Les Voiles d'Antibes - Day 1
by Alexander Panzeri 18 Sep 2020 02:21 PDT
16-20 September 2020
First of all some clarifications: Il Moro di Venezia I-7077 didn't arrive to Antibes, tomorrow I'll investigate the reasons (Covid-19 and the weather are the main theores). I've also associated Bruno Troublé with the red Chip P-13, instead he is on the Corinthian P-5 - I don't know how many boat are really there, because today some have decided to not sail, some retired and some are missing the event, so tomorrow I'll check with friends of the Race Committee.
"Le nostre preghiere" have been not heard, and the hot hazy weather was still there, so there was a lack of wind.
The organization and the R.C. have been brave, and they used the AP-flag only to place the start line. The wind was really weak and the sea was flat like oil (more lake conditions then sea).
At the start, the advantage was on the pin (as is often the case here) with Halloween 2 over the line, having to come back, while Tuiga D-3 flew away... slowly. The Irish boat decided to retired, I suppose due to the wind conditions, low crew numbers on board and the huge gap with D-3.
As I expected, the P-Class has been on fire since the the start, fighting with the giant Chinook NY-48 at the pin. My regret is our press boat has missed both. I take responsibility of this because probably I wasn't straight enough with the new team / RIB. At lunch break we spoke and it was very constructive.
Back to the P-Class, the new blue entry P-5 has been magnificent under Troublé's tactics, leaving the opposition far behind.
The other two fell into a battle with the big Halloween at the windward mark, with P-14 Olympic keeping the genoa hoisted while Chip P-13 tried to hoist the spinnaker with a negative result (stopping).
Meanwhile the last group the Tofinou Class was a victim of the weather and after the starting line they tried to rise gennakers, without success.
We went back for a break from the calicola and for lunch. During it, we have listened at the radio the rise of the S-flag. The Press boat has left the dock and we have the luck to catch the arrival of the first finishers: Chinook NY-48 (not a surprise as she is lighter and has a very strong team), Tuiga D-3 of course, and surprisingly the red and green P-Class, while the blue arrived later: what happened is a topic for tomorrow's chat with the crews.
Even if the sailing condition were questionable, it has given to us a chance to shoot some photos.
While the organizaters have shown their usual strength, the only black mark of the day is the lack of public, the docks are "nearly" empty, is it Covid-19? Is it the wrong period (the race is normally in June)?