Ben Ainslie takes charge

Brit 1-2-3 after day two of the JP Morgan Asset Management Finn Gold Cup

Monday May 14th 2012, Author: Robert Deaves, Location: United Kingdom

It was a great day for the British sailors on the second day for the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Finn Gold Cup in Falmouth. Ben Ainslie won the opening race to take the overall lead while Ed Wright dropped to second and Andrew Mills had another good day to move up to third. The second race of the day was won by Chris Cook (CAN).

The big question for the sailors today was whether to favour the left or the right. With dark clouds, moderate to strong winds and intermittent rain all day, there were some big gains to be made by choosing the correct side. Race officer Peter Reggio was delighted that the 94 boat fleet got away cleanly on both starts at the first attempt, perhaps an indication that they didn't want to hang around any longer than necessary in the inclement conditions.

The left side was favoured on the first beat with overnight leader Ed Wright (GBR) leading round the top mark from Andrew Mills and Anders Pedersen (NOR). Jonathan Lobert (FRA) then found more pressure on the right on the first downwind to take the lead at the gate from Ainslie and Wright.

On the second upwind, Ainslie and Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) favoured the right side and rounded the top mark in the lead. Mills moved from third into second on the final downwind with Ainslie extending for a second race win to the the overall lead of the championship.

Race four started very quickly with the left side again proving popular. This time Mark Andrews (GBR) led Ainslie round the top mark, but they went the wrong way on the first downwind, while Pieter-Jan Postma (NED) found more pressure in the right to round the gate ahead of Lobert and Chris Cook (CAN).

The second upwind sealed the fate of many with a big right hand shift as the clouds cleared. Cook was just under the leading bunch and lifted up to the mark to lead down the final run. Lobert went high and Postma went low, but Ainslie found a way through in third. At the finish, they were separated by no more than 20 boat lengths, with Cook taking a well deserved win from Lobert and Ainslie.

Ainslie said: “It was really tough out there today, it was quite windy, a lot of rain and low visibility so it was a difficult day for everyone and physically a real challenge. In the first race a front came through with quite a big wind shift to the right hand side, and made it a little bit difficult, but that’s part of the challenge of sailing in these conditions. In the second race I went the wrong way, there was a big clump down the right hand side and also the wind shifted a little bit to the right. It was a difficult run but I managed to contain the loss and then catch up with the rest of the race so I overall I’m happy with my day. It was great racing out there despite difficult conditions.”

After a good day, Jonas Hogh-Christensen (DEN) moved up to fourth overall. “It was pretty shifty out there, but actually pretty good racing. In the last race we got a big shift in the end and that kind of ended the race for most but I think pretty much the both races were fair. I got a terrible start in the first race but I managed to claw my way back and finished in fourth. The second race was pretty much the same story, but I lost a couple because of that big shift and had a sixth so it was a pretty good day, could have been a little better, but I’m pretty satisfied.”

Someone who also had a better day was Postma. “Today we had two good races; it was interesting. I haven’t found my rhythm yet, but today was better. On the last run I let Ben through, sometimes you have to be gentleman! When the wind changed they put a change of mark but it was not clear where we should go so it was not really clear where the finishing line was, so I had a little bit of difficulty to find it.”

Race four winner, Cook said, “On the first beat I thought that the right side was going to have something in it, I think it’s the typical thing that’s been happening in all the races is a little bit of left and a little bit of right, it’s just how you play your side. So I got to the top in decent shape, and I got to the right side of the run as fast as I could and the pressure filled in from there and it sort of set up the opportunity to round with the top guys. Then the second beat again I was worried about the right side and I was forced to the left gate, I was up quite a bit on the right so I just had to wait. I got in front just in time for that big right shift and then it was a nice easy reach on the way in.”

Lobert is up to fifth overall, “In the first race I was leading at the downwind mark and on the second beat I didn’t manage very well. I lost a lot of places so I finished sixth. In the second race I was leading again, so I said this time I need to take care and not miss the shift, so I was playing more on the right hand side. I saw this rain coming on and then this light, stopping the rain so it means that usually it’s going to the right hand side so I was playing more on the right. But I was a little bit too much on the right so two guys managed to pass me at the top mark, then on the last downwind it was freaky because we didn’t see the finishing line so we were all looking around wondering where the finishing line was. I managed to end up second though so I am very happy with that.”

