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Si è conclusa con la vittoria di Team Aqua la seconda e ultima fase dell'Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy RC44, evento di apertura dell'RC44 Championship...
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RC44 Championship Tour – Dubai – Si è conclusa con la vittoria di Team Aqua la seconda e ultima fase dell’Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy RC44, evento di apertura dell’RC44 Championship Tour 2010. In occasione dell’ultima giornata, dedicata allo svolgimento delle ultime regate di flotta, gli equipaggi hanno dovuto fare i conti con condizioni di vento medio-leggero, cielo coperto e visibilità ridotta al minimo dalla sabbia e dalla polvere proveniente dal deserto.

Nonostante ciò, i due protagonisti assoluti della manifestazione disputata a Dubai, Team Aqua e Artemis, si sono affrontati a viso aperto, mettendo da parte la pre-tattica. Un atteggiamento che ha contribuito ad alzare il livello dello spettacolo – non sono mancati infatti incroci al limite del regolamento, penalità e momenti di tensione tra i due team – e che al tirar dello somme ha premiato il primo, vincitore con merito in quanto rimasto al comando della classifica sin dal giorno successivo alla fine dell’evento di match race.

A completare il podio della seconda fase sono stati gli uomini di No Way Back, dai quali ci si aspettava forse qualcosa di più, trattandosi dei campioni uscenti.

Tutto sommato incoraggiante il debutto di Raimondo Tonelli alla ruota di Team Sea Dubai, scafo dominatore in occasione dell’uno contro uno che ha aperto la stagione 2010. Il timoniere italiano, specialista di derive ad alte prestazioni, ha chiuso al quinto posto dietro a Team Ceeref di Igor Lah.

Il prossimo appuntamento con l’RC44 Championship Tour è fissato verso la fine di aprile (20-4 maggio) in Austria, sul lago Traunsee.

Fleet race, final results after nine races:
1. Team Aqua (Chris Bake), 1, 2, 1, 2, 4, 1, 6, 2, 8, pt. 27
2. Artemis (Torbjorn Tornqvist), 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 1, 4, 6, pt. 29
3. Team No Way Back (Pieter Heerema), 4, 1, 7, 7, 3, 4, 5, 1, 1, pt. 33
4. Ceeref (Igor Lah), 2, 7, 3, 3, 1, 5, 4, 5, 3, pt. 33
5. Team Sea Dubai (Raimondo Tonelli), 6, 6, 8, 4, 6, 2, 7, 7, 5, pt. 51


RC44 CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR, TEAM AQUA WINS A TOUGH BATTLE AGAINTS ARTEMIS
[RC44 Championship Tour Press Release] The conditions were very difficult for the last day of the Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy RC44, with a very shifty breeze blowing between 8-15 knots and a pale sky covered with sand and dust and a visibility reduced to half a mile.

Team Aqua, Artemis and to a lesser extent Ceeref were in a position to win the fleet race ranking this morning. BMW Oracle Racing took the best start at the pin end whilst Aqua managed to find clean air in the middle of the line. Things weren’t going that well for Artemis, who ended up sailing in the other team’s turbulences. A massive right shift made the Swedish team’s life even harder whilst giving a nice edge to No Way Back and Team Aqua. In a normal race, this would have been it but this definitely wasn’t a normal race. Indeed, the gusts, the shifts and the marks of course were hardly noticeable due to the dust.

“We felt that the temperature was dropping brutally – explained No Way Back’s owner Pieter Heerema at the end of the race – This was a clear indication that the wind would turn right and blow from offshore”. Indeed, the wind started veering in the middle of the second beat, sending half of the fleet way over the lay line and giving a beautiful opportunity to Artemis to catch up. The wind carried on turning right during the last spinnaker ride, forcing the boats to finish under jib however without affecting the results much. No Way Back won the race ahead of Team Aqua and Puerto Calero, whilst Artemis recovered well, going from last to fourth and keeping a chance to win the overall title.

