No wind, no race.
We pick up again tomorrow with windward-leward racing. The forecast is for 11-16 knots from the east.
No wind, no race.
We pick up again tomorrow with windward-leward racing. The forecast is for 11-16 knots from the east.
A very good day for Desafio today and we took over the lead.
It was as much that Quantum and Audi Q8 had bad days as it was that we had a good one. A 7, 3 isn’t bad but Platoon and Matador won the day with a 1, 2 each. Matador has moved into second place, just one point behind El Desafio.
Today’s wind was light and from the south. Very smooth seas and rather short leg length’s at 1.6 mile meant once again that all the boats arrived at the first mark together.
In the first race we had an ok start and hung onto starboard longer than we wanted because we were pinned by Bigamist to windward who wanted at all cost to go left. Lucky for us, they drove us over there. Matador led the pack from the left followed closely by Platoon. We actually passed Bribon and Quantum on the second windward leg but mismanaged the approach to the mark and lost both of them.
In the second race, we had a very good start down at the leeward end because we wanted to go left. Left was pretty good and we were second to Platoon, who had won the pin, as we came out of the left. Amazingly, Matador got a nice shift on the right and got between us at the top mark.
Again, just behind us there was a large pile up and Quantum and Caxia Galicia were casualties in that melee.
So the placing after the second day are:
1. El Desafio – 25
2. Matador – 26
3. Quantum – 29
4. Platoon – 32
5. Synergy – 33
Tomorrow is the “coastal race”. There are two scoring points in the race, the finish obviously and also the mid point. So getting a good start and going the right way on the first windward leg in this race is very important.
Forecast for tomorrow is 7 knots going to 4 knots. Not real encouraging.
For complete results go to www.audimedccup.org
Three races were held today in a very nice breeze of 14-18 knots from 315. This breeze comes offshore here on the South coast of
The TP 52 fleet has assembled in Portimao, Portuigal for the final regatta of the 2008 Audi
No wind. No race.
Unfortunate situation. So the results don’t change. Moneypenny third, Numbers first and Rosebud second in the Mini Maxi Class.
Next stop for this fleet is St. Tropez at the end of September.
For me, I will be back in the TP 52 with El Desafio on September 15 for the last regatta of the Med Cup Circuit in Portimao, Portugal.
Good Sailing.
A short note tonight as a lot is going on.
A good day for Moneypenny with a second place. Numbers is pretty much untouchable and Rosebud was over the start line early and had to return.
Tomorrow will be the fight for second between Rosebud and us, in the 18 boat Mini Maxi class. One race is scheduled at 11:30.
Forecast is for 12 knots from the Southeast.
For complete results in all classes go to www.yccsmaxi.com
The wind was in today and the Mini Maxi fleet which contains Moneypenny, Numbers and Rosebud, raced two windward leeward courses. There are 18 boats in the Mini Maxi class in total and with the wind reaching 22 knots, we were flying downwind. The other fleets did another coastal race.
The sad news of the day was that a crew member was seriously injured on Alegra, a Mills 68 from Great Britain. It seems that he got a halyard around his leg just as the jammer that was holding the halyard broke. He is in surgery at the moment se we are all saying a prayer for him.
In the first race of the day, Rosebud sailed an excellent first downwind leg, planning by Numbers and taking the lead which the never relinquished.
In the second race, Numbers led wire to wire. We managed a third in each race.
The good news is that we had no damage and no injuries. The boats were seriously loaded up and that is always scary.
Tomorrow the racing will start at 1400 so most likely one race and probably a Coastal for all fleets.
For complete results in all classes go to www.yccsmaxi.com
Race day 2 got underway at 1300 after a 1.5 hour delay with seven knot Easterly wind.
September 1, 2008
The 19th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda gets underway tomorrow with an entry list of 40 yachts representing a broad spectrum of maxi scene. Once again the canting keeled, carbon-fibre, super-maxi Alfa Romeo will brush shoulders with the polished brass and bright work of Ranger and Velsheda, from the J Class era. Whilst the 144-foot Salperton and 143-foot Esense will be casting long shadows over the relative minnows in the 60-79 foot Mini-Maxi Division that includes a whole host of pedigree performers. And, it is not just the yachts themselves that are catching the eye. The crew rosters for this festival of big boat competition boast some of the most famous names in sailing today.
