Azzurra narrows gap on Day 1 at Audi Sailing Week - 52 Super Series

by Azzurra on 22 Jun 2017 The Audi Sailing Week 52 Super Series has begun. Azzurra lengthens her advantage over her closest rivals while Sled wins the day followed by Alegre and Ran.

Punctually at 1:00 PM the Race Committee got today’s race started: a 13.5nm coastal race preceded by three two mile long windward/leeward legs for a total of about 20nm. Winds were unstable from the east/southeast and built slowly from about seven knots to about eleven when the fleet was in the Arzachena Gulf only to die down again to about five or six knots when the boats crossed the finish line in front of Porto Cervo.

Azzurra got a good start at the center of the line, but Quantum got the pin and Platoon was two boats upwind. At first Azzurra’s tactics were on spot, but the shifty wind conditions soon were playing in Quantum’s favour. Close to the first mark a big shift to the right gave Sorcha, Sled and Alegre, who were sailing on that side either by choice or because they had not gained better positions earlier, the advantage. Azzurra controlled the damage as best she could and passed the mark in fifth place, side by side with Paprec. Others dropped back: Platoon to tenth place and Quantum to eleventh. It’s unusual to find these two teams at the back of the fleet, but the level of competition is so high in the TP52 fleet that anything can happen. Bronenosec was in eighth place but branched off with a gybe set and was third at the gate, ahead of Azzurra who had to battle with her for the rest of the race.

Azzurra rounded the next mark in sixth place behind Bronenosec with Platoon and Quantum regaining positions. The fleet sailed downwind through the Passo delle Bisce and approached the Gulf of the Saline mark in about the same positions as they had been at the gate. But every inch counts and Azzurra managed to edge out a particularly aggressive Platoon and was closing in on Bronenosec and Provezza. She was ready to make her final assault right before the finish line: the boat flying the YCCS burgee kept up her part of the duel with perfect maneuvers, did a faster gennaker hoist than her rivals and got a better angle on the finish line. Her fifth place finish was the result of excellent sailing in difficult conditions.

The provisional scoreboard sees Azzurra recover two points in on Platoon. The YCCS team is now twelve points ahead of Quantum.

Tomorrow’s forecast calls for light breezes and two windward/leeward races are scheduled to begin at 12 noon CEST. Conditions will be even more uncertain than today’s with a northern front moving in towards the end of the week.

Quotes of the day:

Guillermo Parada, Skipper: 'It was a challenging day. The wind was light, shifty and puffy so conditions were changing all the time. It was a bit stressful for the tacticians but we were keeping the boat up to speed most of the time. We were at the middle of the fleet for most of the race, but we kept fighting until the very end and finally we got our little reward and passed a boat right by the finish line. So we got fifth place which is OK, it’s not a call for champagne, but it’s OK. We can’t complain given the conditions and the boat stayed fast even in these conditions which is a good sign. I’m looking forward to racing in the upcoming days.”

Vasco Vascotto, Tactician: 'Today’s coastal race was fun and challenging. The wind was very unstable and it took a bit of good luck to get results, luck that we didn’t really get. But we fought back and waited for our moment then took advantage of it when it came. That’s the best part of today’s result and it shows that anyone can win in this fleet. If the weather keeps up like this we’ll have to be consistent and never let our guard down. Our close finish is all thanks to the team’s skill in transforming what was going to be a gybe set into a rapid gennaker hoist, letting us get by the boat that was leading. Good work guys!”

Fans can follow live tracking with commentary in English via Virtual Eye thanks to the 52 Super Series on the website. Updates live from the regatta course will be posted on Azzurra’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Audi Sailing Week - 52 Super Series

Day 1 after 1 Coastal race:

1. Sled (Takashi Okura, USA) (1) 1 point.
2. Alegre (Andrés Soriano GBR/USA), (2) 2.
3. Rán Racing (Niklas and Catherine Zennström, SWE) (3) 3p.
4. Provezza (Ergin Imre, TUR) (4) 4 p.
5. Azzurra (Pablo and Alberto Roemmers, ITA/ARG) (5) 5 p.
6. Bronenosec (Vladimir Liubomirov, RUS) (6) 6 p.
7. Platoon (Harm Müller-Spreer, GER) (7) 7 p.
8. Gladiator (Tony Langley, GBR) (8) 8 p.
9. Sorcha (Peter Harrison, GBR) (9) 9 p.10
10.Paprec Recyclage (Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, FRA) (10) 10 p.
11.Quantum Racing (Doug DeVos, USA) (11) 12 p.

Azzurra:

• Pablo and Alberto Roemmers - Owners
• Guillermo Parada - Skipper, Helm
• Vasco Vascotto - Tactician
• Bruno Zirilli - Navigator
• Giovanni Cassinari - Mainsail
• Mariano Caputo - Bowman
• Juan Pablo Marcos - Midbow
• David Vera - Pitman
• Maciel Cichetti - Trimmer
• Ciccio Celon - Trimmer
• Mariano Parada - Trimmer
• Gabriel Marino - Grinder
• Alejandro Colla – Grinder
• Nicola Pilastro - Grinder
• Klaus Lange - Guest
• Pedro Rossi- Boat Captain

• Coach: Guillermo Baquerizas
• Coach: Marco Capitani