44Cup Nanny Cay – Day 3

44Cup Nanny Cay – Day 3

by 44Cup 15 Feb 15:55 PST
12-16 February 2025

After a mean day on Friday on the 44Cup Nanny Cay, which left them fifth total, the 2024 44Cup champions, Vladimir Prosikhin’s Workforce Nika, recovered their mojo at the moment on St Francis Drake Channel.

The easterly commerce winds remained brisk however barely lighter and by the third and remaining race have been averaging sub-20s. For the primary two races laid on by PRO Maria Torrijo and the Royal BVI Yacht Membership’s race workforce, the wind path was additionally some additional 20-30 levels proper than yesterday making for the occasional longer sea state. Nonetheless, like yesterday, there have been a number of spectacular broaches, together with Peninsula Racing, whereas crossing the end line of race two, and Chris Bake’s Workforce Aqua approaching the top of at the moment’s remaining race.

In at the moment’s first two races Prosikhin’s black RC44, fitted with the defending champion’s/season chief’s golden wheels, bought off to an excellent begin and, unusually for this fleet, had pulled out a strong lead by the highest mark. From there she went on to win forward of the general chief Hugues Lepic’s Aleph Racing and Nico Poons’ Charisma within the first race and Torbjörn Törnqvist’s Artemis Racing and Charisma within the second. Going into the day’s remaining race, only one level separated Aleph Racing from Charisma and Workforce Nika.

“It was superb certainly – the trimmers are superb and once I’m targeted we are able to go quick,” admitted Prosikhin. “We had good begins and made nearly no errors. And the boat is in good form, the crew is nice.”

His tactician Nic Asher added: “We had two good begins and simply managed the fleet from there. We have got good tempo upwind and should you get across the windward mark and pop the chute, you’ve got impulsively bought fairly a giant hole…”

Sadly Workforce Nika’s luck was to not final. For at the moment’s third race the wind was backing left and as Asher put it: “there was a little bit of a left bend and we have been on the surface of that…”

They reached the highest mark mid-fleet, rounding exterior of John Bassadone’s Peninsula Racing and a small encouraging luff to maintain them out of the best way courtesy of the Gibraltar workforce’s tactician Vasco Vascotto was sufficient to ship Workforce Nika right into a pricey broach. However as Prosikhin mentioned, they’re enhancing: “As soon as we’d have had two penalties for that; then one penalty and a broach. Now we simply broach! Then we missed the lay line on the primary downwind and that was it – we could not recuperate. It isn’t a simple regatta for us, but it surely’s alright – it’s totally pleasant to race in these circumstances even should you do not win. However should you win… it is even higher!”

Eventually, after a robust begin yesterday, Igor Lah’s Workforce Ceeref Vaider lastly scored a bullet in at the moment’s third race.

“We had an excellent begin and good upwind pace,” commented the workforce’s floater, Slovenian 4 time 470 Olympic sailor Tina Mrak. With the groups now having bought their eye in, the primary upwind was extremely tight. Ceeref simply managed to nostril in entrance of the group heading again from the left and after a couple of quick tacks approaching the highest mark, pulled onto the starboard lay line, with the within berth, simply bow ahead on Artemis Racing. Mrak continued: “We have been kind of first into the suitable shift. Then it was very simple when you’re in entrance.”

Making an attempt to play the shifts up the second beat, Nico Poons’ Charisma and Artemis Racing appeared to have a bit of Ceeref, however the Slovenian workforce managed to cowl in time and led across the prime mark, forward of Charisma and Artemis Racing, and on to the end. “It was a really good win – we’re comfortable and we’ll attempt to proceed tomorrow in the identical degree as we completed at the moment,” continued Mrak. “The waves have been a bit completely different at the moment as a result of it was a bit extra from the suitable however the wind was nonetheless very robust and it was laborious work on board for everybody.”

Going into the ultimate day Aleph Racing and Charisma, successfully at the moment’s winner with a 3-3-2, are tied on the prime of the leaderboard, six factors forward of Workforce Nika.

Mathematically it was nonetheless attainable, if unlikely, for John Bassadone’s Peninsula Racing to recuperate from eighth place to win the 44Cup Nanny Cay total, with three extra races scheduled tomorrow. “It is all the time nice to be within the BVI – it is a stupendous place but it surely’s robust crusing: they’re sensible circumstances, proper on the restrict,” commented Bassadone. “However that is what these boats space designed to do – race effectively in little breeze or lots of breeze. We’re struggling positively to search out pace upwind…”

Bassadone is worked up by the 44Cup fleet regrowing to 12 boats over the course of this season. “We have been working laborious for a few years to attempt to get some extra boats. Chris [Bake], Torbjörn [Törnqvist] and I put the cart in entrance of the horse and went forward and ordered new boats, hoping that our boats would flip into new groups, and it appears that evidently’s labored.”

Three extra races are scheduled for tomorrow with a primary warning sign at 1100, in circumstances forecast to be marginally lighter than at the moment.

Comply with the stay monitoring at tractrac.com/event-page/event_20250208_CupNannyCa/3099

Outcomes after Day 3:

1. Aleph Racing – 5 1 1 2 4 3 – 16

2. Charisma – 1 3 4 3 3 2 – 16

3. Workforce Nika – 4 6 2 1 1 8 – 22

4. Workforce CEEREF Vaider – 3 2 5 5 7 1 – 23

5. Workforce Aqua – 2 7 3 6 6 7 – 31

6. Artemis Racing – 6 9 7 4 2 5 – 33

7. GeMera – 8 4 8 10DNS 5 4 – 39

8. Peninsula Racing – 7 5 6 7 8 6 – 39

9. Calero Crusing Workforce – 9 8 9 8 9 DNF – 53