Azzurra's remains in the lead of the TP52 Class at Palmavela

Azzurra's margin narrows, but she remains in the lead of the TP52 Class at Palmavela

Palma de Mallorca, May 5, 2018 - Azzurra is still at the head of the TP52 Class at PalmaVela but Platoon and Quantum are catching up to her. Tomorrow is the final day of racing.

It was another day of difficult conditions for the 13 Classes racing at PalmaVela. Cold northerly winds were blowing at 7 to 12 knots and the temperatures were wintery. There were occasional showers with winds that shifted up to 20 degrees.

Azzurra’s day was light and dark. Even though she got two excellent starts, her finishes were not as brilliant and she placed eighth and fourth in the day’s two races. She is still at the lead of the provisional results, but no longer has a comfortable margin: Platoon and Quantum are just one and two points behind Azzurra respectively.

In the first race Azzurra got an excellent start on the left and was gaining ground on the fleet when the wind suddenly turned to the right and Azzurra was caught by surprise on the least favourable side of the course. There weren’t any opportunities to get out from the bad side and no tactical moves to take advantage of. Azzurra finished eighth in a race that saw Sled edge out Quantum to win.

Azzurra got a good start in the second race too, but got to the first upwind mark in fourth place. Phoenix was in the lead. Azzurra’s team recovered well and was third at the gate and second in the first part of the final run but lost her edge when, on top of the wind veering 20 degrees to the right, boats racing in other Classes but on the same course crossed on Azzurra and left her in dirty wind. She was passed by Platoon and Sled while Phoenix won the race handily.

Guillermo Parada, skipper: “The races today were very tricky with very unstable conditions. We chose to start on the left in the first race and we got a clean start, but the breeze died on our side and picked up on the right. We didn’t have a lot of choices so we looked for an opportunity to get back out of the left side that never came. We were trailing at the top mark then managed to recover a couple of positions but because the course was only 1 ½ miles long we didn’t have very many chances. The second race we tried the right and got another clean start and were in fourth place for the whole race until the end of the last beat and the last run. There we got tangled up with the Swan 50 fleet and crossed with a couple of Melges 40s that took our wind. So we lost two lengths that cost us a lot. At the end of the day we lost a couple of points and most of the advantage we had on the scoreboard overall but we’re still learning and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Santiago Lange, tactician: “We had a really complicated day with rain squalls that made it harder than ever to see the gusts of wind on the water. I’m really sorry that we crossed those two Melges 40s on the final downwind leg; that cost us two positions. In the first race I thought that the left side would be better, there were some signs that after a shift to the right the wind could come back, but it kept turning to the right. But we’re still here, tomorrow is the final day and we’re ready to fight to the end and will work hard to sail well.”

Tomorrow, May 6th is the final day of racing and will be decisive for the podium results. Racing is scheduled to begin at 12 noon. Forecasts call for winds from the northeast at 5 to 12 knots. Check Azzurra’s Facebook page for updates live from the regatta course.

Provisonal Results after 6 races

(Roemmers) 20 pts.

(Muller Spreer) 21 p

(DeVos) 22 p

(H.Plattner) 26 p

(Okura) 28 p

(Langley) 36 p

(Neve) 40p

(Tenghage) 43 p

Phoenix (T.Plattner) 43 p

(Souza Ramos) 52 p

ph. courtesy by Zerogradinord

52 SUPER SERIES 2018

Sibenik 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week

May 23rd - 27th, Sibenik, Croatia

52 SUPER SERIES Zadar Royal Cup

June 20th - 24th, Zadar, Croatia

ROLEX TP52 World Championship Cascais 2018

July 17th - 21st, Cascais, Portugal

Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week

August 21st - 25th, Mallorca, Spain

52 SUPER SERIES Valencia Sailing Week

September 18th - 22nd, Valencia, Spain

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AZZURRA

Pablo and Alberto Roemmers - Owners

Guillermo Parada - Skipper, Helm

Santiago Lange - Tactician

Bruno Zirilli - Navigator

Giovanni Cassinari - Mainsail

Mariano Caputo - Bowman

Juan Pablo Marcos - Midbow

David Vera - Pitman

Grant Loretz- Trimmer

Ciccio Celon - Trimmer

Mariano Parada - Trimmer

Gabriel Marino - Grinder

Alejandro Colla – Grinder

Nicola Pilastro - Grinder

Pedro Rossi- Boat Captain

Coach: Guillermo Baquerizas

Coach: Marco Capitani