52 Super Series – Azzurra is third in the first day at Puerto Portals

by Azzurra on 24 Jul 2017 Azzurra finished third in the only race run today in breezes from the northwest at up to 18 knots. Ran Racing finished first followed by Alegre. Tomorrow will be the second day of the event that will end on Friday, July 28th.

The first day of racing at the Puerto Portals 52 Super Series Sailing Week was characterized by unstable winds, unusual conditions in the bay of Palma. The fleet of nine TP52s began racing at 2:05 PM in westerly breezes that veered to the north then died down completely along the first downwind leg. The race was abandoned.

At 4:05 a new start was called with northwesterly winds building to 17/18 knots. Azzurra got a start to the left of the center of the line, a safe bet to control Quantum and to be in a good position to manage any potential wind shifts. Ran started on the pin and was an early leader, but Alegre was first to round the upwind mark. Azzurra was third followed by Quantum and Platoon. The breeze shifted to the right and got stronger. Along the downwind leg, Ran recaptured the lead and held on to it until the finish followed by Alegre and Azzurra that managed to hold off Quantum and even gain some distance on her. It was a good and hard fought race with several changes in positions especially amongst the rest of the fleet but Azzurra's third place was never in discussion. Quite the contrary, for a while at the approach to the first upwind mark, the boat flying the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda's burgee looked like it could capture first place.

The Race Committee called the boats back to port after a long day on the water even though there had only been one race run.

Tomorrow racing will begin at 1:00 PM in breezes that are predicted to be from the east/ southeast at 9 to 17 knots.

Quotes of the day:

Guillermo Parada, skipper: 'It was a positive day for us, finishing in the top three isn't bad. Especially important, we were ahead of our chief competitor so I think that overall it was a positive day. It's a shame that we didn't get more racing in because the conditions were pretty good and we enjoy sailing in these conditions. But it is what it is, one less day to go and four more finals. We need to stay concentrated and dock out in the morning ready to do our best. We sailed a clean, conservative race given the conditions and the feeling is good on the boat.'

Vasco Vascotto, tactician: 'It was a good day that leaves us feeling optimistic and really shows the level of this fleet. Just think that Bronenosec was clearly in the lead of the race that was abandoned, but was fighting it out at the back of the fleet in the second race. This could have happened to any team. The wind was very shifty, but we played it well. Here you have to be good at doing every last little thing. We did pretty well, not very well and that's what makes the difference between first and third place in this top racing class. But it's OK, this is just the beginning of the event and if we keep sailing like this we're sure that things will go well.'

Puerto Portals 52 Super Series Sailing Week after 1 race
1. Rán Racing (Niklas Zennström, SWE), (1) 1 p.
2. Alegre (Andrés Soriano GBR/USA) (2) 2 p.
3. Azzurra (Alberto e Pablo Roemmers, ITA/ARG), (3) 3 p.
4. Quantum Racing (Doug DeVos, USA), (4) 4 p.
5. Platoon (Harm Müller-Spreer, GER), (5) 5 p.
6. Provezza (Ergin Imre, TUR) (6) 6 p.
7. Bronenosec (Vladimir Liubomirov, RUS), (7) 7 p.
8. Sled (Takashi Okura, USA), (8) 8 p.
9. Gladiator (Tony Langley, GBR) (9) 9 p.