Shaping Up

Today can be the key day of the regatta.

For the top teams its the time to play the fine percentages. Alegre have just enough of a margin, at six points up on Rán Racing, not to need to push the envelope too hard, but to keep on doing what they have been doing so well. In turn Niklas Zennstrom’s team have the dilemma of pushing on hard, risking more to close the gap of protect their second. And with the really tightly packed group scrapping for third it will be interesting to see who can remain consistent.


Much the same kind of sea breeze conditions are expected today, up to 13kts maybe, but there will be these big changes in wind strength across the course from time to time which have been so hard to read and predict. These are the key to gains and losses, especially downwind on the 52s where a couple of extra knots of wind pressure for even 30 seconds or one minute can promote a significant gain in distance.


Two races are scheduled today. The NoR allows for up to 11 in the series and the race officer’s intention is to deliver the maximum number of races. Hang on to your hats.