Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup at Porto Cervo, Sardinia - Day 4
by Rolex Media Centre 10 Sep 2011 09:21 BST
5-10 September 2011
The waiting game
An abundance of patience, sun cream and bottled water were required during day four of the 2011 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. Racing was scheduled to start at a prompt 10:30 CEST to enable crews to take advantage of this morning’s anticipated westerly. It never arrived. Only after almost four hours baking in the piercing Sardinian sun could the 45-strong fleet attack the penultimate day of racing in a frail southerly.
The four classes were split into two different groups. The Maxis and Supermaxis, for the third day running, attacked a coastal course. A 17-nautical mile trek, that should have comprised a beat to windward, a downwind leg to the Monaci rocks, a reach into Secca di Tre Monti followed by a beat back to Pevero Bay and the finish line off Porto Cervo. However, the fading wind forced the Race Committee to shorten the course two thirds of the way through at the Isla delle Bisce, opposite Capo Ferro.
The 11 Wally and 16 Mini Maxis were designated windward/leewards. Admirable progress was made until the wind progressively softened, then swung dramatically as the lead boats approached the finish. The race was abandoned and going into tomorrow’s final day the leaderboard remains unchanged. In the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship Rán 2’s (GBR) lead over Jethou (GBR) and Alegre (GBR) appears insurmountable. In the Wally class, Y3K’s (GER) lead over Dark Shadow (MON) and Magic Carpet 2 (GBR) is more slender, but looks no less secure.
Today's three winners were all on the coastal course: Esimit Europa 2 (SLO) in Maxi Racing, Aegir 2 (GBR) in the Maxi Racing/Cruising division and Saudade (GER) in the Supermaxi class, proving her credentials in the light conditions.
Contrasting competition
The two-way race for the Maxi Racing title is finely poised. Tomorrow, racing permitted, provides a dramatic final showdown between two contrasting yachts: the 100-ft speed machine Esimit Europa 2 (SLO) and Sir Irvine Laidlaw’s 82-ft Wally-hybrid Highland Fling (MON). Esimit Europa 2 has been the fastest boat on the water across the board for all three coastal races. However, on corrected time Laidlaw’s crew are pushing her close. Esimit Europa 2 is a mere point ahead going into the final day. Highland Fling took the first day’s racing and the margin of victory, on corrected time, for Igor Simcic’s pan-European crew over the past two days has been a slender 20 and 14 seconds.
Today’s triumph will come as a pleasant surprise to Simcic, who, post race, was uncertain as to whether Esimit Europa 2’s advantage over the short course had been wide enough to claim overall victory. “Today was tough, three to four hours with no wind,” starts Simcic, “but we commenced in a good position and with some wind and took advantage. Later on, the wind changed and dropped, and we had a lot of tactical work which kept Juan Vila as navigator and Sidney Gavignet, our tactician, very busy.”
Highland Fling will give it one final push tomorrow, and, all week, has had a clear target in her sight: “Esimit Europa 2 are the main competition, we feel we can race against them, and probably beat them,” says Laidlaw. The yacht has been carefully adjusted to increase her speed and make her more competitive. Laidlaw has overseen this evolution: “We have lightened the boat by 500 kilos, changed to 3Di sails, and are sailing more efficiently than we were.”
Laidlaw has been racing at Porto Cervo for many years. The evolution of the Maxi fleet has enthralled him and driven his passion for speed: “Fifteen to twenty years ago, Maxis were restricted by the water line length so that the top speeds they would be going in flat water was around 16 knots. Now it is around 35 knots, a heck of a difference.”
Aegir 2 breakthrough
It was a frustrating day for most crews. Not for Aegir 2, winners in the Maxi Racing/Cruising division for the second day running. The leaderboard, though, remains delicately poised. A straight head-to-head for the title will ensue tomorrow between Brian Benjamin’s aforementioned 82-footer and Danilo Salsi’s Swan 90 DSK Pioneer Investments (ITA). Both lie on five points with Aegir ahead by virtue of two outright victories to DSK’s one.
“We won, it goes along nicely with the win yesterday, we are pretty happy,” reveals owner Brian Benjamin, “It was a typical Sardinian day. We’ve had it all this week, the end of the world one moment, glorious sunshine the next. It has been a good test for our boat, crew, sails, tactics and everything else. We’re still finding the boat out but it probably suits lighter air more than heavier.”
Olympic silver medallist, Steve Benjamin, no relation, is strategist on board. His view: “Today was one of the lighter races. We had our hands full at the start with Esimit to leeward of us and Highland Fling to windward, so we were in a sandwich and not a good one. We didn’t have a great start, as we found ourselves in jeopardy of going over the start line and had to turn way down.”
“It was a very challenging course,” continues Benjamin, “we had DSK ahead of us at the windward mark, and the run tried to get through them to leeward, but couldn’t, and we eventually passed them to windward.” When all is done and dusted tomorrow, Aegir 2 may reflect on that manoeuvre as a game changer. “We are glad they shortened the course,” closes Benjamin, “it was turning into a long race with the wind dropping rapidly.”
Chasing second
An exasperating day faced those locked into windward/leeward racing with racing abandoned. After yesterday’s intense three-race programme, things seemed to be heating up in the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship. As it was, after a four hour wait and a race virtually complete for the lead boats it all fell away to nothing. And, as it stands, Rán 2’s five-point lead looks commanding. Much depends on how many windward/leeward races tomorrow’s wind permits.
Ian Budgen, part of the afterguard on the 60-ft Jethou, was left more than a little disappointed by today’s conditions: “It was a tough day mentally, we were in pretty good shape going up to the top mark and to have the race abandoned with about ten minutes left is very frustrating, especially as we were ahead of Alegre, our closest rivals.”
“However, that is yacht racing,” admits Budgen, “and we have to lift our spirits for tomorrow. It is pretty difficult to get to Rán in all honesty especially when the discard comes in. First place is probably unrealistic, since only a retirement will probably stop Rán, so second is our objective.” It would still prove a fantastic showing for one of the smaller Mini Maxis on display.
Results after Day 4:
Maxi Racing/Cruising
1) Aegir (GBR), Brian Benjamin, 3-1-1, 5pts
2) DSK Pioneer Investments (ITA), Danilo Salsi, 1-2-2, 5pts
3) Berenice (ITA), Marco Rodolfi, 6-3-4, 13pts
Maxi Racing
1) Esimit Europa 2 (SLO), Igor Simcic, 2-1-1, 4pts
2) Highland Fling (MON), Irvine Laidlaw, 1-2-2, 5pts
Wally
1) Y3K (GER), Claus Peter Offen, 1-1, 2pts
2) Magic Carpet 2 (GBR), Sir Lindsay Owen Jones, 2-3, 5pts
3) Dark Shadow (MON), André Auberton, 5-2, 7pts
Supermaxi
1) Nilaya (GBR), Ficaya Ltd, 1/1-2/4-2/2, 12pts
2) Visione (GER), Hasso Plattner 3/2-3/1-4-4, 17pts
3) Hetairos (CAY), Rockport Ltd, 2/4-1/2-5/6, 20pts
The Supermaxi Class is being dual scored in each race under IRC & ORC. The combined scores determine the leaderboard. Individual race scores show IRC race position/ORC race position.
Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship
1) Rán 2 (GBR), Niklas Zennström, 1.5-1-1-4, 7.5pts
2) Jethou (GBR), Peter Ogden, 3-3-3-2, 11pts
3) Alegre (GBR), Andres Soriano, 4.5-2-2-3, 11.5pts
How To Follow Event
Further information about the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, including the entry list, full race results, and live tracking during racing, may be found at www.yccs.com