J Class yachts at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Sardinia - Day 1
by J Class Association 1 Sep 2014 21:19 BST
1-6 September 2014
After three and a half hours and more than 36 miles of close, coastal racing only five seconds separated the first and second J Class yachts at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup off Sardinia but both the victors Ranger and the first J to break the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda finish line today, Rainbow, had good reason to be delighted with their best race successes this season.
Ranger handed back a race win in Palma in June when they took an arbitration penalty after finishing, but today they were justly rewarded. They showed their guile in the lighter, shifty conditions on a beat up the west side of La Maddalena. Working more offshore they stayed with better wind pressure and sailed round both Lionheart and longtime race leader Velsheda who struggled in lighter air close to the island.
Ranger went from fourth to lead, only narrowly losing out to Rainbow when they went head to head around the top of the Barrettinelli islands. Rainbow eked out a small lead on the final long reach to the finish line, but Ranger – the older, heavier boat – corrected out as winner by just five seconds.
The first race of the series took the fleet clockwise around the islands of La Maddalena and Caprera. A delay to the start of two hours was required because the Mistral breeze was peaking earlier at more than 35 knots on the course area in the morning. Ironically on the key windward leg up the west side of La Maddalena it was as light as seven or eight knots with a noticeable split between the old gradient and new local breeze which Ranger's tactician Murray Jones read well.
After choosing the favoured, right side of the first windward leg Velsheda came back from a lacklustre start to lead around the first mark by nearly one minute from Rainbow with Lionheart and Ranger paying both paying a price for going left, rounding third and fourth.
Velsheda, with Hamish Pepper as strategist supporting tactician Tom Dodson and Ed Smyth as navigator, showed good pace on the run and reach but found themselves with a typical leader's dilemma, as they moved first into the lighter pressure. They had to choose to try and cover the advancing Rainbow and Lionheart who were working the Maddalena shore or to stay out with Ranger. Velsheda just erred too close to the land and could do nothing as their lead evaporated, slowed for a couple of minutes in much lighter pressure.
Lionheart lost here too. From challenging for the lead the crew which have won the first two regattas of the season – made one expensive tack back to the shore and dropped to fourth.
"I broke some of the owner's rules today." Smiled Ranger's winning tactician Murray Jones, "Don't get in a tacking battle – and we did – but it was a tough situation. We realised anything could happen there, round the back of the island, we managed to break out of phase with Lionheart who were tacking on us every time. We did a couple of shorter tacks and then felt there was more breeze on the outside and that paid for us. We snuck around. We might just have been able to cross Rainbow but the breeze was changing all the time, it came in quite quick again. We went round the top just behind them and then knew we had to stay really close to try to beat them on corrected time."
"It is great to get a win though. We are sailing quite well and just not to make too many mistakes. Now we just need to get a few more on the scoreboard."
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Rainbow's tactician Francesco de Angelis said "It was a tricky race. Ranger sailed a good race and we sailed a good race and there was just a few seconds in it. Of course over a three and a half hour race you know where you lost those seconds but that is part of the game it is good to have got across the line fiirst but also knowing what we did well is important, We are a happy crew."
Live TracTrac tracking of the yachts is available here.
www.yccs.it/it/regate-2014/207-maxi-yacht-rolex-cup-mini-maxi-rolex-world-championship-2014.html