SSL Gold Cup Qualifying Series 1 Overall
by SSL Gold Cup 22 May 2022 18:54 PDT
19-22 May 2022
SSL Team Antigua & Barbuda's "Rum Runners," SSL Team Estonia's "Icebreakers", SSL Team Ireland's "Green Armada" and SSL Team Tahiti's "Black Pears" are the first teams of SSL Gold Cup's History to qualify to the Final Series.
In Race 4, all teams of Group 1 were on the move to start, but apparently, SSL Team Bermuda "Privateers" had not the information and were way outside in the racecourse and eventually got a false start. Everything went very smoothly for The Balck Pearls of Tahiti, who took the best options on the water to cruise all along the racecourse in Lake Neuchatel until the finish line. Tahiti was followed by SSL Team Antigua & Barbuda, who kept the head of the provisional ranking before Race 5. SSL Team Puerto Rico and SSL Team Bermuda closed the race leaving small room for mistakes.
Bermuda's Victory was not enough
In Race 5, as all teams could virtually still go into the Finals, tension was running high at the Start. A scuffle at the Committee Boat between Tahiti, Puerto Rico, and Antigua left Bermuda alone at the Start. And in the end, just Tahiti got penalized. It took all the courage and strength to the Black Pearls to control Los Boricuas of Puerto Rico, their only way to get the 2nd spot in Group 1.
In the end, Bermuda won their second victory of their Qualifying Series, but that was not enough to overtake Antigua & Barbuda and Tahiti at the General Ranking. The two teams are the first two teams in SSL Gold Cup's History to qualify for the Finals.
Estonia was just to strong
After their third win in SSL Gold Cup 2022 Qualifying Series in Race 4, SSL Team Estonia "Icebreakers" validated their ticket to the Final Series before racing Race 5. Second in the group, SSL Team Ireland "Green Armada", will go through to the Finals as well.
Before Race 5, SSL Team Serbia "Eagles" were still alive in this Group 2 thanks to their solid 2nd place in Race 4. SSL Team Ireland did not perform as maybe they expected and were in an uncomfortable position before the start of the final showdown.
So in Race 5, it was all about Ireland vs. Serbia. The more experienced Irish did not leave any chance by attacking the Eagles squad right at the Start pushing them behind the Committee Boat. It was then all about leaving them behind. But suddenly, the wind just died, and Race Committee decided to stop the race, confirming the 2nd Qualification ticket to Ireland.