2015 RS Aerocup in Barcelona – Day 2 overall

by Frances Peters on 1 Nov 2015 Another sunny but windless morning dawned for day two of the RS Aerocup in Barcelona. A short wait ashore, following by a bit more waiting on the water was in order and many sailors could be seen stretched out on their boats soaking up the warm Spanish rays. Things could have been worse. Michiel Geerling of Holland commented that ‘although many people think the RS Aero is not very stable, I have been doing yoga poses on the foredeck’. There’s a challenge for you; Aero yoga!

While we were waiting for wind we chatted to Eric Aker from Boston, USA, who has travelled the furthest to be here. We asked him how he’d found the event so far. ‘The racing has been great’ he explained and went on to say; ‘one of the things that’s stood out for me is how friendly everyone is. I think the nastiest thing anyone said on the water yesterday was ‘’room please’’ – it’s amazing!’

The beginnings of the breeze arrived and the highly efficient race team wasted no time getting the sequence underway. Reverting quickly to yesterday’s form, David Lynall (GBR) inched his way into the lead by the top mark. Peter Barton, eager to hunt Lynall down, put pressure on hard before tripping up on the downwind swell and going for an untimely swim. Even a quick capsize recovery wasn’t enough to stop Lynall getting away and a bunch behind snuck by. Just to make it a ‘Lynall whitewash’, big brother Anthony claimed second.

The seven race saw tense competition as the wind went patchy and even lighter. The fleet was often three deep at marks and gaining the inside spot was cruicial. Then it was about avoiding the lulls and keeping clear. Just with the upper hand, Richards Zvilna (LAT) gybed at the wing mark aiming for the pressure, but the bunch of boats on his transom went with him and so began a battle for clear air. Sweden’s David Axen saw his opportunity and kept well clear. He sailed a direct course to the mark and like something out a textbook, sniffed his way to the front and joined the battle for first place, which he eventually won. After a tricky start to the race, Bordal of Norway used similar tactics to find his way through to second.

The same challenges brought by the light airs saw the front two boats in the five fleet, Anna Vernere (LAT) and Ben Poe (GBR) embark on a match race. Throwing in slick roll gybes to break free from one another and working the waves for an extra boost here and there. The fleet behind threatened and the neck and neck race continued to the finish but after clever hunting of breeze, and fast sailing, the win was Silvia Haavel’s of Estonia.

Light and flaky winds looked set to continue but the race committee were undeterred and efficiently slotted in two further races without delay. Lynall successfully extended his lead in the nine fleet by the end of the day, leaving a five point buffer behind him going in to tomorrow. Barton maintains a solid second, while Nigel Rolfe’s solid day topped off by a bullet pulls him nicely up to third.

Despite posting his worst results today, Per Christian Bordal of Norway managed to maintain his lead in the seven fleet with Swedish hotshot David Axen not far behind. Meanwhile Richards Zvilna of Latvia sits in third.

It’s tight at the top of the five fleet going in to the final day. Silvia Haavel of Estonia narrowly leads, only ahead of Anna Vernere of Latvia on tie break and Caitlin Atkin (GBR) remains in third place by just one point. Will heavy-wind-lover, Atkin manage to pull it out of the bag in a different forecast tomorrow to take the event win?

This evening we will enjoy dinner for 47 as sailors from many of the nations head into Barcelona for tapas and locally brewed beer. A chance to let our hair down and enjoy company of our RS Aero friends from around the world. Perfect! Conditions are set to all change to conclude the event, with strong winds forecast. Batten down the hatches and dig out the hiking pads – it’s all to play for tomorrow and perhaps a chance to see some new faces at the front.