Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Día 4

Texto Copyright Regatta News

ANOTHER DAY IN MAXI PARADISE

Day four of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup started late, but did not come up short on excitement or entertainment, especially in the Cruising Division. Today was another day for the holiday-makers in this vacation paradise to witness the impressive array of the big, the beautiful and the fast in the sailing world. The highest point on Mortoriotto is 77 metres, dwarfing the rigs of the biggest yachts here, but as the island slopes quickly southwest, the majority of its mass is no match for the mast of a super-maxi. Hamilton II boasts a 42.5 metre mast, and Velsheda's is 56 metres and Salperton's is a staggering 60m. Those enjoying an afternoon's swim in the emerald clear waters of the sculpted coves, could just wonder in awe as the towering rigs glided by on the far side of the rocky outcrop.

Principal Race Officer Peter Craig and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda Race Committee faced an awkward moment as ten minutes ahead of the scheduled start time the wind swung wildly right and dropped about 5 knots. It is credit to the team's swift work that they got the four starts off without delay, despite the need to adjust the pin more than once. The Wallys and Mini Maxis sailed a 27 nautical mile course upwind to Mortoriotto, followed by a long run to Monaci, a fetch to Secca Tre Monti before a beat through Bomb Alley, past Capo Ferro, and up to the mark in Golfo Pevero, before reaching the finish line off the entrance to Porto Cervo. The Cruising Division went somewhere different, using the islands of Mortorio and Soffi as its upwind turning mark, before rounding the rocks of Mortoriotto and running back to the finish off Porto Cervo, with the now familiar hitch into Golfo Pevero - a 21 nm course. Despite unpromising winds at the start, breeze built quickly peaking out in the high teens. Happy boats today were Rambler (Racing), Highland Fling (Wally), Ranger (Cruising) and Numbers (Mini Maxi).

In the Racing Division, the 90-foot Rambler (USA) and her uber-maxi competition, the 100-foot Alfa Romeo (NZL), were given a day off their usual whistle-stop tour of the islands and undertook a windward/leeward course of six legs totalling 17.3 miles. The start was not straightforward with both yachts over early and George David's Rambler not realizing until she was some way down the track. Neville Crichton's Alfa meanwhile stole a march by going back quickly and it looked game over at this point. But it wouldn't be yacht racing if it were simple. Halfway up the third beat Alfa appeared to encounter real problems with her rig and Rambler was able to close right up to finish only three minutes behind on the water and 10 minutes ahead on handicap. With honours wholly even in this Division, both having posted two firsts and two seconds, tomorrow is 'Super Saturday' with everything to play for despite a discard coming into the equation.

All week the Mini Maxis have been having a tussle on the line. Hardly surprising with eighteen yachts of 60 feet and over, all charged up and raring to go. As the class approached the start line today, it was clear that a bunch towards the middle was going to find it difficult to avoid being course side when the gun went. The key question for the onlookers was whether this group comprised also-rans or favourites. As the sail numbers were called out by the Race Committee, the stomachs on Rosebud/Team DYT (USA) must have felt the proverbial lump forming as the crew realized they were the only front-runner in the class to be caught. By the time Roger Sturgeon's crew had cleared the penalty it looked game over here too. But you don't win the Rolex Sydney Hobart by giving up at the first difficult hurdle. Rosebud took the initiative, stormed the first leg and got herself back into the race. In the end it was too much to make total amends and although she finished fifth on the water less than eight minutes behind Numbers (USA), she was fifth on handicap.

Numbers cruised to victory one minute ahead of the Torben Grael-led Alfa Romeo 3 (NZL), having forced the pace in the race from start to finish. Irrespective of whether past performance is any indicator, she looks to have an unassailable lead in the Mini Maxi Division. With a discard coming into play today with five races now completed, the Ernesto Bertarelli-chartered master-blaster has a total points score of four, compared to Rosebud's nine. With her worst score a second, Numbers cannot be beaten even if she self-destructs before the start. Not bad, given she started the week by nudging the rocks.

