Belissima leads Casa de Campo Regatta
by Tony Torres on 16 Feb 2008
Casa de Campo Regatta
for the El Presidente Cup Dave Dunnigan
http://www.casadecamporegatta.com/
After two windward-leeward races held in near-perfect tradewind conditions, Casa de Campo Yacht Club Commodore Gianfranco Fini's Comet 51, Belissima has earned a three point lead in the IRC Class A standings at the Casa de Campo Regatta for the El Presidente Cup. Fini's team was led today by reigning World Match Racing Tour Champion Ian Williams from Great Britain, who yesterday won an exhibition match race event.
Sven Holmbom's Hunter 301 Orion was nearly the smallest yet so far best-sailed entry in PHRF Class B to score 1-2 for a slim one-point lead over Ramon Prieto's Jeanneau 45 Cecile.
'As beautiful as it looked, this was not an easy day,' said Williams, helming Fini's beautiful Valiccelli cruiser/racer design. 'The wind was quite shifty and puffy, and at times we had our hands full with Celtic V.' It was this Frers 45 design owned by Pepe Rodriguez that won last year's inaugural event, but a broken jib sheet in the first race and a leeward mark rounding problem that forced them out of the second has left them deep in the standings.
In a diverse class that ranged in IRC ratings from 0.893 to 1.1510, another second-race casualty in the IRC Class was Joan Rodriguez's Melges 24 Let's Ride, which won the first race by a mere 10 seconds on the 5-mile course, but tragically broke their spar in the first downwind leg of the second race. The break apparently occurred at a point on the mast where a previous repair had been made.
Principal Race Officer Pete Lawson and his team set courses close to the south shore off the marina, where the wind was quite variable in strength and direction, keeping all crews on their toes. But rarely did the breeze drop below 10 knots, and the puffs may have hit 16, so in all the conditions were quite manageable for this diverse fleet.
Tomorrow racing continues for this three-day event in the 23-mile race around nearby Santa Catalina Island, with the start and finish being at the mouth of the Casa de Campo Marina.
The Casa de Campo Regatta for the El Presidente Cup is also supported by Deutsche Bank, and daily results and photos can be found on the event website at www.casadecamporegatta.com. Daily video highlights from T2P Productions can be found at www.t2p.tv.
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