· The American team won the only event held on the fourth and penultimate day of the ABANCA 52 SUPER SERIES · BAIONA SAILING WEEK
Quantum leads the provisional classification with four points ahead of Platoon, which is second, and seven points ahead of Phoenix, which is third
· A collision between the Gladiator and the Sled at the start ended with the withdrawal of both boats from the test leaving the fleet reduced to seven boats
· The competition organized by the Monte Real Yacht Club will experience its last day of tests tomorrow and will award the prizes to the winners
With the end of the competition just around the corner and only two more races pending, the Quantum Race is about to win the victory of the ABANCA 52 SUPER SERIES · Baiona Sailing Week, which since the past Monday is celebrated in the Rías Baixas under the organization of the Monte Real Yacht Club.
This Friday, on the fourth and penultimate day of the competition, the 52 SUPER SERIES fleet showed that they also know how to compete and create a show in light winds. With an intensity below ten knots and under the influence of unusual heat, the crews moved with the lightest breeze of the whole week and could only contest one race, since the second round of the day did not take place for lack of wind
The American Quantum Racing was the winner and will face the last day of competition at the head of the provisional classification, with a four-point advantage over the German Platoon, a minimum income among a fleet so evenly matched.
As in the previous day, the breeze delayed the first departure until after two in the afternoon, but this time it arrived with a range of 8-9 knots, the lowest of the week. An incident between Gladiator and Sled at the start caused the collision and subsequent withdrawal of both, resulting in a black flag for the British team, which scored ten points plus three penalties. The American received 4.5 repair points, but was left without enjoying this seventh round of the championship.
A great start by Quantum Racing to the left of the field allowed the leader to initially take the lead. It soon became clear that the pressure was on the right side of the pitch, and the entire climb to the first mark was concentrated in that area of the pitch. Platoon came in the lead at the first passing point of the course, followed closely by the intense battle between Quantum Racing and Phoenix.
The turning point of this seventh round was in the decision of where to start the first downwind section, and here Quantum Racing was right when they went to the left in search of better speed and angle to get ahead and dominate the rest of the Test.
After a brief wait in the water, and given the evidence that the minimum conditions to compete would no longer exist, the main regatta officer María Torrijo decided to end the day and sent the fleet back to the pontoons of Monte Real Bayonne Yacht Club.
There, at the facilities of the club that organizes the competition with the sponsorship of ABANCA and Turismo de Galicia through Xacobeo, the crews were able to enjoy a special dinner on an evening that included a live musical performance; and the tents set up by Terras Gauda, Martin Miller’s Gin, Estrella Galicia and Coren.
The ABANCA 52 SUPER SERIES · Baiona Sailing Week is decided this Saturday. The forecast indicates a wind that has not been seen all week, with a south-westerly component and intensities around 14-15 knots. This new scenario poses new challenges for the fleet and adds drama to the final day, scheduled for two rounds.
Three teams start with mathematical options to share the positions on the first Galician podium in the history of the circuit: Quantum Racing, owned by Doug De Vos, leads with 17 points and a magnificent card that includes three partial victories and a fifth worst result, followed by four points behind Harm Müller Spreer’s Platoon and seven points behind Hasso Plattner’s Phoenix.
In a regatta without discards, the pressure is maximum between the crews to avoid mistakes that could ruin the work of the whole week. The identity of the winner of the first of the five events of the 52 SUPER SERIES 2022 will be revealed in an afternoon in which the trophies will also be presented to the winners. It will be at five in the afternoon.
Provisional classification ABANCA 52 SUPER SERIES Baiona Sailing Week
1- QUANTUM RACING (USA), Doug DeVos, 4+5+1+2+3+1+1 = 17
2- PLATOON (GER), Harm Müller Spreer, 5+1+2+4+4+2+3= 21
3- PHOENIX (RSA), Hasso and Tina Plattner, 1+3+3+1+8+6+2 = 24
4- INTERLODGE (USA), Austin and Gwen Fragomen, 6+4+4+6+2+9+4 = 35
5- VAYU (THA), Whitcraft Family, 2+2+8+5+5+7+7 = 36
6- SLED (USA), Takashi Okura, 3+6+5+7+7+4+4.5 = 36.5
7- ALEGRE (GBR), Andy Soriano, 9+7+6+3+9+3+5 = 42
8- GLADIATOR (GBR), Tony Langley, 7+8+7+8+1+8+10 (DSQ) +3 = 52
9- PROVEZZA (TUR), Ergin Imre, 8+10 (DNF)+10 (DNS)+10 (DNS)+6+5+6 = 55
Statements of the day
María Torrijo (ESP), Principal Regatta Officer:
“It was easier than I thought. The wind has always been the other way around: the first of the day was weaker and the second was good. Today I doubted at first whether to start at 2:00 p.m. or wait a bit thinking that the strongest wind could come, but my sixth sense told me: ‘girl, start, put one in your pocket, we never know what it can happen’, and indeed, I have been very lucky, because that regatta has been good. There were roles, but a little less than yesterday, and it wasn’t very intense but enough to compete. For the second, it simply died: four different winds entered and it was very easy to decide to return to land. Tomorrow the wind is forecast from the southwest and 14-15 knots early. We will start at 1:00 p.m. and we will try to do two heats”
Pedro Mas (ESP), Interlodge bow (USA):
“The southern part of the field was very calm today and calm was coming towards us, we saw it coming. Today we have had 8-9 knots, even a little more. From 7 knots we can sail. Each wind has its story: with more than 20 knots you have your problems and with less than ten you have your other problems. But we can adapt the boat to each condition: we have high and low wind mainsails, specific sails for each type of wind. The regatta field has been very complicated every day, the issue is to get out well and see the pressure quickly, before anyone else. Then there is the luck factor, that sometimes you go behind, you play it to one side and it hits you, and sometimes it doesn’t. The key is to always start well and ride in the top three.”