In the Wally Division the 143-foot Esense came of age and took her first line honours of the week, beating Claus Peter Offen's Y3K (GER) home by six minutes. Esense clearly enjoyed the long course legs on offer today. Minimum of manoeuvres, maximum straight-line speed - easy. Irvine Laidlaw and Highland Fling X (GBR) posted an excellent first place and Lindsay Owen-Jones' Magic Carpet 2 (GBR) which finished 10 seconds adrift of Y3K took second on handicap. With owner Jean-Charles Decaux unable to take the helm today, J One incurred a 2% time penalty, plus one place under the class rules, which saw them finish a painful sixth on handicap. As a result, it could not be tighter at the top of this division, with the top four boats separated by two points. Trying to work out the discard permutations is a job for a mathematician.

The Cruising Division chose today to put on a great performance. The course looked pretty tame to start with, but held plenty of opportunities for those tacticians in tune with the variations in wind direction and strength present today, not to mention the depth of water available around the rocks. Viriella put on her best show of the week to lead the fleet around the course from start to finish, despite the best efforts of Charles Dunstone's Hamilton II (GBR) which came in second on the water. Once again the two J Class sloops did their best to steal the show finishing one - two on handicap after a ferocious scrap in the final phases. They finished 21 seconds apart on the water, with Ranger squeezing past just before the turn into Golfo Pevero.

Gerry Dykstra, yacht designer and the man charged with the restoration of Velsheda, was elated coming off the water, “our start was okay, but we were not helped by a wind shift afterwards, that made the start look different than it really was. After that, things became more lively and I think we raised the shares of the J boats quite a bit today!” Having been behind Ranger for much of the race, Velsheda (GBR) took advantage of an uncharacteristic error on Ranger to slip past at Soffi. Hamilton II hailed water at Ranger fearful of an unscheduled rendezvous with submerged rocks. Ranger had to overstand the turn and Velsheda managed to squeeze in. Ranger came back at Velsheda and the two fought tooth and nail to the finish.

Although Viriella ended up fourth on handicap Gigio Russo, the helmsman thoroughly enjoyed the day after a difficult start, “We took the start on the wrong end of the line, but we saw some boats up the course that got a quite an intense right hand shift. We tacked and crossed the fleet between the leaders and the losers and we got the shift. We managed to round the first mark ahead of Ranger and then we stretched away.

We made the right call to round the island of Soffi without using the gennaker for a little bit and that paid off because although we lost some distance to the guys following us, we managed to get around the island under control with just the main and jib.”

The overall standings in the Division see Ranger on top with just 4 points, and discarding a 1 tomorrow. Hetairos (CAY IS) is in second on 15 and Velsheda in third on 19.

On a happily upbeat note, reports from the crew of Andres Soriano's Alegre advise that crewmember Led Pritchard is expected to make a full-recovery from his traumatic lower right-leg fracture suffered during yesterday's racing. The crew are indebted to all those who helped in the transfer of Pritchard from the boat to Olbia Hospital and would like to express their appreciation. It is anticipated that Pritchard will spend a few more days in hospital in Sardinia before returning home to continue his recovery.

The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in conjunction with the International Maxi Association (IMA), will run from September 1st to September 7th. Racing finishes tomorrow, Saturday, and the prize giving tomorrow evening will be the culmination of an intense week of big boat racing. From the most luxurious, through the most traditional, to the most advanced monohulls afloat today, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is nothing if not an astonishing line up of sailing power.

For more information about the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2008 including entry lists and results please visit www.yccsmaxi.com.

To receive daily reports and to download high-resolution images, copyright free for editorial purposes, register online at www.regattanews.com.

CURRENT PROVISIONAL STANDINGS Place Boat Name Owner Nation, R1-R2-R3-R4-R5-Points

Racing
1. RAMBLER George David USA, 2-1-2-1-6.0
2. ALFA ROMEO Neville Crichton NZL, 1-2-1-2-6.0

Cruising
1. RANGER, RSV Ltd USA, 1-1-1-1-4.0
2. HETAIROS, Rockport Limited GER, 4-4-4-3-15.0
3. VELSHEDA, Tarbat Inv Ltd GBR, 3-2-12(DNF)-2-19.0

Mini Maxi
1. NUMBERS, Meyers/Bertarelli USA, 1-1-(2)-1-1-4.0
2. ROSEBUD/TEAM DYT, Roger Sturgeon USA, 3-3-1-2-(5)-9.0
3. MONEYPENNY, Jim Swartz USA, 2-(5)-3-3-2-10.0