With four points between Team Aqua and Artemis ahead of the last race, all remained possible. Ceeref was also still in a position to grab the second place from Artemis. However, a premature start in the last race immediately made this look unlikely.

This last race was a strange one. The wind had shifted by almost 180 degrees since the first regatta and the land couldn’t be seen. Many teams looked disorientated and didn’t manage to adopt their usual pre-start routine. Two boats started prematurely, whilst many were late. Minutes later, Artemis refused a very basic port-starboard priority to its direct opponent Team Aqua. Chris Bake had to crash tack for the second time in two days to avoid a bad collision. After completing its penalty, Artemis ended up rounding the top mark in last for the second consecutive time.

The wind carried on turning to the right and the last beat and spinnaker ride turned into reaches. No Way Back once again benefited from its tactician Ray Davies’ fantastic understanding of the situation to win a second race in a row, ahead of Puerto Calero – also excellent today. Thanks to this achievement, No Way Back gains one place in the overall ranking ahead of Ceeref. “It’s a shame, commented Ceeref’s owner Igor Lah at the end of the day. “We miss the fleet race ranking podium for one point and this costs us three places in the overall ranking. We would have finished second and we end up fifth!”

Well known for his spectacular come-backs since last year’s Gold Cup – and this week’s match race – Pieter Heerema’s No Way Back is the winner of the day; he ends up third in the fleet race ranking and second overall.

However, the fight for victory was happening at the back of the fleet, between Team Aqua and Artemis. Both teams had misfortunes during this race. Artemis’s spinnaker got twisted whilst Team Aqua took the very conservative – yet inefficient – decision not to raise theirs until the last quarter of the last leg. Artemis finally crossed the arrival line in sixth whilst Team Aqua finished eighth: both teams’ worse result in the event. Nevertheless, Team Aqua wins the fleet race title whilst Artemis finishes second. Already third of the match race ranking, the Swedish team also conquers the overall Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy ahead of No Way Back and an excellent Team Sea Dubai, winner of the match race event and fifth in the fleet race ranking.

The next regatta of the RC 44 Championship Tour will take place in very different conditions, in the Austrian mountain lake Traunsee, on April 20 – May 4.

They said
Chris Bake, helmsman, Team Aqua: “We were confident this morning and we didn’t have any specific plan of action against Artemis. The last race was really tough: we went from last to first and back to the bottom of the ranking again… But as Artemis was struggling too it never became a real issue”.

Pieter Heerema, helmsman, No Way Back: “This is a very good start to the season and I am delighted. Today, Ray Davies had his famous “feeling”, and everything worked perfectly”.

Igor Lah, helmsman, Ceeref: “We were really struggling today, it was a very strange day and this sand in the air was awful: we couldn’t see where we were going. It was a great week, but we are very disappointed because one point in the fleet race costs us the podium in both the fleet race ranking and the overall”.

Daniel Calero, helmsman, Islas Canarias Puerto Calero: “I am happy with our results today and I feel that we have been improving a little bit. Today was very difficult and we managed to keep in the game throughout the day; this was positive. However I don’t think that the results reflect what we deserve. For example in the match, we have lost many races because of tiny details. We just need to fight harder but the season is still long”.

Fleet race, final results after nine races:
1. Team Aqua (Chris Bake), 1, 2, 1, 2, 4, 1, 6, 2, 8, pt. 27
2. Artemis (Torbjorn Tornqvist), 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 1, 4, 6, pt. 29
3. Team No Way Back (Pieter Heerema), 4, 1, 7, 7, 3, 4, 5, 1, 1, pt. 33
4. Ceeref (Igor Lah), 2, 7, 3, 3, 1, 5, 4, 5, 3, pt. 33
5. Team Sea Dubai (Raimondo Tonelli), 6, 6, 8, 4, 6, 2, 7, 7, 5, pt. 51

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