Azzurra today is 2nd overall at the Puerto Sherry 52 Super Series

Puerto Sherry, Spain, June 21,  2019

Azzurra began the fourth day in the Puerto Sherry 52 Super Series with an excellent second place, but finished eighth in the following race because of a problem with her mailsail. She is now in second place overall by just one point one day before the conclusion of the event. Winners today were Alegre and Phoenix.

The fourth day of the 52 Super Series in the waters off Cadiz saw the fleet start racing punctually at 2 PM CEST in breeze from the northwest at 11 knots that never went above 12, shifty like in previous days. The fleet in conditions like this is very compact with just seconds separating the first and last placed teams and with teams that win one race only to drop back in the next one. Up until now Azzurra has been sailing most consistently, getting two bullets and never finishing worse than fifth. Unfortunately today her streak of luck hit a rough patch, but her situation overall has not changed much and tomorrow is the final day. Azzurra is still well in the game.

In the first race Azzurra got a good start on the Committee Boat and tacked off right away, along with Quantum, to the right side of the course. Along the first beat Azzurra’s afterguard caught a slight shift to the left by sailing more to the center on port tack. They rounded the mark right behind Alegre and ahead of Provezza, third. These top three teams sailed with different tactics over the course of the race but stayed in the same positions to the finish.

A few minutes before the start of the second race the wind built to 15 knots, but Azzurra’s team had their light air mainsail hoisted and couldn’t change it. Even though she got a good start in the first few minutes the boat didn’t reach her full potential and lost ground. The team later managed to find a better set up that let Azzurra recover up to sixth place at the end of the second beat. Unfortunately the choice of sailing near the center of the course along the final run didn’t pay off and Azzurra finished eighth. Her provisional overall leadership has now gone to the Russian boat Bronenosec by just one point. Azzurra is trailed by Provezza in third place by three points. So the event’s outcome is all down to tomorrow‘s results. Tina Plattner’s Phoenix 11 won the race having made the right choice of starting on the Committee Boat and staying to the far right along the first beat.
 

Skipper Guillermo Parada had these words: “It was a day of mixed results with one good race that was really close where we took advantage of opportunities and got results. In the second race we still had our light air mainsail and when the breeze built  that slowed us down and we rounded the mark to the back of the fleet. Along the run we had almost managed to cross in front of Bronenosec, we were really close. Along the next beat we passed two teams, but on the final run we sailed to the center and got passed on both sides. So we were in eighth place again which is a shame because we didn’t take advantage of a couple of opportunities. Tomorrow is another day, the game is still open, we’ll head out to sail ready to give it our all.”

Tomorrow June 22 is the final day of racing at this event with the first Warning Signal at 1 PM CEST. No races can be started after 3 PM. The forecast calls for breeze at 6 to 12 knots.

Fans can follow live streaming with commentary in English there will be on the websites www.azzurra.it and www.52superseries.com. Updates live from the course will be posted on Azzurra’s Facebook page and the best shots will be on www.instagram.com/azzurrasailing.

Puerto Sherry 52 SUPER SERIES Royal Cup after 8 races
1. Bronenosec (RUS) (Vladimir Liubomirov) (4,3,4,3,1,5,5,3) 28 p.
2. Azzurra (ARG/ITA) (Alberto/Pablo Roemmers) (5,1,2,5,5,1,2,8) 29 p.
3. Provezza (TUR) (Ergin Imre) (1,4,7,7,2,2,3,6) 32 p.
4. Platoon (GER) (Harm Müller-Spreer) (3,6,5,1,3,8,7,2) 35 p.
5. Sled (USA) (Takashi Okura) (8,2,3,4,4,4,8,4) 37 p.
6. Alegre (USA/GBR) (Andrés Soriano) (2,8,6,2,8,6,1,7) 40 p.
7. Quantum Racing (USA) (Doug DeVos) (7,7,1,6,6,7,4,5) 43 p.
8. Phoenix 11 (RSA) (Tina Plattner) (6,5,8,8,7,3,6,1) 44 p.