2023 5.5m Scandinavian Gold Cup at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda - Day 2
by Robert Deaves 22 Sep 11:37 PDT
20-24 September 2023
The Jean Genie (GBR 43, Peter Morton, Andrew Palfrey, Ruairadh Scott) showed her legs on the second day of the Scandinavian Gold Cup at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, Porto Cervo, to win the second race after another challenging day on the water, with again only one race completed.
The wind in Porto Cervo has proven to be elusive, tricky and contrary. It has not really gone to plan so far with just two races completed in two days and an unfavourable forecast for the weekend.
Race 2 began in a 10-12 knot north-westerly than promised a good race. The Jean Genie won the boat and immediately tacked out on port. When they crossed back into the fleet they were ahead of the right but the left side came in with Girls on Film (GBR 41, Louise Morton, Andrew Mills, Sam Haines) leading round from New Moon III (BAH 25, Mark Holowesko, Christoph Burger, Peter Vlasov) and and Ku-Ring-Gai III (AUS 66, John Bacon, James Mayjor, Terry Wetton).
Girls On Film extended downwind with The Jean Genie up to second and then they both extended on the fleet on the second beat. The Jean Genie was catching Girls on Film as they reached the gate but then the race was abandoned as the wind died and flipped 180 degrees.
Andrew Mills onboard Girls on Film: "We went out this morning with a little bit of light winds to start, but then a nice breeze filled in, probably around 10-14 knots, coming from west. We had a good start with Girls on Film, we had good speed, rounded the first mark with a fairly comfortable lead. The next leg was relatively straightforward sailing. We tried to maintain our lead but towards the end of the second run, the wind started to really shut down.
"It was a good decision by the race officer to cancel the race because it was turning into a bit of a lottery. So, yeah, unfortunately, it was cancelled, but we're happy with our performance.
"The second race was a little bit trickier with a shift over to the east, but we managed it well with good tactics. It was a good day for us, and we learned a lot."
After a long wait, with the breeze coming from all directions, it finally stabilised and came in in at 16-18 knots from the north-west again. This was perfect conditions for The Jean Genie and they led out of the pin and never looked back, leading at every mark and winning by more than two minutes. Aspire (POL 17, Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Przemyslaw Gacek Edward Wright) was chasing hard and sailed well but couldn't match the English boat.
Morton said, "It was a bit challenging out there. Initially, the guys on the left side seemed to have the upper hand, but we managed to work our way up to second place at the top mark. Unfortunately, the wind died off, and the race had to be abandoned. It's a bit disappointing, especially for Louise, but the breeze just completely disappeared, so there was no chance of finishing the race. In the Scandinavian Gold Cup, they can't shorten the course, so we were a bit restricted in that sense. That's how it goes.
"The second race was ideal. The forecast was spot on, and the westerly wind came in at around 16-18 knots, which was almost perfect sailing conditions. The water was warm, and the breeze was reasonably steady. There were a few shifts on the left side at the start, and in the second beat, it shifted to the right. Overall, it was a good race.
"There were some good battles out there today. Our boat is a bit different from the others. Once we get setup on the side, we feel pretty comfortable. Upwind and downwind, we're a bit more compact than the other boats, with slightly less sail area. But I think when the breeze reaches around 15 knots, our sail area deficit is offset by the lighter boat and the longer waterline length."
On Saturday's racing with a very breezy forecast.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure if I'm looking forward to sailing tomorrow, to be honest. At 70 years old, I'm not sure if I'm up for 35 knots, but yeah, we'll go for it. If the racing is on, we'll be there. Fortunately, we've had a lot of sailing experience in the Solent this year, with plenty of training sessions in 20 to 25 knots. So, we're quite comfortable with the boat and our sails in those conditions. I'm just not sure about anything more than that; it can be a bit challenging with these boats, especially with the short waves out there.
"We'll see what the race committee do. They'll make the right decision; they know the place so we'll see what happens."
New Moon III and The Jean Genie are through to the final stages. For the other seven boats there is just one chance left. Only race wins count, so after one more race, only race winners remain in the contest.
In the Hankø Evolution Cup, Joker (FRA 50, Adrien Polaillon, Eric Polaillon, Jean-Baptiste Polaillon) again won, while the Classics all returned to shore.
With the adverse forecast. Saturday's racing has been brought forward to 10.00.
Full results can be found here.