Wally
1. MAGIC CARPET 2, Lindsay Owen-Jones GBR, 1-4-4-2-11.0
2. HIGHLAND FLING X, Irvine Laidlaw GBR, 2-6-3-1-12.0
3. OPEN SEASON, Thomas Bscher GER, 6-1-2-4-13.0

Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Día 3

Texto Copyright Regatta News

BIG WIND, BIG WAVES, BIG DAY

If they ever invent a 4x4 RIB the photographers and film crews that covered today's proceedings at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup will be in the market for it. A one-hour postponement saw the wind build from zip to 20 knots and more. With the wind came the sea - short, sharp and steep. Great in a Maxi, dreadful in a small motorboat. But the spectacle was spectacular. And, whilst it was not all plain sailing, today was one of those days off Porto Cervo that sailors live for. Come results time, honours were even in the Mini Maxis with Numbers and Rosebud/Team both posting a first and second in their two races. J One collected a first bullet of the week in the Wally Division; the J-Class Ranger maintained her perfect record in Cruising and Racing went to the super-maxi Alfa Romeo.



Principal Race Officer Peter Craig and the race committee kept crews in the harbour for an extra hour, which would have done little to help anyone prepare for the afternoon ahead, because though the wind was expected to build no one had quite predicted what occurred. Today was the allotted day for the Mini Maxis to sail two windward/leeward races - one of 8.8nm and one of 10.8nm. What a day for it. Meanwhile, Cruising, Racing and Wally Divisions took on a 24 nm coastal race that included a short leg to windward, a run downwind to the rocks at Monaci, a fetch down to Secca Tre Monti, before a long old beat to Mortoriotto and a run back to the finish off Porto Cervo, with a small hitch into Golfo Pevero, which kept everyone on their toes.

Neville Crichton's 30-metre lightening bolt, Alfa Romeo (NZL), blitzed the 24 miles in a shade over two hours. By all accounts the downwind legs were sights to behold as she lit up and took off to Monaci following the initial beat and then subsequently to the finish following the beat to Mortoriotto. George David's Rambler (USA) clung on to her coat tails, but could do nothing against the raw power that Crichton has at his fingertips finishing 14 minutes behind on elapsed time and 4 minutes down on handicap. Still tomorrow is another day and as the crew on Rambler showed yesterday she is capable of making her time.

In the Wally Division, the day belonged to Jean-Charles Decaux's J One (FRA). She may be one of the smallest in the form, but J One has shown previously she is not prepared to be bullied by her bigger classmates. Decaux has an excellent afterguard comprising former around the world skipper Matt Humphries, Jens Christiansen and navigator Mike Broughton. But Decaux has to keep his hands on the wheel under class rules if he is not to incur a penalty. Was a day like today difficult? “It was a tough day. As usual here, we some very different wind speeds and a bit of swell so it was quite an interesting race,” he responds. Do you enjoy being on the helm in these conditions? “Yes for sure, that is really a pleasure for me. I enjoy winning even more, but I enjoy being on the helm. It's hard, but when you like what you do you put in all the focus and concentration that you need.”

Decaux strikes one as supremely optimistic. He looks relaxed and talks in a relaxed manner. He clearly admires his crew, considers it important to maintain the same team and consequently enjoys the spirit on board, “ the crew has been doing a fantastic job. We've been trying to really have a good crew and keep the same fighting spirit and at the same time to have a very good environment for the people. People always make the difference, no? Innovation, people and risk make the difference.”

Navigator, Mike Broughton, was equally positive about the crew work. From the advice given to the helm, to the tactics, to the sail-handling, all went well. Throwing in a well-timed gybe quickly after the initial windward leg, cutting in close to Monaci (not for the faint hearted) and then again at Mortoriotto were all part of the process that brought J One home second from last on the water, but first on handicap by 50 seconds from Thomas Bscher's Open Season (GER) in second and over a minute ahead of Irvine Laidlaw's Highland Fling (GBR) in third.



The Mini Maxi Division took their medicine. It was a nasty day for windward/ leewards, especially after the two previous, relatively gentle days. In race one today, the first beat saw the top five boats in the division pull away quickly from the rest of the fleet and then make short work of the downwind leg. “It was 4 and 4” according to Malcolm Park, trimmer and project manager for Rosebud/Team DYT, explaining to the bewildered that he was not referring to an off-road vehicle, but the minutes spent on each gybe.