So after day two in Falmouth, The British team fill the top three places, while behind them the form is beginning to establish itself. Several top sailors had better results today so there could be a significant change after Tuesday's two races, again scheduled for 11.00. The forecast is for some sunshine, and strong winds. At least some in the already tired fleet will be thankful for the sunshine.

Top 50 results:

Pos	SailNo	Helm	R1	R2	R3	R4	Tot	Net

1	GBR 3	AINSLIE Ben	1	3	1	3	8	8
2	GBR 11	WRIGHT Edward	2	1	5	7	15	15
3	GBR 85	MILLS Andrew	4	8	2	11	25	25
4	DEN 2	HOEGH-CHRISTENSEN Jonas	14	9	4	6	33	33
5	FRA 112	LOBERT Jonathan	25	2	6	2	35	35
6	CAN 41	COOK Christopher	8	12	16	1	37	37
7	POL 17	KULA Piotr	9	10	8	15	42	42
8	FIN 218	NIRKKO Tapio	6	22	9	8	45	45
9	NED 842	POSTMA PieterJan	22	14	11	4	51	51
10	AUS 1	CASEY Brendan	13	25	7	9	54	54
11	EST 2	KARPAK Deniss	5	5	20	26	56	56
12	CRO 524	KLJAKOVIC GASPIC Ivan	26	16	3	12	57	57
13	POL 7	SZUKIEL Rafal	3	20	22	16	61	61
14	CAN 5	DOUGLAS Greg	34	7	15	13	69	69
15	USA 4	RAILEY Zach	15	15	10	32	72	72
16	SWE 11	BIRGMARK Daniel	24	17	17	14	72	72
17	NZL 1	SLATER Dan	12	24	13	27	76	76
18	UKR 1	BORYSOV Oleksiy	30	4	26	18	78	78
19	GBR 88	ANDREWS Mark	33	23	12	10	78	78
20	ESP 100	TRUJILLO Rafael	31	39	14	5	89	89
21	AUT 3	RAUDASCHL Florian	29	11	21	35	96	96
22	RUS 9	SKORNYAKOV Eduard	20	42	24	19	105	105
23	AUS 261	TWEDDELL Oliver	16	43	23	24	106	106
24	CZE 1	MAIER Michael	10	37	31	30	108	108
25	NED 83	HAGOORT Timo	35	21	28	25	109	109
26	NED 841	VAN EGMOND Hein	11	41	42	17	111	111
27	USA 619	PAINE Caleb	37	27	27	20	111	111
28	CZE 85	VIKA Tomas	17	19	39	44	119	119
29	GER 151	MILLER Matthias	23	13	30	54	120	120
30	BRA109	ZARIF Jorge	50	6	35	31	122	122
31	UKR 5	GUSENKO Andrii	43	18	40	21	122	122
32	CHN 1226	GONG Lei	21	31	33	38	123	123
33	CAN 110	ROBITAILLE Martin	18	33	29	45	125	125
34	NZL 8	COUTTS Matt	45	35	36	22	138	138
35	RUS 1	SELIVANOV Alexey	7	34	52	48	141	141
36	CRO 11	OLUJIC Josip	36	55	34	23	148	148
37	SWE 6	ALLANSSON Bjorn	64	26	19	42	151	151
38	TUR 21	KAYNAR Alican	32	30	25	64	151	151
39	HUN 6	PAL Gaszton	39	29	43	46	157	157
40	NOR 1	PEDERSEN Anders	44	46	18	55	163	163
41	CRO 671	BILIC Tudor	48	47	38	36	169	169
42	CAN 902	WILTON Brendan	46	32	55	39	172	172
43	CYP 19	PAPADOPOULOS Haris	47	44	48	33	172	172
44	GBR 29	MCCOY Peter	42	59	37	47	185	185
45	TUR 7	MUSLUBAS Akif	27	28	51	83	189	189
46	IND 11	JOHAL Nachhatar	38	38	62	52	190	190
47	GBR 18	HADDEN James	70	36	47	41	194	194
48	HUN 8	BELICZAY Marton	54	51	64	29	198	198
49	CHN 43	ZHEN Li	40	45	44	71	200	200
50	SWE 89	AXELSSON Andreas	41	63	60	37	201	201