Damage Limitation and the Least-Worst Option
by Mark Jardine & Andi Robertson 6 Aug 2024 02:55 PDT
28 July - 8 August 2024
Caterina Banti (ITA) in the Mixed Multihull on August 4 in Marseille at the Paris 2024 Olympic Regatta © World Sailing / Sander van der Borch
The Marseille racecourse for the Paris 2024 Olympic sailing is tricky at the best of times, but when the wind is light and fluky it's even harder.
When you're in a catamaran, tacking is a high-tariff manoeuvre, so you have to take your chances and sometimes just hope for the best. It's sometimes a case of the least-worst option as some of the top sailors in the Mixed Multihull event explain.
Ruggero Tita, Italian helm of the leading boat after 9 races:
"It was another light wind day, pretty tough conditions and we survived, we keep some points ahead and we are happy about that. We need to focus on Tuesday with three more races and then the Medal Races.
"For sure we have done a great job improving our performance in the light stuff and we lost maybe a little in the upper range maybe, but we are still in the process of learning in the light."
Crew Caterina Banti was more bullish:
"We are good in every condition. We are here to compete."
The British team are in fourth overall, 10 points off the Argentine pair of Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco and the New Zealand team of Micah Wilkinson Erica Dawson.
Crew Anna Burnett said:
"We could not have done much more today, we survived and that is what it is about here. You have to pick a side, and two out of three times today we probably did not pick the right side, but we sailed back through the fleet - other people are doing the same thing.
"Some people are sailing incredibly well, but we just need to keep doing what we are doing - we are sailing well. You cannot start trying to do something special now as it can backfire. We just have to keep chipping away.
"It is such a difficult racetrack to pick a side at the beginning. This venue is so tricky. The wind dies and fills in from one side and then the other. In the previous days we have been racing with the top mark under the cliff and that is very challenging."
Helm John Gimson added:
"Another day like that should be sufficient. After 12 races it averages out usually, people are slowly falling away as you kind of expect, you just need to keep doing the details well and see how we stand at the end of it."
Three more races are scheduled today for the Mixed Multihull fleet with the Medal Race set for Wednesday. Keep you fingers crossed that the breeze in Marseille fills in and gives the sailors some good and fair racing.
Full results so far can be found at paris2024.sailing.org/racing/results-centre