Roger Sturgeon, owner of the STP 65, and winner of the 2007 Rolex Sydney Hobart made it sound like child's play. “It was just like sailing in Santa Cruz, California, except when the waves hit you they're warm instead of cold,” he laughs. “The seas were not as flat as the other days this week, so that made it a little bouncier. But everything was fast with a lot of tight racing. At the first weather mark we had one guy above us and one below, and we're trying to survive in between.” Survive they did. Rosebud went on to pass the Ernesto Bertarelli-chartered Numbers (USA) on the downwind leg and maintain her lead to the finish, where three boats crossed the line within a space of 15 seconds. Rosebud took the win on handicap too.

It was not quite so good in the second of the day's races, where Numbers got away from Rosebud on the first run, to finish first on the water and handicap. Despite Torben Grael and his ocean-racing crew on Alfa Romeo 3 (NZL) sneaking into second on elapsed time Rosebud/Team DYT did enough to place second on corrected time. Sturgeon is really enjoying the week, “it's fabulous here. The racing's great, I love all the obstacles…the rocks. We cut a corner the other day and made a 100 yards, it's a lot of fun!” Before anyone points out that cutting corners is a little foolhardy in these waters, Sturgeon goes on to explain that he and his crew did a lot of diving before racing began to check just what does lie beneath the waves. Time well spent, as a number of boats from previous events will attest.



In the Cruising Division the two J Class yachts renewed their private battle with a little too much vigour. A collision on the start saw Velsheda take a penalty turn, which meant their race was virtually over before it began. Worse was to befall this proud J, a standard bearer for yachts of a by-gone era, as she approached the turn at Mortoriotto and a series of mishaps led to her eventual retirement. Ranger, meanwhile, did not allow her dented bow to dent her performance. With more water over her deck than some of the submerged rocks Ranger kept up their picture perfect performance to come home third on the water, and win by some 15-minutes on handicap from Charles Dunstones' Hamilton II.

Another of the spirit of tradition yachts here this week, Hetairos, added a fourth place to her scoreline to keep her in second overall in the standings. Jens Cornelson, the project manager for the boat described the day, “we had a good day, we saw about 22 kts, but the boat loves it. Some things were overpowered a little, we had some technical problems: a little breakage from the hydraulic roller furler for the genoa. So we changed down to the inner forestaysail, and hopefully we'll have it fixed for tomorrow.”

Hetairos is one of those boats that never sits still, despite her elegant appearance. She spent the winter off East Africa, enjoying a busy cruising season. She races with a mix of amateurs and professionals, and with little opportunity to practice, her adeptness at the start and during other race manoeuvres is surprising, but down to the quality of the people on board according to Cornelson.

The Race Committee expects good winds again tomorrow, when racing is not scheduled to start before 1400 in order to accommodate the International Maxi Association annual general meeting in the morning. All four divisions will undertake a coastal race and in the evening owners and invited guests will enjoy the Rolex Gala Dinner at the Cala di Volpe.

The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in conjunction with the International Maxi Association (IMA), will run from September 1st to September 7th. Racing continues tomorrow, Friday, and with one more left after that, the prize giving on Saturday will be the culmination of an intense week of big boat racing. From the most luxurious, through the most traditional, to the most advanced monohulls afloat today, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is nothing if not an astonishing line up of sailing power.



For more information about the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2008 including entry lists and results please visit www.yccsmaxi.com.

To receive daily reports and to download high-resolution images, copyright free for editorial purposes, register online at www.regattanews.com.

