2015 A Class Worlds at Punta Ala - Day 3
by Gordon Upton 10 Sep 2015 17:42 BST
5-12 September 2015
Wednesday was the day the showdown starts. The world's top two A-Class Cat riders of Glenn Ashby and Mischa Heemskerk finally met to race for the first time at these World Championships in Punta Ala, Tuscany. However, there was the little matter of a final qualification fleet race to be run first for B fleet, after the previous day's race was cancelled. Fleet A had to remain on the beach, or in the nice campsite café and drink their superb 1 euro espressos.
So, the fleet B sailors, after a delay for some unexplained reason, headed out into a fresh offshore breeze to their race area. After the usual delays to get marks and lines set, the fleet started blasting their way upwind. The A Cat is the undisputed king of upwind sailing, and Heemskerk does it better than virtually anyone else and rounded the top mark at least a minute ahead of the next sailor, before passing the spreader mark and effortlessly rising onto his foils for the downwind leg.
Chasing him were former World champions Andrew 'Landy' Landenberger and Stevie Brewin, both coincidentally sail-makers. But, as any sailor will know, just following someone on a course usually simply results in you following them across the line, so strategic gybes were made. The result was that Stevie managed to get stronger pressure over on the other side of the course and could catch up Mischa.
This state of affairs continued for the remainder of the race. Mischa pulls ahead upwind, Stevie stalked him cleverly downwind until right at the finishing run in to the line, they both met on opposing tacks with Mischa on starboard. But, crucially for Stevie, gybed alongside but just behind him. Then it was a spectacular drag race for the finish over the last 200m. Both boats were now fully on their foils, travelling at over 20kts, Stevie to windward and Mischa trying to pump his boat to get every ounce of speed. They crossed the line with half a boat overlap, Stevie the winner. And the wry smile on his cheeky Aussie face said it all! It was now back to the beach to find out who were to be in the Gold and Silver fleets.
The results being done, both fleets then set off at about 3pm to their respective race areas A and B. The Gold fleet were allocated the Northern Area B. And in this fleet were to be Ashby and Heemskerk.
The sandy beach is a pretty crowded and chaotic place, and being Italy...well....! Cat wheels and stern supports scattered about, but being tidied into piles by the accompanying WAGs and assorted helpers. Cats being brought in single file through the compound gates and down to the water and sails pushed up (A cat sails, in case you don't know, have stiff bolt ropes and are designed to be pushed up the mast rather than pulled up. A mainsail halyard is an extra weight noit needed.) Others trying to launch through boats still being rigged – you get the picture.
And finally, last through the gates came Ashby. I suddenly had a very cinematic image – smoke obscures the gates, and from it emerges a DNA A-Cat and Glenn Ashby, in slow motion, to the theme from 'Gladiator'. This was then somewhat spoiled by him saying 'Hiya Mate, all OK?' in his Aussie drawl.
In the race area the Race Officer got things together pretty fast as it was getting late. The wind was a good 16-18 kts. At this level, things on the start line can get pretty tense. Plenty of shouting, most of it in French or Italian. At T minus 10 seconds boats started to get OCS and at the start a big bulge had developed so a general recall was required. For photographers this is like a bonus go, as most at the pin end of the line don't initially realize, so they just blast off, giving great opportunities for extra shots.
The restart was better behaved and they all got away cleanly second time. At the top mark, it was Ashby in the lead, by about 15 seconds over Heemskerk. Then the main pack, chasing like a pack of baying hounds after a couple of foxes, followed about a minute later, led by Manuel Calavia and Jacek Noetzel.
Then the 'Devils Ride' of the fast downwind leg started. The higher winds mean that sailors need to trim the foiling a little differently to maintain stability. Some wiser ones even elect not to foil as to get it wrong can mean game over rather than just a couple of lost places by playing it safer. At the bottom marks a few boats came together, and Landy had a gear failure so went home.
Then it all started to happen on the next lap. Ashby had his port trapeze bungee brake, meaning his line was flying about just out of reach and threatening to wrap around the back of the sail rendering the line unusable and condemning him to having to hike out on port tack had this happened – the A Cat equivalent of a rear puncture in an F1 car. Luckily he managed to secure it in time and only lost about 300m.
Heemskerk had his own problems by then. He was fully foiling downhill and, going into a gybe a little too enthusiastically, he managed to get the A-Cat into a death roll, as you would an Enterprise in these winds. It resulted in master capsizing in the centre of the course. He managed to get it back up and carried on, but obviously lost a minuet or so.
At the end, Ashby got the bullet by 90 second from Heemskerk. Then came Stevie Brewin, Manuel Calavia and an very happy Jacek Noetzel.
Afterwards, Ashby said it was the fastest he had ever been on an A-cat. He said he saw Heemskerk was wisely sitting in rather then trapezing downwind, but said be was almost too scared to come in off the wire so just had to cling on for dear life afraid to move a muscle!
So the gauntlet is down. One Nil to Ashby, but with all to play for.
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