 points, while Gianfranco Ciocceʼs Comet 38S Scricca Indeco is runner-up only three points behind.
Image copyright Max Ranchi.
With the overnight Bora forecasted to die off around Noon tomorrow, event organizers have decided to get the fleet off to a start two hours earlier at 09:00 local time, in the hope of having two more races completed for the completion of the championship series.
Image copyright Max Ranchi.
And while the addition of 57 points to the scores of Man, Airis, Marina Kastela and Altair 3 have not helped them in Class A, with two races left anything could happen, since without a throwout possible (7 inshore race scores would have been needed) then a mistake by any of the current leaders could turn over the scorecard once again.
Image copyright Max Ranchi.
The same is true in Class B, but the points totals are much tighter: nearly anyone in the top ten could emerge tomorrow as the new World Champion.
Image copyright Max Ranchi.
Tragically, Piero Panicciaʼs Cookson 50 will not be among the contenders tomorrow, even after a being runner-up in the series after the dayʼs second race: on the final run of the final race today, a strong 25-knot puff hit during their final gybe for the turning gate to the finish and the mast collapsed.
ORCi World Championship
