44Cup Nanny Cay 2024 – Day 1
by 44Cup 21 Nov 17:11 PST
20-24 November 2024
Despite a discouraging forecast, Tortola delivered for the opening day of the 44Cup Nanny Cay, with PRO Maria Torrijo and the race team from the Royal BVI Yacht Club overseeing three races conducted in 6-14 knots from the east to southeast.
It was a challenging day for Vladimir Prosikhin’s Team Nika, the current leader of the 2024 44Cup, who ended the first day of this final event in a disappointing seventh position. They recorded two fifths and a ninth in the second race after being locked out behind the race committee boat, thus starting late.
With three days left in the 44Cup Nanny Cay, all attention is on Team Nika’s results and Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref Vaider, which must finish five places ahead to take the 2024 title from Team Nika. Currently, Lah’s team is positioned third while Team Nika sits seventh.
The highlight of the day was the defending champion of the 44Cup, Nico Poons’ Charisma. The Dutch team secured a podium finish in all three races, claiming victory in the first two and concluding the day with a three-point lead over Torbjörn Törnqvist’s Artemis Racing.
Poons disembarked in Nanny Cay but refrained from counting his early victories. “Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t – today it worked,” he reflected. “I prefer more wind, but it is what it is. So far, so good. Let’s see on Sunday!” Charisma has not been as consistent this season, winning in Marstrand but otherwise earning mid-fleet finishes, currently placing fifth overall.
In the first race, Charisma trailed Artemis Racing to the top mark, but Poons bore off as the Swedish RC44 held starboard longer. As Artemis Racing became trapped in traffic, Charisma led into the leeward gate, ahead of John Bassadone’s Peninsula Racing. Opting for the favored left side on the second beat, they marginally extended their lead at the top mark as Artemis Racing and Team Ceeref Vaider battled for second. Charisma finished 1 minute 12 seconds ahead of Artemis and Ceeref, who were separated by just one second.
In the second race, the trio that started at the pin and headed left fared best, including 44Cup newcomers Mehmet Taki’s Wow! team from Turkey. At the top mark, Team Ceeref Vaider led Charisma, with Christan Zuerrer’s Black Star Sailing Team, Wow!, and Artemis Racing contesting for third.
This time, Team Ceeref Vaider gybed early while Charisma remained on starboard. When Charisma finally gybed, they were able to soak down, ultimately only requiring a short hitch on starboard to lead at the gate. Charisma held the lead over Team Ceeref Vaider and Black Star Sailing Team for the rest of the lap, winning by 31 seconds.
“We didn’t make any significant mistakes,” said Charisma tactician Andy Horton. “We didn’t lead either race at the first mark, but we just chipped away. There’s usually enough sailing left to be done when it becomes puffy and shifty, so there’s no need to win the start.”
In the final race, Aleph Racing went left from the start but gained on its long starboard leg across the course. This provided them with a slight edge at the top over Artemis Racing and Charisma, with Wow! performing admirably in fourth. These positions remained through the next lap, with Artemis Racing effectively blocking Charisma’s advance towards the finish.
This concluded a fine day for Hugues Lepic’s Aleph Racing, with Pietro Loro Piana steering. “We encountered challenges – my mistakes complicated matters for my crew more than they needed to be on a day as shifty as this,” admitted Loro Piana. “In the first start, I was too deep and couldn’t respond quickly enough to Michele [Ivaldi, tactician], and in the second, Vasco [Vascotto on Peninsula Racing] pushed us and Nika out. Nonetheless, we kept pushing, and the crew did an amazing job to snag a few extra points.”
Finally, fortune favored them in the third race. “Michele did a fantastic job navigating a couple of shifts, and Paul [Wilcox, mainsail trimmer] helped us through some intense moments. The boat is fast, and the crew continues to perform superbly as always.”
Regarding the British Virgin Islands venue, Loro Piana remarked: “Back home, it’s 3 degrees C with fog and snow. Here, it’s 32 degrees C with white sandy beaches and cold beers awaiting us – I couldn’t ask for more. I hope the usual trade winds make their appearance on Sunday.”
Michele Ivaldi added, “It was incredibly tricky, very patchy with lanes of pressure and shifts today. There was significant long oscillation in the breeze, with a few sizable right puffs lasting half the race before reverting. It shifted from 80-85 degrees to almost 120 degrees.”
To optimize the breeze, racing will commence an hour earlier tomorrow, with the first warning signal at 1100 Atlantic Standard Time (UTC -4).
2024 44Cup Nanny Cay results (after 3 races):
1. Charisma – 1 1 3 – 5pts
2. Artemis Racing – 2 4 2 – 8pts
3. Team CEEREF Vaider – 4 2 4 – 10pts
4. Aleph Racing – 8 6 1 – 15pts
5. Peninsula Racing – 3 5 9 – 17pts
6. Black Star Sailing Team – 9 3 7 – 19pts
7. Team Nika – 5 9 5 – 19pts
8. WOW! Sailing Team – 7 7 6 – 20pts
9. Team Aqua – 6 8 8 – 22pts
2024 44Cup Overall Ranking (after four events with one discard):
1. Team Nika – 1 2 7 1 – 4pts
2. Team CEEREF Vaider – 2 4 6 2 – 8pts
3. Artemis Racing – 8 1 2 8 – 11pts
4. Aleph Racing – 5 5 3 4 – 12pts
5. Charisma – 6 7 1 5 – 12pts
6. Black Star Sailing Team – 7 3 8 3 – 13pts
7. Team Aqua – 4 8 4 6 – 14pts
8. Peninsula Racing – 3 6 5 7 – 15pts
9. Calero Sailing Team – 9 9 10 9 – 27pts
