Royal Thames Yacht Club Cumberland Cup - Day 3
by Sarah Hornby 4 May 2014 09:12 BST
1-4 May 2014
Royal Thames Yacht Club Cumberland Cup day 3 © Alex Irwin /
www.sportography.tv
A slow Northerly crept across the reservoir on Saturday morning, with gusts peaking at 9kts, but largely the anemometer read 0. The 8 teams were relieved to see some sunshine, and took the opportunity to bask in the sun and relax.
RTYC Vice Commodore Michael Gardner has been observing today's challenging conditions: 'Year on year, the standard of this event continues to rise. This event is clearly growing in importance, and there is no doubt that the quality of racing is improving each time, which shows that teams are taking it more seriously and becoming more competitive, Costa Smeralda, in particular, have showed great improvement over the years.'
RTYC crept up to a level playing field with YCCS, in race 23, with both teams on 6 wins, so it is looking likely, these two teams will feature in the final.
Sam Maxfield, of RTYC commented; 'After a fabulous night last night in the House of Commons, the team have sailed well today, and we have snuck in line with the Italian team, we still have a long way to go though, and we will keep trying to take each race at its own merit.'
With the breeze due to turn from a Northerly into a Southerly before dropping off completely, the race committee was keen to squeeze in as many as possible. A number of races started, but were then abandoned throughout the day.
Luckily, through a great deal of patience, a 28 race cycle was completed, before PRO Gill Smith eventually succumbed to fickle breeze, and was forced to abandon the racing. She commented: 'It was not an easy day for anyone on the water, the competitors, racers and umpires were all tested by the challenging, light and frustrating conditions. I have made the executive decision to retire to the bar.'
With more breeze due for Sunday, everyone involved is hopeful that it will be possible to fit in some more races and the finals.