RC44 leaderboard shake up
Posted on 11 February 2012
It was a very tricky day of the Puerto Calero marina with overcast skies and very little breeze. Peter Reggio, PRO of the RC44 Puerto Calero Cup, had no option but send the fleet about 10 miles north, off the island’s airport, and try to carry out as many races as possible, in view of Sunday’s even lighter forecast. Still, even there, it was a day that kept tacticians on their toes as the wind was swinging back and forth. If you played the shifts right you were sure to make big gains.
If someone was in complete phase in one or two races you might call them lucky. Cameron Appleton, onboard Chris Bake’s Team Aqua, showed that his results were more about smarts rather than luck. Team Aqua scored three bullets and a third. This brilliant demonstration of consistency gave them as well the overall leadership as second and third placed Aleph and Artemis had their ups and downs with a couple of scores closer to the bottom of the fleet rather than the top.
Race 3: Yet another victory for Chris Bake even if the start was not perfect. However, Cameron Appleton’s perfect tactical calls gave Team Aqua the chance to climb one spot in every leg and cross the finish line in the lead. This victory was again the proof of the old cliché that consistency pays off. Aleph and Artemis scored a 10th and 11th respectively, after completely missing the shift in the first beat. Puerto Calero and Nika had their moment of glory with a 2nd and a 3rd respectively.
Race 4: As if it weren’t already enough, Chris Bake and his Team Aqua crew scored yet another bullet in the day’s fourth and final race. They led from start to finish, never felt threatened by AEZ or Artemis, rounding all marks in the lead. Once again, Cameron Appleton positioned the boat flawlessly throughout the course and Chris Bake took care of boat speed. The real battle was for second and third place, between the Austrians on AEZ and Artemis. AEZ were ahead halfway through the race but were overtaken by Artemis in the second beat.
As for Aleph, they could have held on to their overall lead as they kept close behind in fourth place halfway through the race. Hoewever, a port-starboard incident with AEZ at the leeward gate and the corresponding penalty threw them back to seventh place.
Three races are planned for the final day of racing at the RC44 Puerto Calero Cup with the first warning signal due at 11.00 (GMT).
Follow the racing on the live blog at www.rc44.com
RC44 Puerto Calero Cup – Fleet Race Results
(After eight races)
1 Team Aqua
10 1 13 4 1 3 1 1 – 34
2 Aleph Sailing Team
2 3 1 9 2 4 11 7 – 39
3 Artemis Racing
3 4 12 3 9 2 10 2 – 45
4 Peninsula Petroleum Sailing Team
5 2 4 1 12 6 9 10 – 49
5 RC44 Team CEEREF
7 8 9 13 3 5 4 5 – 54
6 Team Nika
4 12 5 2 4 13 3 13 – 56
7 AEZ RC44 Team
8 10 11 11 5 1 8 3 – 57
8 Islas Canarias Puerto Calero
6 14 10 6 7 11 2 4 – 60
9 No Way Back
1 9 3 7 8 9 13 11 – 61
10 Katusha
12 12 2 5 14 7 5 12 – 70
11 AFX Capital Racing
9 7 8 8 13 10 6 9 – 70
12 Ironbound
14 5 6 10 10 12 15 8 – 80
13 Synergy Russian Sailing Team
13 11 15DNS 15DNS 6 8 7 6 – 81
14 RUS-7 Sail Racing Team
11 6 7 12 11 14 12 14 – 87