Adecco Maxi OD - Gotland Runt Race Start

THE CHAMPIONSHIP IS ON AGAIN

SANDHAMN—The Adecco World Championship recommenced with the Gotland Runt Race today and there would appear to be no lessening of the blistering power of Ludde Ingvall’s attack with Skandia (EUR) as the eight Maxi One Designs started the double points scoring, 335 mile offshore race in perfect conditions. 14-16 knots of south-south-easterly breeze was blowing in Sandhamn Bay as the boats headed for the line on starboard tack towards the Almagrundet lighthouse, the first turning mark, ten miles distant.

THE START

Ross Field’s RF Yachting (NZL) aggressively approached the pin end of the line with Jules Mazar’s Le Defi Bouygues Telecom – Transiciel (FRA) just to windward. Both boats were pouring dirty air on Guido Maisto’s Seac Banche (ITA), which was badly slowed. Ingvall chose to start in mid-line where he had clear air and Skandia was immediately into her stride.

Gunnar Krantz (SWE) was racing his Team Henri Lloyd for the first time since her dismasting in the long offshore race of Kieler Woche and he chose the windward end of the line, expecting the wind to back slightly more. Beneath Krantz was South Africa’s Geoff Meek with Rainbow Magic and Hans Bouscholte (BEL) in Synphony. Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghimax (SUI) took a short port tack out of the line to clear her air.

POWERFULLY SET UP

Using the full water ballast allowed by the class rules for this race, the Maxi One Designs were powerfully set up and soon began reeling in the starters in the previous classes as they fetched out past the lighthouse. They were soon settled into a pattern with crews on the weather rails to give the boats the greatest possible stability and they were all ready to spend all night there on what promised to be a beat all 150 miles to the northern end of Gotland Island.

TWO HOURS DOWN THE TRACK

Two hours after the start, Skandia was just ahead and to windward of RF Yachting, the two leaders of the Championship so far seemingly engaged in their own battle for supremacy and it was unlikely that Ingvall would tack to port before Field made the first move. The had begun to pull away from the opposition. Hans Bouscholte’s Synphony was on a line slightly to windward of Skandia but sufficiently far astern to be third behind these two.

Geoff Meek’s Rainbow Magic was three lengths astern of the Belgian and Gunnar Krantz’ Team Henri Lloyd was about the same distance abeam to windward. The French were five lengths astern of the South Africans and the Swiss seven lengths abeam to windward of the French. Guido Maisto, meanwhile, was two miles abeam and to leeward of the two leaders, obviously looking for a left hand shift in the wind.

The wind, by then, had dropped to 10-11 knots and while it had veered slightly and some boats in other classes had tacked, all eight of the Maxi One Designs were on starboard tack heading offshore.