Movistar moves ahead again

Four boats still in the frame on the penultimate day of the TP52 racing at the Copa del Rey-Agua Brava

The start of the Copa del Rey's coastal race in the Bay of Palma was made in a breeze of 12-13 knots taking the TP52 fleet out to a mark set at Cape Enderrocat, then on to Cabo Blanco, Island of Sech, and back to the finish line in front of Palma’s Cathedral. The course was approxiately 30 miles long.

Siemens, skippered by Jim Allsop made the strongest start, although a wind shift on the upwind leg pushed them back to the tail of the fleet. Soon after Bribon took the lead which she maintained for the rest of the race. Behind Jose Cusi’s boat, Atalanti rounded the offset mark, followed by a compact group of Movistar, Orlanda-Olympus, Caixa Galicia, Lexus and Bambakou - all fighting for the third place a boatlength of each other.

The fleet then hoisted their Code Zeros and headed for Cape Regana. The difficult trim of this sail made for complex situations throughout the fleet but Bribon and Movistar made the best of this and continued to lead the fleet. Caixa Galicia’s hopes were dashed when she was forced to take a complicated penalty turn with her Code Zero hoisted.

Bribón crossed the finish line first, followed by MoviStar, returning them to the lead in the overall rankings. Orlanda Olympus was third, followed by Atalanti XV, Lexus-Quantum, Aifos, Cristabella, Caixa Galicia, Siemens, Bambakou and Balearia.

"It's really been a 'bad day at the office' today," admitted Dee Smith, tactician on Caixa Galicia. "We had a problem at one of the buoys and the penalty made us lose the race. Mathematically, we still have a chance of winning tomorrow, but it's tough."

Conversely former Star World Champion Ross MacDonald, tactician on Bribon, was pleased with their victory in the coastal race. "It's been a great race, and we really enjoyed it. The key to the race was the first upwind leg - we went to the right of the course, as well as a small shift in wind, put us in the lead from start to finish."

Tomorrow on the final day of racing, four boats are still in the fight for first place. "The battle is very tough, with four possible boats to win. The tactics for tomorrow will be simple, but at the same time complex...sail as relaxed as we have today," said Vasco Vascotto, skipper of Movistar, on their possible victory tomorrow.

Results

1.MoviStar 10, 10, 5, 6, 8, 11, 10 (60)
2.Lexus Quantum Racing 5, 11, 11, 11, 7, 7 (59)
3.Atalanti XV 4, 9, 8, 9,9, 10 , 8 (57)
4.Caixa Galicia 11, 8, 10, 8, 4, 9, 4, (54)
5.Cristabella 8, 7, 9, 10, 1, 2, 5 (42)
6.Orlanda-Olympus 3, 4, 7, 7,10, 8 , 9 (48)
7.Bribón 7, 3, 4, 5, 11, 5, 11 (46)
8.Bambakou 6, 6, 6, 4,6, 3, 2 (33)
9.Siemens 9, 2, 2, 2,2,6, 3 (26)
10. Aifos 2, 1, 3, 3,5, 1 , 6 (21)
11.Balearia 1, 5, 1, 1, 3, 4, 1 (16)