RC44 Porto Cervo Cup: Kathusha leads at the end of Day 2
Porto Cervo, 30 June 2017. After yesterday's relative benign conditions, there was similar uncertainly over the weather for day two of the RC44 Porto Cervo Cup organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. However, after a light start, the wind punched in close the RC44's class upper limit enabling three races to be held, albeit with major shifts along the way. This made for a relatively high scoring day for all nine of the RC44 one designs.
For example after today's second race three boats were tied on points, in the lead, but they all suffered mid-fleet positions in the final race. This left Alexander Novoselov's Katusha concluding the day leading, two points ahead of Slovenia's Igor Lah on Team Cereef, the only boat to hold her position. Meanwhile Peninsula Petroleum dropped to third, a further point behind, her demise the result of a penalty in todays' first race and an OCS in today's third race, both causing deep results.
Today's second lowest scoring boat with a 3-7-1 was Chris Bake's Team Aqua, being helmed here in Sardinia by American three times former Farr 40 World Champion, Jim Richardson. Team Aqua came close to winning the first race while in the third Nico Poons' Charisma had led most of the way around but Team Aqua did a good job to round the top mark with them and rolled Poons on the final leg to take the bullet. Conversely Vladimir Prosikhin's Team Nika was second in today's two opening races but finished last in today's final race.
Matteo Auguadro, bowman on Ceeref: "In the first race we made a super recover, especially in the downwind we were able to climb to first position after starting in the seventh. In the other two races, it all happened in opposite, after two brilliant starts we fell through the fleet. Today we lost the possibility to gain six points - but at least the rest of the teams having the same problem".
With big winds forecast for tomorrow afternoon the schedule will be brought forward by an hour with a first warning signal at 1100 CET.
