Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo - Day 3
by Giles Pearman 11 Sep 2003 08:35 BST
Sad day for Alexia, Wallyno shines again
The third day of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Sardinia again yielded perfect sailing conditions. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda regatta committee split the main fleets across a coastal race for the Wally Class and two windward leeward courses for the IMS and IRC Classes. The day was marked by a start line collision in the second race between the Argentinean Alexia and the British yacht Leopard, resulting in serious mast damage on the former. Both yachts retired.
The shifty North Westerly wind made for a tactical day on the water especially for the IMS and IRC Classes on the 2.5 mile windward-leeward course. Random shifts of as much as 25 degrees keep tacticians on their toes. With such a spread of size of boats and such a short start line, the toughest job for most boats was to find a position on the line where they wouldn’t be affected by faster boats straight away. The day belonged to Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo that revelled in the fresh winds and flat water, posting a 2nd and a 1st in spite of blowing out a spinnaker in the first race. Carlo Perrone’s Virtuelle made the best job after that and maintains a slim lead overall after four races.
In the IMS Class, the hottest competition has been between Alberto Roemmers’ Alexia and Idea SAI owned by Italian Raffaele Railoa. In this morning’s first race, corrected time honours went to the Italian boat and in the afternoon hopes of a thrilling climax to the championship for Alexia dropped away when her top-mast broke in a collision with Mike Slade’s Leopard at the start line.
In the last 2 minutes before the start of the second race, Alexia’s headsail started to split and the crew rushed to drop it and replace it. In a somewhat handicapped situation, helmsman Guillermo Parado bore away to help the crew with the manoeuvre up forward, sailing across the bows of the accelerating Leopard in the process. The foredeck crew on Alexia were by now starting to hoist the new headsail and with just seconds to go before the start it looked like they might be able to save a reasonable start position from their precarious situation. But Leopard, by now at full speed and heeling over to leeward, sped past to windward of the down speed Alexia who was more upright. Leopard’s mainsail slid over the top of the mast of the leeward boat, ripping in the process, at the same time the leeward runner on the big British boat caught the topmast crane on Alexia. The Argentinean boat was pulled over almost horizontally to windward and being dragged along sideways the interior started to flood through the hatch. Eventually the carbon topmast broke off and Alexia promptly bounced back upright and the crew managed to pull the owner Alberto Roemmers back on board. Miraculously no one was hurt.
The Jury will sit tonight to determine what is to become of the various claims made by the parties to the incidents.
A more sedate coastal race was in store for the Wally Class; a 30-mile course initially North upwind to the East of all of lying islands to the lighthouse of Baratinelli, before a run down through the Maddelena Archipelago to the finish in front of Porto Cervo. Magic Carpet jumped the start and was forced to return but made up a big distance later and moved back into the lead on the water by sailing close along the cliffs inshore along Caprera Island whilst the rest of the fleet kept further offshore. Half way down the long run home the wind started to build making it a small boat race. Luca Bassani’s Wallyño, sporting a smart Pucci-patterned spinnaker, proved once again that the lowest rating in the fleet is the way to go, winning by more than five minutes on corrected time from Claus-Peter Offen’s Y3K to take a strong lead overall after three days.
In the Jongert/Spirit of Tradition Class it was Alfredo Canessa’s day when his Whitefin leapt from the start line and sailed a strong race to beat Adela by more than six minutes on corrected time.
Classe IMS
1) Idea SAI - R. Raiola - Punti 7
2) Alexia - A. Roemmers - Punti 12
2) Sotto Voce - A. Van Vemde - Punti 12
Classe IRC
1) Alfa Romeo - N. Crichton - Punti 7
2) Virtuelle - C. Perrone - Punti 7
3) Unfurled - H. Macklowe - Punti 10
Classe Wally
1) Wallyno - L. Bassani - Punti 5
2) Genie of the Lamp - G. Vacchi - Punti 9
3) Magic Carpet - L.O. Jones - Punti 12
Classe Jongert/Spirit of Tradition
1) Adela - G. Lindemann - Punti 4
2) Whitefin - A.Canessa - Punti 5
3) Anamcara - S.Trifirò - Punti 17
Quotes:
“The top of our mast broke from the forestay to the top. Idea was to windward of Leopard. Leopard tried to luff-up to avoid us but Idea didn't let them up. Idea was worried about being over early. The Jury was right there in the middle of the two boats. If the mast had come down it would have landed on them and they really would have been hurt!” Postigo Nacho, navigator on board Alberto Roemmers’ Maxi Alexia, involved in a start line collision today.
“Why are we protesting? There is quite a lot of damage and we were in a fairly straightforward position. We were just to leeward of Idea who pressed down on us and didn't keep up before the start and Alexia was skulking around the pin end mark without a headsail up. They were ahead and over the line and they successfully got round our bow and down to leeward of us. Remarkably there wasn't a crash at that point. Then they sorted their headsail problem to come back at the line again, but without any speed they just popped upright when we sailed over them and we collected their rig in our mainsail and leeward runner.” Hugh Agnew, navigator on board Mike Slade’s IRC Maxi Leopard, involved in a start line collision today.
“It was a tough tactical day for us today. With big shifts across the course we never seemed to be in as good a position as Alfa Romeo. Finding a lane away from the short startline where we would be unaffected by more performant boats upwind is tricky. We get good starts but it is the next five minutes that are the hardest.” Thierry Pepponnet, helmsman of Carlo Perrone’s Virtuelle.