There
was some spectacular sailing enjoyed by all today on Pantaenius race
day; the start of racing designed to coincide with the arrival of the
sea breeze in the early afternoon was much the same if a little lighter
and shiftier than yesterday. Rebecca, one of the most admired of the
modern classics from Pendennis, had one of the best starts. It is great
to see her back in the Med competing here for the first time since 2007
on the eve of her 15th year with still many of the same team enabling
her to be as competitive as ever. In typical superyacht fashion Jens
Christensen, from North Sails, the tactician on board stated “We sailed a
good race, everything went up and everything came down”, it is all
about getting round the course safely and having a good time.
Firefly
led the fleet for majority of 3.5 hour race with her bright orange
spinnaker providing a beacon for all to follow, she took line honours
and would have finished well ahead of P2 if it had not been for a blown
spinnaker in a downwind leg. Firefly is one of four boats from Claasen
yachts participating in this event, others include Atalante who is
presently first overall and Heartbeat lying third, in addition to
Lionheart who is providing some stiff competition in the separate J
Class event. P2 put in a good performance and is looking forward to
maintaining her lead in Class 1.
“This
is some of the closest superyacht racing that we’ve seen, the results
are proof that the rating system works as there are only seconds between
the yachts on corrected time.” John Winder, ISYR. This is the first
time that real time wind data (strength and direction) has been applied
per leg to create a more accurate result, rather than relying on a pre
race estimate.
The
J’s had another thrilling windward leeward race; Rainbow and Hanuman
were quick off the start with Hanuman then taking the lead for another
bullet. It was a tight race, again with only 5.5 minutes elapsed time
splitting the fleet over the 2 hour 10 minute race.
Happy
Hour was sponsored by RSB Rigging and Southern Spars – thank you! As
the sunset the crew and guests of the 20 yachts enjoyed some respite
from the heat with shade provided by the stylish Undercover Events tent
on the dock. A great evening was had by all catching up on the day’s
happenings, fuelled by some delicious paella and tasty mojitos.
Friday will bring the third race for the J’s and the second for the Superyacht fleet.
For further information and a full list of entries please visit our website: www.thesuperyachtcup.com or contact Kate@thesuperyachtcup.com
For images please contact clairematchesimages@gmail.com
Copyright: Ian Roman
