2024 44Cup Nanny Cay – Day 2
by 44Cup 22 Nov 16:08 PST
20-24 November 2024
Conditions in the St Francis Drake Channel of the British Virgin Islands saw improvement today; although still shifty due to the islands’ presence and tropical clouds above, the wind picked up to 9-13 knots. The race course was repositioned so that the starting area was right off Road Town, the capital of Tortola. Racing commenced an hour early at 1100 to optimize the available breeze.
After a slow beginning to her regatta, Vladimir Prosikhin’s Team Nika, currently leading the 2024 44Cup, rebounded today, climbing from an unusual seventh place yesterday to fourth at the halfway point of the 44Cup Nanny Cay. Team Nika achieved an impressive 2-2-2 score, making it the highest-scoring boat today unlike yesterday.
“We didn’t do anything extraordinary – in these conditions, a lot depends on luck,” Prosikhin remarked. “We faced challenges at two starts – they were quite tricky, but we executed well, and after that, we had freedom for Nic [Asher, tactician] to choose the right sides and shifts. It was still very shifty and variable, but we managed to hold our ground, and it was good.”
Regarding the incredible Caribbean setting for the 2024 44Cup, Prosikhin shared: “I expected J2 conditions [higher trade winds], but the scenery, the water at 29 degrees Celsius, the Caribbean… it’s fantastic.”
Tactician Nic Asher also noted that they hadn’t changed much compared to yesterday, yet the results were significantly better. “Hopefully, we’ve cleared the worst – we had one poor start and didn’t effectively catch up,” he reflected on yesterday’s performance. On today’s races he added: “In the second race, we got a huge right off the line – it was a bit chaotic, but solid enough. During the last race, we had an unusual start with Ceeref in the middle. We attempted to surge, but we both ended up late for the start. We tried to push them back slightly to free ourselves, and we executed well to make our way back through.”
“Today, the ‘freedom to take the shifts’ was crucial – that was the main difference. The shifts were quite significant – you thought you understood them and their oscillation, yet they could suddenly do something completely unexpected.”
Today brought two new race winners. In the first race, Christian Zuerrer’s Black Star Sailing Team emerged victorious. Tactician Cameron Dunn explained: “There was a gap by the committee boat – we went right for a bit but then caught a significant right shift, crossing everyone and carrying that all the way to the left lay line where we met better pressure than the rest of the fleet, which allowed us to come back with a slight lead. The next leg became tricky as we split; we went hard left while Nika and the rest went hard right, but we ultimately regrouped. The shifts today were up to 30 degrees – very dynamic.”
In the second race, John Bassadone steered his light blue-hulled Peninsula Racing to victory. Like Team Aqua, Peninsula Racing is a new RC44 this year, and the team, guided by tactician Vasco Vascotto, is gradually finding their footing. “There are a few aspects not functioning as they should, but that’s typical for a new boat. We’re progressing,” Bassadone noted.
In the race Peninsula Racing won, Team Nika had a strong lead as they approached the top mark but maintained this only until the leeward gate. However, Bassadone’s crew enjoyed a lift that enabled them to surpass Team Nika at the top mark. A close match race unfolded during the last run, and although Vascotto initially maintained his strategy, allowing Team Nika to separate, Prosikhin’s team could not capitalize on this, and Peninsula Racing crossed the finish line to secure their first win of the regatta.
Interestingly, Bassadone was almost more pleased with their sixth-place finish in today’s first race: “We were dead last at the first mark. It proves there are shifts available out there where one can make a difference. Nothing’s over!”
Once again, Pietro Loro Piana’s Aleph Racing, helmed by Hugues Lepic, clinched the last race (as they did yesterday). They executed this almost flawlessly, heading left after the start and pressing hard thereafter.
However, the standout performance so far has been that of the consistently high-performing Artemis Racing. Though Torbjörn Törnqvist’s team has not clinched a race yet, they haven’t placed worse than fourth, showcasing remarkable consistency from substitute helm Sarah Gunderson, tactician Hamish Pepper, main sheet trimmer Iain Percy, and the team.
Yet, as Cameron Dunn points out, “There are still six challenging races ahead!”
Racing will kick off again at 1100 Atlantic Standard Time (UTC -4).
2024 44Cup Nanny Cay: (after 6 races)
1. Artemis Racing – 2 4 2 3 4 4 – 19pts
2. Charisma – 1 1 3 4 5 6 – 20pts
3. Team CEEREF Vaider – 4 2 4 5 3 5 – 23pts
4. Team Nika – 5 9 5 2 2 2 – 25pts
5. Peninsula Racing – 3 5 9 6 1 3 – 27pts
6. Aleph Racing – 8 6 1 7 6 1 – 29pts
7. Black Star Sailing Team – 9 3 7 1 8 8 – 36pts
8. Team Aqua – 6 8 8 8 7 7 – 44pts
9. WOW! Sailing Team – 7 7 6 9 9 9 – 47 pts
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 – 27 pts