The who’s who of yachting is headed by three-time Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie, fresh from his exploits in China who will be offering some strategic tips to Neville Crichton on the 98-foot Alfa. Another multi gold medallist is Torben Grael, skipper of the 69-foot Alfa Romeo 3, who has his longer-term sights set on another Holy Grail of sailing – the Volvo Ocean Race. Grael’s here to sharpen up his team’s inshore racing skills ahead of the first in port race in Alicante in October. Mentioning Around the World Racing takes us neatly to Paul Cayard, part of the burgeoning brains trust on the back of the STP 65 Moneypenny. Cayard is also a former Games competitor, but is best known for his efforts in the America’s Cup and as a winner of the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1997. Many of Cayard’s AC friends and foes are here too. Ernesto Bertarelli, founder of the Alinghi syndicate and current holder of the Cup has chartered Dan Meyer’s Numbers in the Mini Maxi Division and is racing with three-time AC winning uber-tactician Brad Butterworth, incidentally another Whitbread Race winner (this time from 1990, with Peter Blake and the then mighty Steinlager II).
Peter Craig is Principal Race Officer for the week, the man with the required broad shoulders tasked with managing the racing for a diverse fleet in terms of size, age and crew experience. Craig seems remarkably calm for someone in such a position, “we’re in for a great week. We’ve forty excellent boats in four classes comprising the full range from flat out racers, to cruiser-racers, to cruising boats. A terrific fleet.” And, whilst Craig predicts some of the best racing will be seen in the Mini Maxi Division, the biggest class here, he is clear in his goal to provide the best racing for all competitors, “The format that we know the owners are looking for is for coastal and island racing, and providing Mother Nature cooperates that’s what we will do.” Mother Nature, indeed, has her part to play. The weather forecast for the week looks decidedly difficult. The Mistral – a wind of Homeric reputation amongst the Maxi yacht participants – is not predicted, and despite the prospect of some light wind days Craig has considerable experience in regatta management and plans to take one day at a time rather than get hooked on mixed five-day outlook.
The Mini Maxi Division comprises eighteen yachts ranging in size from the 60-foot (18 metre) Massimo Violati’s OPS 5, Enrico Gorziglia’s Good Job Guys and Guido Miani’s Ads Glen up to the 78-foot (24 metre) Allsmoke of Gunther Herz, a division winner here in 2005, which despite being well-sailed will have her work cut out to repeat her past glory. In the middle are a number of serious contenders for boat of the week – Rolex Sydney Hobart winner, Roger Sturgeon’s DYT/Rosebud with another high credential pro with AC and Games pedigree, Tommasso Chieffi, providing the local knowledge; Jim Swartz’s Moneypenny andNumbers will be renewing a rivalry that has seen them already compete together this year in the Newport Bermuda Race. Elsewhere in the Division Lars Grael (brother of Torben and also an Olympic medallist) is skippering Carlo Puri Negri’s Atalanta II, racing under the Argo Challenge banner.
Whatever the week holds in weather terms, we are in for another spectacular contest between some of the finest yachts afloat and some of the finest sailors of their and, possibly any, generation.
The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda will officially greet the competitors tonight with a welcome cocktail at the stunning clubhouse that overlooks Porto Cervo Marina. At the end of each racing day, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda along with title sponsor Rolex will provide a lush array of top class social events: Highlights include the YCCS Dinner on Tuesday, the Rolex Crew Party in the Piazza Azzurra on Thursday and the Rolex Dinner at the world renowned Cala di Volpe luxury resort on Friday. The week ends with Saturday’s final Prizegiving Ceremony and Closing Cocktail, where the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cups and Rolex timepieces will be awarded to the overall winner of each Division.
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.
A beautiful day in Sardinia is very hard to beat. 15 knots of wind from the West made the first race day of this historic event picture perfect. I am sailing as tactician on Jim Swartz’s new STP 65 Moneypenny.
The day’s single race was a 40 mile “Coastal Race” starting from Porto Cervo, sailing up the straights of Madelena and out to the Lavezzi rock. Then we sailed back down the east side the Islands of Caprera, Madelena and Monacci and back into to Porto Cervo. A very scenic tour and challenging at the same time.
About 40 yachts from 60 feet to 145 feet are divided into 4 classes in the Rolex Maxi Worlds. There are the latest high tech machines like the Esence a 140 foot Wally and Rosebud the carbon fiber STP 65-winner of the 2007 Sydney Hobart,, and classics like Ranger and Velsheda which are J boats.
Then there are the stars; Ben Ainsle the three time gold medalist sailing on Alpha Romeo, Ernesto Bertarelli and Brad Butterworth on Numbers, and 5 time Olympic medalist and skipper of Ericsson’s Vovlo 70, Torben Grael, skippering Alpha Junior.
We had a good day today getting second in our class to Numbers, with Rosebud in third place. We struggled a bit upwind arriving at the top of the course behind Rosebud, who rates even with us, but we were very fast jib reaching and then running under spinnaker passing Roebud and a few others.
Tomorrow’s forecast is for a bit less wind and I expect we may get two windward-leward courses.
I am not sure how things went in the other classes so go to www.yccs.it or www.regattanews.com for complete results and some other articles.
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
OKWe may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.
If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: