Adecco Maxi OD - Kiel Day 2

SKANDIA STILL THE BOAT TO BEAT

KIEL—Ludde Ingvall’s Skandia (EUR) won the 186 mile Fehmarn Race by just over a minute from Ross Field’s RF Yachting (NZL), but the attitude of all the crews is one of apprehension after Gunnar Krantz’ Team Henri-Lloyd was dismasted. ‘I have just come down from checking everything on our mast,’ said Field, two hours after the yacht had finished, ‘And I do mean everything.’

The Fehmarn Race was the first in the Kieler Woche series, the second event of the Adecco World Championship for the Maxi One Designs, and the 80 foot yachts averaged 11.55 knots around the course. At times, according to Pierre-Yves Jorand aboard Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghimax (SUI), ‘We held 18 knots under spinnaker in 27 knots of wind.’

Alinghimax had always been at the forefront of the fleet, challenging for the lead, until she lost some places when there was a minor failure with the headfoil which holds the headsail to the forestay. ‘We were only 100 metres behind Skandia at this time,’ said Jorand. The problem caused Alinghimax to relinquish two places and the Swiss boat finally finished fourth.

It was a triumph for Ingvall and his crew, who acknowledge that winning has become more difficult now that the crews of the other boats have worked hard on them. ‘We have done a lot of work, thrown some money at our problems and there is no doubt that we are faster than we were in Holland,’ said Field. ‘It shows,’ said Ingvall, ‘We have had to improve our boat as well in order to have any chance of finishing first.’

The race had provided a good mixture of beating, reaching and running, and it was here that Ingvall was able best to assess the improvement of his closest rivals. ‘We think we are still fastest boat to windward,’ he said, ‘but reaching is a different matter. When Ross Field has a reaching jib set, he tends to go away from us.’ Ingvall added that in lighter running, he thought Field was possibly faster, ‘but not when he has a particular spinnaker up, and I’m not telling him which it is.’

Skandia had not started the race very well and the early part was very much a matter of catching up with the others, but as they came around the southern tip of Langeland to begin a 30 mile windward leg, Ingvall decided that his strategy would be to sail as high as he possibly could and try to edge away to windward of both Field and Krantz. Krantz’ mast tumbled when Ingvall believed that he had just pulled ahead of the Swedish boat and after a radioed message to check on his stricken rival, he pressed on with his race against Field.

The New Zealand boat was leading when they started this leg, but the gap had been closed and when Field tacked to come back to cover, Ingvall called for a tack as well so that he was ahead and to leeward. He believed the wind would go right, and it did, which put Skandia in front. From that time, Ingvall maintained a cover on Field.