Bullitt GC32 Racing Tour: Austria Cup - Day 2
by Bullitt GC32 Racing Tour 29 May 2015 21:50 BST
27-31 May 2015
Downtown Gmunden was graced with a bird's eye view of competition on day two of the Austria Cup, the opening event of the 2015 Bullitt GC32 Racing Tour.
Compared to yesterday, the immaculate Austrian lake, nestled among the snow-capped Salzkammergut mountains, today had warmed up with the wind shifting into the northeast, allowing the course to be set up off the model Austrian town. Sadly the wind was even more marginal today, momentarily touching 10 knots, enough for the one design foilers, that resemble mini-America's Cup catamarans, to fully fly. Despite the challenging, fickle breeze, the race management got five races completed before competitors returned ashore to recover and ready themselves for a Bullitt Group party in Gmunden's waterside square.
At the start of the day the two old Extreme Sailing Series foes, Alinghi and Sultanate of Oman, were tied in the top spot. But through today's lengthy bout, Leigh McMillan's team maintained the best consistency and, with no results off the podium after nine races sailed, at the halfway point of the regatta, holds a six point lead over its Swiss rivals. On a course where it often didn't pay to lead (showing those behind where NOT to go), Alinghi regularly was the best starter, but was unable to hang on around the whole course.
"For once we were starting well," explained Alinghi skipper Morgan Larson. "Sometimes with this lake you find yourself doing the right thing, then the wind evaporates and fills in from somewhere else. It is a 'lake of opportunity' and the other guys took a few better opportunities than we did. But Traunsee is always tricky - sometimes you get in rhythm with the conditions and sometimes you don't. Tonight maybe we'll have a few more foamy ones. It's about giving the lake respect and we need to do a little more of that. You just have to chip away, learn from your mistakes, and don't take it too seriously, because it is impossible to predict here."
It remains uncertain if Alinghi's injured mainsheet trimmer Pierre Yves Jorand will return before Sunday. At present highly capable Austrian two time Olympic Tornado gold medallist Hans Peter Steinacher is standing in for him.
After the immaculate Omanis, today Spindrift racing finally came good, scoring the second best result of the day. Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard's team became the fourth different race winner after claiming race six, (today's second), showing how competitive this fleet is.
"It was a good day for us, but it was difficult to stay in the wind," said Guichard. "The game was to find the puffs and to stay in them. Yesterday it was difficult for us to manoeuvre, but now I am happy because today my team did a great job: We were starting well and our tactics were good.
"It is difficult to keep foiling here because the wind is not steady - the puffs come down the mountains, so they are strong, but really short too. For the helmsman it is difficult to keep the boat going fast. "
French skipper of Team ENGIE, Sebastien Rogues is earning himself the title of the 'comeback kid' making some spectacular recoveries to come home second in today's third and fourth races. "We did some good things and some bad things, but the challenge is getting easier," said Rogues, the 2013 Class 40 champion. Half way through the regatta the mid-fleet in particular is close with Team ENGIE having dropped to fourth, but is just four points adrift of Alinghi in second, their position not helped by coming home last in today's final race. On board leading Moth, catamaran and lake sailor Arnaud Psarofaghis, is calling tactics in place of former America's Cup helmsman Sébastien Col, however Rogues points out: "The tactics are very difficult here because of the gusts. It is very difficult for all the tacticians."
Like all the crew here, Rogues is crossing his fingers that conditions pick up for the last two days allowing the GC32s to get foiling with greater regularity.
Struggling at present is the ARMIN STROM Sailing Team of GC32 International Class Association President Flavio Marazzi, which has yet to finish on the podium and has its work cut out to make its impression on the front runners this weekend.
Follow the racing live at www.gc32racing.com
Update from Oman Sail
The wind once again was light and fickle which called for expert judgement and communication among the teams but it was Leigh McMillan and his scratch crew on Sultanate of Oman, who judged best, to finish on the podium in each of the five races completed, adding two further outright wins to their tally from day one.
This strong performance gave them a six point lead over second placed Alinghi and according to America's Cup sailor Alister Richardson, who is a foiling expert after racing AC45s for Italian team Luna Rossa, the success can be put down quite simply to teamwork.
"We all know each other really well and although this is the first time we are racing together as a group, we work really well as a team," he said.
"If you know each other well, you don't have to talk as much - especially where Pete Greenhalgh and I are concerned. I kind of know what he is thinking.
"Obviously we are not happy all the time with our manoeuvres but we are not getting frustrated, just trying to stay nice and relaxed while always learning and trying to improve.
"The secret today was to stay calm and not chase what other boats were doing. Our aim was to keep our heads out of the boat and sail towards wind we could see, rather than chase wind that had been.
"We did a really nice job of that today and even at times when we were struggling, we stayed calm and took one boat at a time and sailed well."
Oman's Nasser Al Mashari, the Sultanate of Oman's bowman is an Extreme 40 expert but has spent just a few days on the GC32 and has high expectations of what might be achieved, given a little more time on the boat.
"Our second day was even better than the first but we still need practice on this boat because it is still new to us," he said.
"Hopefully we can do even better on the third day and keep the momentum up but it has been a very good day."
Oman Sail CEO David Graham is visiting the team in Lake Traunsee and went 'flying' for the first time this afternoon onboard Sultanate of Oman – he admitted to being blown away by the boat, the class and the GC32 team.
"It was an incredible experience. The Sultanate of Oman team was amazing – with a lot of experience and expertise from different campaigns but all fitting and working well together," he said.
Oman Sail's decision to race the new Bullitt GC32 Racing Tour was looking like a good one, he added, on a number of counts.
"We have always aimed to be at the cutting edge of the sport and we are doing that over time. Look at what we are doing on the MOD70 with the speed records and then the Extreme 40s with The Wave, Muscat and Oman Air.
"The GC32 opportunity came up and it seemed like the logical thing to do. It is very impressive what the class has done in a short space of time and the venues linked in with the Ministry of Tourism's key markets so it was almost tailor made.
"We were also able to use our tried and tested Extreme 40 team and they have been really helpful in making it happen so it's a new thing for us but everyone is very excited and motivated."