CURRENT PROVISIONAL STANDINGS Place Boat Name Owner Nation, R1-R2-Points

Racing
1. ALFA ROMEO Neville Crichton NZL, 1-2-1-4.0
2. RAMBLER George David USA, 2-1-2-5.0

Cruising
1. RANGER, RSV Ltd USA, 1-1-1-3.0
2. HETAIROS, Rockport Limited GER, 4-4-4-12.0
3. BRISTOLIAN, Edwin van der Strat NED, 5-3-7-15.0

Mini Maxi
1. NUMBERS, Meyers/Bertarelli USA, 1-1-2-1-5.0
2. ROSEBUD/TEAM DYT, Roger Sturgeon USA, 3-3-1-2-9.0
3. MONEYPENNY, Jim Swartz USA, 2-5-3-3-13.0

Wally
1. J ONE, Jean-Charles Decaux FRA, 4-2-1-7.0
2. MAGIC CARPET 2, Lindsay Owen-Jones GBR, 1-4-4-9.0
3. OPEN SEASON, Thomas Bscher GER, 6-1-2-9.0

Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Día 2

Texto Copyright Regatta News

FLEET MANOEUVRES



Imagine you are sat on your boat in the middle of an emerald sea enjoying a quiet bit of fishing. Imagine in the distance an array of colourful spinnakers is heading towards you under a cloudless blue sky in ten to twelve knots of warm breeze. Imagine that the leading boats all turn in unison towards you as if they have been choreographed to do so. Realise suddenly you are parked up next to Secca tre Monti, the turning mark in the middle of race 2 at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. You probably start feeling a bit like the Captain of the L'Orient at the Battle of the Nile as the British fleet turned towards him line astern. Unlike that poor seafarer you are able to take evasive action and find yourself in the best seat in the house as five IRC-optimised Mini Maxis bear down before dousing their kites, turn sharp right and head off the rocks at Monaci to disturb the afternoon of a couple of diving parties.

Day 2 of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup opened with less than promising conditions. The Race Committee kept the fleet ashore until 1130, but even then it was not until 1330 that the racing began in just over 5 knots of easterly breeze. Three hours later, the Cruising and Mini Maxis had completed a 17 nautical mile course that took them to a windward mark, before reaching back west towards Capo Ferro where they entered the channel and reached off to the submerged outcrop of rocks known locally simply as Secca. From there, in a freshening breeze, they followed a fetch north to Monaci and another fetch back to Golfo Pevero, before finishing off Porto Cervo. Ranger (CAY IS) took a second bullet in Cruising, as did Numbers (USA) featuring the Alinghi crew in the Mini Maxis.

The Racing and Wally Divisions stretched their longer, more nimble legs a little further covering 25nm which included a long beat from Monaci down towards Mortoriotto before returning to Pevero and the finish. As they turned the corner at I. di Nibani the returning Wallys found themselves on a beam reach and at times appeared overpressed under their massive mains and spinnakers. With the foot of kites toying perilously close to the foaming bow waves, crew nerves must have been tingling. What looked a short hop must have felt like an age. Open Season was one to almost round up as she took a gust broadside, but this did nothing to upset her otherwise perfect day. Thomas Bscher's Open Season (GER), in the Wally Division, was joined by George David's Rambler (USA) in Racing on today's winner's podium.

Jochen Schuemann is tactician on Open Season: “The day started with a postponement but the race committee did a very good job. They waited exactly to the moment the breeze developed and we were able to sail downwind into the islands, which look great with all these maxi yachts sailing through the rocks.”

Schuemann, another triple gold medallist from the Games competing here this week, continued, “we have to fight in our division with two similar-sized boats. Today we had a good start and all three were very close together. Luckily we were in a very good position to keep Magic Carpet behind us and not to lose distance on Y3K in front. Real concentration was important during the entire race, but especially close to the coast where the wind was stronger than further offshore. Tactical decisions were very important because although you can't influence the smaller boats behind you have to beat them. It is what we were able to accomplish today and of course we are very happy about. It has been the first win for Open Season since quite a long time ago. The crew did a great job today!”

Whilst Y3K led the 143-foot Esense home on the water, it was Open Season that took the race ahead of Jean Charles Decaux's J One on handicap and now leads the Wally Division after two races.

Back to Aboukir Bay, or at least the reach past Capo Ferro and into Bomb Alley. This was great sailing for the front-runners in the Mini Maxi Division. Almost a straight-line drag race, but for an annoying gybe near the end. Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo 3 (NZL) with Torben Grael in the hot seat led by some distance a pack comprising Alegre (GBR), Numbers, Roger Sturgeon's Rosebud (USA), Jim Swartz's Moneypenny (USA) and one or two of the smaller Wallys, such as J One down towards the unsuspecting picnickers. The wind had finally built to double figures at this point and the spectacle was complete, as the group gybed together, as though signalled to do so by the lead boat.

