Soto 40 class at Semaine de Porquerolles - Day 2

Semaine de Porquerolles day 2 © www.semainedeporquerolles.com

Three races were completed yesterday, all in different conditions with a wind that moved from 230º to 280º and increased its speed from 8 to 20 knots.

In order to complete the Schedule, the first race was not long in coming and it started at 1pm, after an hour waiting, with a 5 knots wind at 230º that then moved to 220º.

The Portuguese Bigamist, property of Pedro Mendonça -with Afonso Domingos as skipper- achieved the first victory, followed by the Spanish Noticia IV and the German Earlybird, property of Hendrik Brandis.

After that, with a decreasing wind, the Race Committee decided to wait for the return of the wind speed and the fleet set out to sunbathe for almost three hours.

The fourth race of the event began at 4 pm with an increasing 9 knots wind which at the start set the windward mark at 235º.

The wind increasing was accompanied by a change of over 40º, reason why the race area had to be reset. In this local conditions, Glen Ellen XXII, skippered by Guillaume Berenger, showed all its knowledge.

At the end of the race, the French boat and the Spanish boat Noticia IV were penalized for OCS, situation that gave an advantage to the Portuguese Bigamist for achieving the triumph in this Semaine de Porquerolles.

The victory in this race was for Uon, followed by Bigamist and Earlybird. Race 5 started with an established wind at 280º and a speed of 14 knots (this was the first race without a course change).

The fleet arrived together to the windward mark, with Bigamist taking the lead, closely followed by Noticia IV and the German Earlybird with Christian Nagel as skipper.

After the beam reach Earlybird searched for better winds and sailed to the middle of the race area. When the fleet arrived to the leeward gate, Earlybird showed that its crew had made a good choice and Noticia IV had to change its course because it was sailing in the last positions.

Noticia's course modification allowed it to arrive to the gate at the same time as its rivals, so the fleet gathered together once again. Then Glen Ellen XXI decided to sail free and solitary on the right side of the course, while the Portuguese Bigamist and Uon were taking the lead on the left side.

The fleet decided to tack to the right side and the German Hendrik Brandis' Earlybird decided to extend that choice. After crossing the race area, the French Glen Ellen XXII reunited with the fleet, forcing Noticia IV to follow it and make another course change. But this extended tract removed it from retaining control over Bigamist.

In the second windward mark the Portuguese Bigamist stayed in first position, followed by José Manuel Caldeira's Uon, Glen Ellen XXII, Noticia IV and Earlybird (at this point it seemed that the German boat's choice didn't achieve the expected results).

The leg to the third mark started with a quick gybing of Earlybird, who was looking for a different choice since it was sailing in the last positions. Then Noticia VI gybed, with the Cantabrian Pichu Torcida at the helm, in an attempt to distance itself from Glen Ellen XXII.

After the third mark and in the final leg, Bigamist took the lead, sailing solitary, followed by a bunched up fleet. The Spanish Noticia IV and the Portuguese Uon were fighting for the second place but Noticia IV was able to take advantage and play its cards, although it wasn't enough to defeat the Portuguese boat so it finally ended second position.

We came to the third day of this 16º Semaine de Porquerolles with a clear advantage of Bigamist.

Results after Day 2:

1st Bigamist – Pedro Mendonça – 1/2/1/2/1 – 7pts
2nd Noticia IV – Luis Martín Cabiedes – 2/1/2/OCS/2 – 13pts
3rd Uon – José Manuel Caldeira – 5/5/5/1/3 – 19pts
4th Earlybird – Hendrik Brandis/Christian Nagel – 3/4/4/3/5 – 19pts
5th Glen Ellen XXII – Dominique Tian – 4/3/3/OCS/4 – 20pts

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