J Class at The Superyacht Cup - Day 2
by J Class Association 19 Jun 2014 19:10 BST
18-21 June 2014
If Wednesday's J Class race for the King's Hundred Guinea
Cup at Palma's Superyacht Cup proved inconclusive (Hanuman and Lionheart
finally being required to share the top trophy) there were no such doubts cast
about the winners of the second windward-leeward race of the series.
Lionheart took the lead on the second beat and extended
progressively to win by one minute and five seconds ahead of Rainbow across the
finish line after three laps of racing.
Racing conditions were something close to Palma's sea breeze
best. The wind built from a relatively gentle 7-9kts at the start to 16kts on
the third round to provide some sparkling downwind sailing with the five J
Class yachts pushing their crews increasingly hard.
Ranger won the pin end of the start and were able to quickly
gain the left side of the course which, as is often the case, proved the passport
to a good lead at the first windward mark. But at the leeward gate they let the
prowling Lionheart separate to the left hand gate mark, work back to the left
again – toward the bluff, cliff lined Cabo Blanco shore – and the Lionheart
crew which has Bouwe Bekking as tactician converted a 15 seconds deficit to a
lead of more than one minute at the second windward turn. Rainbow's profit was
not as valuable but they rose to earn a well deserved second place.
After a modest start Hanuman pulled through to cross the
finish line third but dropped behind Ranger on corrected time.
Bekking, who skippers the Team Brunel Volvo Ocean Race team,
was pleased to have kept the 'winning' record of Lionheart intact, claiming a
share of Wednesday's top trophy as a victory!
"We had a good start and so far our crew work has been
excellent so it is good and our owner has been driving superbly. It is all
coming together nicely and so we have our seven wins in a row."
He was less enthused by the idea of a head to head match with
Hanuman for the Cup:
"Maybe." He grinned, "But I think he is quite handy at
that. So maybe we should not go there."
Bekking believes the J Class racing here keeps him and some
of his core crew sharp for the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race:
"I made this commitment to sail these three regattas before
the Volvo came along but I think this is really good for us who are on the Volvo
as we are in a good racing environment, it is good for my communication and
relationship with Andrew Cape the navigator and we have four guys from the team
here. It all fits in really well and it keeps me sharp."
Of their success to date he concludes:
"We have worked hard on the boat and as a crew. We have a
great group of people and a great owner-driver. There is much more pressure
with a pro driver. Our owner says to just relax from start to the finish. I
sometimes get a bit tense but you want it to be good for everyone on board. I
made a mistake at the start yesterday and I have to put my hand up for that one."
Rainbow's helm, Holland's five times Olympian Mark Neeleman,
was delighted with second:
"The competition is so complete here with five boats that we
are very happy to get second today, the boat is going very well, nice and
quick. The wind shifted 15 or 20 degrees to the left on the second beat and we
got that with Lionheart. It was a good side of the course. Our Italian team at
the back Francesco (De Angelis) and Michele (Ivaldi) worked it well. We are
very happy with the result. Everything went well, we are working all the time
to get better. The boat is relatively new and we are changing and modifying the
crew a little and getting better all the time. We have sailed the least together
of all the teams I think so it is pleasing today. We have had five boats a
couple of times but all the teams are getting better all the time, this is the
best competition there is. The differences are minimal and so you can't make
mistakes. You have to do everything right if not you go from first to fourth."
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