Round Robin awards

We look at some of the most memorable moments and individuals in Valencia

Most inspirational starting helmsman
Jes Gram-Hansen, Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team - some most impressive plays, bold manoeuvres and only one dud start throughout the Round Robins

Most over-qualified weather boat crew
Neal McDonald and Simon Fisher (Victory Challenge). The fishing competition stood at one-all when McDonald was forced to take time off from his rod work to be by wife Lisa's side following the birth of son James (not Ronald) on Friday.



Most outstanding bravery award
George Skuodas, Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team - for getting the credit after he fished their bowman out of the water after he'd fallen in.

Most diverse range of headwear award
Mascalzone Latino (including a flat cap, bandana and navigator Nacho Postigo's ever present wide-brimmed hat - below)



Most entertaining team on the race course
Team Shosholoza, for consistently providing drama on the race course and giving the bigger teams an inappropriately tough run for their money



Most aggressive match racing moves
Chris Dickson, BMW Oracle, particularly after nailing Victory Challenge at the weather mark in RR2 Flight 4



Most improved team throughout the Round Robins:
Victory Challenge - they started Act 13 racing like weekend sailors and by the end of the round robins were performing like a Cup team

Most hushed up incident:
Victory Challenge's Hugo Stenbeck destroying the hydraulics on one of their RIB outboards while trying to drench revellers by canting said engine upwards off the Estrella Damm bar late one night.

Most promising conspiracy theories:
Ben Ainslie returning to take over the helm of a lacklustre Emirates Team New Zealand during Round Robin One; Chris Dickson deliberately dropping races (Desafio Espanol and Emirates Team New Zealand) to mess with the overall results

Most outstanding Cup acrobatics yarn:
Team Shosholoza's now skipper Mark Sadler for freeclimbing from the top spreaders to the masthead during a race (not this year) to recover the halyard he had hurriedly spiked from his harness when it became entangled with that of the spinnaker as it was being hoisted. This, we understand, was one of only two occasions Sadler has ventured aloft - we can understand why.

Most overused text in the Race Viewer:
"Race postponed"


Most impressive blag: A team member's mother who got into the exclusive Foredeck Club on another team member's pass - who was male and had been sacked a month ago.

Least talked about 18th Man:
Calvin Ayre (right), the Canadian billionaire 45 year old online gaming entrepreneur and man about town. Decided to spend a day as 18th Man on Areva Challenge turning up at the base in a vintage Bentley with two female companions.

Most magnanimous gesture:
Larry Ellison who sent ice creams over to all the crews from his superyacht Rising Sun (staffed by 50 people) while waiting for the breeze to turn up in Round Robin 1. Only BMW Oracle's opponents for the day, Luna Rossa, declined the offer.

Most enthusiastically attended media event:
Triumph underwear fashion parade at the Desafio Espanol base during Round Robin One. An opportunity to see bony teenagers in their briefs somehow struck a chord. Alinghi bowman and an expert on this subject, Jan Dekker, attended as thedailysail's photographer.

Least enthusiastically attended media event:
Provided thoughtfully by the local government here on the use of the local Valenciano language in the America's Cup.

Most imaginative publicity stunt:
United Internet Team Germany - for towing a wakeboarder along pulled only by their burly grinders. (Thank you to Thomas Grieg from Moscow for this one...)

Any other nominations - email us here