Swan World Cup in Sardinia - Day 3
by Marcus Hutchinson 30 Aug 2000 19:53 BST
Swan Cup 2000 Races Around the Buoys In Continuing Perfect Weather
After two days of Coastal Racing, the Race Committee threw a new Challenge at the 100 registered competitors in the 2000 Swan Cup. Bvlgari Race Day featured two races on a windward – leeward track, again under sunny skies and in fair breezes. It was calm early on Wednesday, but the wind built, allowing the Race Committee to start the first race after a one hour delay.
The Bvlgari Race Day operates as a regatta within a regatta, with the fleet sailing two races. The rankings from the results of those two races, will be consolidated and go into the regatta standings as being the placings for Race Three in the Swan Cup.
Under the watchful eye of Claudia Schieffer, Bvlgari’s guest for the day, ‘Maligaya’, Adres Soriano’s Swan 80 earned line honours in the first race. She was followed home by ‘Alalunga’ (Bertarelli), and ‘Solleone’ (Ferragamo), the new Swan 82RS.
It was a challenging race, with right-hand shifts being the dominant strategic factor, and the ability for strong crew work essential. The leeward mark was especially tricky for many, because the windshift turned what was planned as a run into a much closer reach, making carrying the spinnaker tougher as the wind approached 15 knots.
In the afternoon race, the breeze was up near 20 knots. Again the big boats led the way across the line, with ‘Maligaya’, ‘Alalunga’ and series co-leader ‘Sotto Voce’ (Van Vemde) filling the top three positions. ‘Defiance’ (Kinsbergen), sharing first place overall with ‘Sotto Voce’ at the start of the day, is looking good again as the time corrections are applied to the finishers. But ‘Noonmark VI’ (Mulcahy) has a protest lodged against ‘Defiance’ that could have a big impact on the top of the overall standings. Full corrected time results will be available before Thursday morning.
Tomorrow (Thursday) is a lay day. The forecast for Friday calls for strong Northwest winds, setting the stage for more fantastic racing.
Day 3 Photographs: (click thumbnail for full image)
Photos ©: Carlo Borlenghi
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