Andy Soriano, owner of Alegre, who lives in the Philippines and is usually seen racing on the Asian Circuit was pleased with the way the day went and with progress generally, “it's a tough fleet. Every day we do a little better which is good. There was a little bit of everything today windwise, and we sailed a good race, which is important. I'm really enjoying being out there racing with a number of similar boats.”

Alegre went onto to finish the race in third place on the water behind Alfa 3 and Numbers, but came in second on handicap and now lies second overall behind the word-perfect Numbers.

Peter Holmberg, an Olympic silver medallist, is tactician on All Smoke (GBR). Gunther Herz's 24-metre yacht, a former event winner under IMS, is struggling to keep up with the newly launched pack of IRC Mini Maxis, but finished a respectable eighth on handicap today to add to her sixth of yesterday. Holmberg paid credit to the Race Committee for getting the race underway, “I thought Peter Craig was being a bit ambitious, but he got us off at the right time. It was light at the start and these big boats can be pretty tricky in that, so it was a challenge. The breeze filled in downwind, so it was a good test of crew work and an enjoyable day.” Holmberg is also enjoying the range of courses on offer, “Today was tricky because the wind kept switching and you did not know how far it was going to change. Every boat has a navigator, the water's clear and when you have scenery like this I'd much rather race around the rocks than the buoys”.

In the Cruising Division the two J Class yachts Ranger and Velsheda enjoyed another match-race round the course, seemingly oblivious to all that is going on around them. Ghost was first home again after a poor first leg that saw her trail the Js around the initial windward mark. Some good work on the ensuing long, downwind leg saw her open up on her more traditional looking rivals. The gap was never going to be enough, because though Ranger and Velsheda seemed only interested in each other they are sailing so well to post a 1,2 today some 13 minutes ahead of Edwin Van Der Straten's Bristolian on handicap. Ghost repeated yesterday's eighth, whilst things went very badly wrong for the mighty Salperton.

After yesterday's wide grins, Salperton was forced to retire from today's racing with hydraulic problems that will see her crew hard at work tonight to ready her for a return to the fray for the remainder of the series. After yesterday's excellent result everyone has their fingers-crossed the biggest boat in the fleet will be on the start line tomorrow.

In the Racing Division, the 90-foot, conventional keeled, water ballasted Rambler struck a blow for the little guy by pulling out a win today. Despite finishing some thirteen minutes behind the 100-foot, supremely powerful Alfa Romeo, George David's crew, with Ray Davies and Peter Isler sharing the tactician's role, scraped home on handicap by a mere 18 seconds. But that is the name of the handicap game. One second, one minute, one hour - a winning margin is a winning margin.

Principal Race Officer Peter Craig is hoping for better breeze and earlier start tomorrow. Whilst the Mini Maxis are expected to undertake Windward/Leewards, the remaining three divisions will continue to contest more of the fascinating coastal racing on offer off Porto Cervo.

The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in conjunction with the International Maxi Association (IMA), will run from September 1st to September 7th. Racing commences tomorrow, Tuesday and with racing scheduled for each following day, the prize giving on Saturday will be the culmination of an intense week of big boat racing. From the most luxurious, through the most traditional, to the most advanced monohulls afloat today, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is nothing if not an astonishing line up of sailing power.

For more information about the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2008 including entry lists and results please visit www.yccsmaxi.com.

To receive daily reports and to download high-resolution images, copyright free for editorial purposes, register online at www.regattanews.com.

CURRENT PROVISIONAL STANDINGS Place Boat Name Owner Nation, R1-R2-Points

Racing
1. ALFA ROMEO Neville Crichton NZL, 1-2-3.0
2. RAMBLER George David USA, 2-1-3.0

Cruising
1. RANGER, RSV Ltd USA, 1-1-2.0
2. VELSHEDA, Tarbat Inv. Ltd GBR, 3-2-5.0
3. HETAIROS, Rockport Limited (GER), 4-4-8.0

Mini Maxi
1. NUMBERS, Meyers/Bertarelli USA, 1-1-2.0
2. ALEGRE, Andres Soriano, 4-2-6.0
3. ROSEBUD/TEAM DYT, Roger Sturgeon USA, 3-3-6.0

