October 6, 2019
Champagne for the race!
On Saturday, October 5, the penultimate day of the fourth regatta season of the 44Cup, held in Portuguese Cascais, two of the three Russian teams finally managed to advance up the table. From the scene, Elena Otekina reports:
© Elena Otekina
Team Nika Vladimir Prosikhina continued the positive trend and climbed to third place, coming in 3rd and 6th in the first two races of the day and winning third. Before the final day, the team is 8 points from second place and 7 ahead of the nearest rival – the French Aleph.
Also, the Bronenosec Sailing Team with Kirill Frolov on the steering wheel, representing the St. Petersburg Yacht Club (1-2-7), earned her first champagne for the race won. As a result, she took off from 7th to 5th place in overall, having shifted from him the Yekaterinburg team "Tavatuy" Pavel Kuznetsov, which now occupies the 6th line (7-8-2).
The British Team Aqua has kept the lead with an impressive 2-1-3 series and is ahead by 7 points from the Monegasque Charisma Nico Puns, who still ranks second (5-3-5).
On Saturday, Cascais finally showed off his best wind of 18-20 knots with gusts of up to 25, which makes him a favorite racing spot for sailors around the world. The runoff decreased slightly, but a short wave appeared, which always accompanies a strong northwest wind. So the crews had to rebuild again under the new conditions. Not without numerous brochings, because the change of wind and strong gusts came quickly, and even the most experienced crews suffered.
Team Nika in the first race was second in the first round, following the Armadillo. After staging the gennaker, Nika wanted to protect herself from the British team rolling on her right, who was also trying to get out, and Vladimir led the boat too much, practically putting it in the water. This protracted broaching cost the team the second place, which went to Aqua.
In the second race there was a very large left approach at the start, and as a result the entire fleet did not reach the line of several corps. As a result, Nika fell under the hand, being sealed in the left group of boats without the opportunity to go to the right side. The team got to the first rounding last, then on the second loop it was able to overtake two boats and won another place from Peninsula Petroleum right before the finish.
The third race was the most interesting. Nika came to the first sign second after Tavatuy, then on the left side she improved to the goal to the first place, on the second rounding she failed and was third, but after the sign she made an early turn to the shore, got a good wind set and on the left side on a very high speed was able to get to the finish line first.
“We tried hard today, we began to succeed, well, one race was unsuccessful. In the first race I put the boat in broaching, 24 knots blew there, and somehow I missed it, I did not obey Tom (tactics). We still somehow slowly recovered. And in the second race it was very important for us to play three places; this is probably the best achievement, ”commented Vladimir Proshikhin on the day.
Bronenosec splendidly spent the first two races, leading all the way in the first and going to the second position all the second. In the third race, the team was fourth in the first round, but then made a mistake with the side and went to the disadvantageous side, where she lost several places that she could not play later. Steering Kirill Frolov admitted that he finally felt the joy of racing. “The starts were successful, the speed was good, we enjoyed it a lot. Here, the real Cascais we were waiting for! With such a wave, with a good wind, a good speed was 17-18 knots. It was all that we love this place for, we got a good first two races. "
“Tavatuy” after two unsuccessful races superbly started the third. Starting at excellent speed, the team came first to the sign, but then twisted the sail at the turn and fell to the goal to third place. On the second tack, she again was in the lead on the upper sign and wanted to immediately turn left, but again hesitated with a sail, and Nika overtook her, as a result, there was no point in going after her left.
Steering Pavel Kuznetsov, although delighted with Cascais, but admits that the water area for the team is very difficult. “The day is good, but we are not yet ready for such speeds and winds. We still have so many small jambs, we still have to train. All maneuvers are still a little poor. We do not immediately gain speed, everything is not very clean, one thing, then another – and as a result, a general loss. Well, the starts were not very successful. "
On Sunday, the final day, the first start is scheduled for 12:00 local time. The same ideal racing weather is expected as on Saturday, all three races are planned. You can follow them on the website www.44Cup.org.
Full results here: https://44cup.org/results
139 October 6, 2019 # 9533
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