Bank Sarasin – RC44 Portoroz Cup

Today was the first day of the fleet racing series. We had good winds all day, between eight and 12 knots. The wind was from the south and there were some pretty big shifts, and holes as well.

Onboard Katusha, we had a moderate day. We are lying 6th after four races, but just three points out of third. Things are tight still.

BMW Oracle had a great day winning the first two races and are leading the fleet racing at this point. No Way Back from Holland had a good day as well, winning the last two races so they are in third place. Artemis sailed more consistently and is in second place overall.

There are too many ups and downs to go through it all. One big mistake we had was being over the start line early in the third race. This made it tough for us and Team Modri Gaj of Slovenia, as we had to go back to restart and the fleet had a huge jump on us. We managed 10th in that one.

Today was also the first day of sailing for our helmsman, Pieter Taselaar. Most of the other helmsmen have been steering their boats for more than a year. These boats are very sensitive and need to be constantly adjusted, both the sails and helm, to go fast. Pieter did a great job today and he will feel even more comfortable tomorrow.

First thing tomorrow should be the DHL Race. This race is a coastal race of about 15-20 miles. We are going to race up to a town called Izola and back. There should be “Bora” wind tomorrow and rain too! Nice. After the DHL Race (which counts double) we will probably do one or two windward leeward races, weather permitting.

For more information go to www.RC44.com