Wally
1. MAGIC CARPET, 2 Lindsay Owen-Jones GBR, 1-4-5.0
2. J ONE, Jean-Charles Decaux FRA, 4-2-6.0
3. OPEN SEASON, Thomas Bscher GER, 6-1-7.0

Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Día 1

Texto Copyright Regatta News

A BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF THE BIG FELLAS



Without doubt one of the best views in the house at the 19th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is that of the helicopter pilot tasked with positioning the film and photographic teams recording events unfolding. It is an enviable job and an addictive one too. Forty of the biggest, fastest, best-looking yachts on the planet and you get to see them from a perspective most only dream about. As the racing got underway today in a building breeze from the north-west and clear blue skies, the eye in the sky had the perfect view.

Top spots in the fleets went to the Ernesto Bertarelli-chartered Numbers in the Mini Maxis, Ranger in Cruising, Alfa Romeo in Racing and Lindsay Owen-Jones Magic Carpet 2 in Wally. The Cruising Division raced nine miles less than the other three, which all undertook a 39 nautical mile course that must have been strength sapping in the burning sun. All yachts took on a windward leg from the start off Porto Cervo towards the Island of Caprera. A hard left turn took the fleet into the passage between mainland Sardina and the Maddelena Archipelago. The shorter course for the Cruising Division saw them turn North at Punta Sardegna to Isola Baretinelli, where they turned south-east for a spinnaker run to a final mark in Golfo Pevero and on to the finish off Porto Cervo. The other three divisions continued northwest at Punta Sardegna and made their turn back towards the East at Ecueil de Lavezzi of the southern tip of Corsica.



The Racing Division comprising Alfa Romeo and Rambler was scheduled to start at 1140, but a broken runner on Rambler saw the gentlemanly conduct of the day award go to Neville Crichton as he agreed to a delayed start for these two boats that put them to the back of the list. That was the last merciful act from the canting-keeled Alfa as she scorched around the course in 3 hours 26 minutes to correct out over a minute ahead of Rambler.

The 8-boat Wally division witnessed the racing debut of the 143-foot Esense. She is quite a sight. The crew's day-glow green shirts are a striking contrast to the dark hull and teak deck. She is 40 feet longer than the next largest in the class, Dark Shadow, which at 100-feet is impressive enough, but from above looks like a dinghy compared to her big sister. Just as David showed Goliath a thing or two about speed and agility versus size and power, the relatively smaller Wallys: Magic Carpet, Y3K and Open Season (all between 95 and the 100-foot mark) slipped away from Esense on the first windward leg and led her around the course. Irvine Laidlaw's Highland Fling X is one of the smallest in the class, but did well enough to finish second on handicap, ahead of Genie.



Royal Ocean Racing Club CEO, Eddie Warden Owen is on board Highland Fling X as tactician this week and described the race today as one as the best day's racing he has had in Porto Cervo, “it was just great going up between the islands today. We were close with some of the others all the way, just wonderful”. Warden Owen admitted to taking advantage of being behind the leading boats at the top mark of the course, “we knew as we turned the corner at the top that the wind would follow us around. Just to make sure we looked through the binoculars at the boats ahead and could see those that had taken a high line were having to gybe to keep on course. So we stayed low, took a longer route but with more speed.”

A similar story unfolded in the Cruising Division, where the Ed Dubois designed, 144-foot, Salperton was making her competitive debut in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. Another Briton, Andy Green, is on the helm and thoroughly enjoyed his day steering the biggest yacht in the fleet around the 30-mile course. Green, too, took a lower route at their top turning mark, “ we did really well today. We held our time up between the islands and really took it out of the fleet on the way back.” Salperton finished second on the water and on handicap, barely a minute behind the J Class, Ranger. “Ranger is so well sailed it's hard to get close. But we did well,” commented Green, who is clearly in awe of the machine he has control of this week, “it's as big as it gets” he added. And it is. From the dock, Salperton is impressively long, the bow stretching away into the distance. It must look that way from the helm. From the water, in a small RIB, she is enormous, spreading her huge shadow across the water. From the air she is something else, words failing to adequately describe the magnificent sight of her in full flight.

It takes nerves of steel to stand at the helm of one of these maxis on the start line. Millions of dollars of boat and equipment at stake. Not to mention the egos. Spare a thought for Tom Burnham at the helm of the 125-foot Ghost. For the first time. Burnham is an experienced yachtsman, an America's Cup sailor and full-time pro on the grand-prix circuit. When he signed up to race on Ghost it was as tactician and crew boss. Tom Whidden normally drives the silver wraith. But Whidden was unexpectedly unable to attend this week's event and Burnham was asked to step up to the plate. “It was a little nerve-wracking out there. But it was also very exciting and a lot of fun to be helming such a fantastic boat. We had a great start which owed a lot to the teamwork. The guys had me in the right position, which made it easy.” By all accounts, Ghost did have great start. Andy Green (on Salperton) certainly felt they had the best start of the fleet.

Unfortunately, despite leading the Cruising Division around the course on the water, Ghost lost ground on the run towards home. The tack line on the spinnaker broke as they reached down the back of the islands and although the crew had the replacement spinnaker up and drawing in a couple of minutes she was relegated to eighth on corrected time. The second J Class Velsheda rounded out the top three on handicap.

The anticipated dogfight in the Mini Maxi division duly came. Torben Grael, skippering the brand-new, Reichel-Pugh 69 Alfa Romeo 3 in its first competitive outing brought her home first on the water finishing 14 seconds ahead of Numbers. The lead could have been more but for problems with some sail changes towards the finish, which Grael felt had slowed them up. And although Alfa 3 finished fifth on corrected, Grael was very pleased with the day.



The start was best seen from the air as Numbers, Alfa 3 and the two STP 65s Rosebud/Team DYT and Moneypenny seemed to hit the line in a bunch at the Committee Boat end and stayed together for much of the initial beat. Allegre took the pin end of the line but when she crossed back towards the leading bunch she was not far off the pace. Andy Soriano's boat was third across the finish line and fourth on handicap. Moneypenny came in just ahead of Rosebud/Team DYT on the water and on handicap, finishing second in the division. Matt Ciesicki, a downwind trimmer, summed up he feelings of the crew: “halfway up the beat it was looking pretty bad for us, our competition was two to three minutes ahead of us. We just chipped away and the second half of the beat went well. Once we got around the top and got in a close reaching situation the boat really came alive. We stacked everyone all the way back and just let the trimmers and drivers do their work and gapped right up close to Alfa and almost bow to bow with Rosebud. We were very happy with our downwind speed and we nearly caught Alegre at Monici. We ended up with a pretty happy result to come in second against some great competition.”

We'll let Ed Baird - AC winning helm and ISAF Rolex Sailor of the Year on the Mini Maxi Numbers - sum up the day's proceedings: “It was a classic Porto Cervo race, it just was beautiful: 12-20 knots from the west, up through the straits and around the islands. We had good close racing, lots of boats in the hunt, short tacking up the rocks, followed by a run and a reach with gennakers back to the mark and then to the finish. A fabulous day, there wasn't a cloud anywhere!”

The Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in conjunction with the International Maxi Association (IMA), will run from September 1st to September 7th. Racing commences tomorrow, Tuesday and with racing scheduled for each following day, the prize giving on Saturday will be the culmination of an intense week of big boat racing. From the most luxurious, through the most traditional, to the most advanced monohulls afloat today, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is nothing if not an astonishing line up of sailing power.

For more information about the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2008 including entry lists and results please visit www.yccsmaxi.com.

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CURRENT PROVISIONAL STANDINGS
Place Boat Name Owner Nation, R1-Points

Racing
1. ALFA ROMEO Neville Crichton NZL, 1-1.0
2. RAMBLER George David USA, 2-2.0

Cruising
1. RANGER, RSV Ltd USA, 1-1.0
2. SALPERTON, Primero Maritime Ltd CAY, 2-2.0
3. VELSHEDA, Tarbat Inv. Ltd GBR, 3-3.0

Mini Maxi
1. NUMBERS, Meyers/Bertarelli USA, 1-1.0
2. MONEYPENNY, Jim Swartz USA, 2-2.0
3. ROSEBUD/TEAM DYT, Roger Sturgeon USA, 3-3.0

Wally
1. MAGIC CARPET, 2 Lindsay Owen-Jones GBR, 1-1.0
2. HIGHLAND FLING X, Irvine Laidlaw GBR, 2-2.0
3. GENIE, Charles de Bourbon MON, 3-3.0