Puig Women’s America’s Cup – Day 2 – Varied Wind Conditions for Day 2 of the Puig WAC
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World NZ 6 Oct 04:51 PDT
6 October 2024
Race Start – Group B – Puig Women’s America’s Cup – October 6, 2024 © Ian Roman / America’s Cup
The six “invited” teams in the Women’s AC40, known as Group B, competed in four races during the Puig Women’s America’s Cup. Similar to Day 1 with Group A teams, the breeze in Barcelona varied in intensity, ranging from nearly calm to about 15 knots.
Unlike the Group A teams tied to an America’s Cup team, the invited crews have had limited experience with the AC40, making it intriguing to observe how elite sailors with Olympic medals adjusted to sailing these 40ft foiling monohulls.
The Dutch team, featuring 2024 Olympic 49erFX Gold medalists Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz, won consecutive races as the breeze settled. They topped the Group B leaderboard, followed by the local Spanish crew, who secured second place in the initial three races and stand second overall. The Australian crew, with inconsistent results finishing at both ends of the fleet, is third overall, just 1 point behind the local Barcelona team.
Initially, racing was paused as everyone awaited wind conditions to improve. The first race commenced with all AC40s foiling. Germany and Canada were recalled for OCS. In Race 2, both AUS and ESP were called OCS and had to restart. GER received a DSQ after veering too far out of bounds post-foiling. SWE was declared Instructed Not to Race (INR) due to a technical issue. After two races, Australia led with 15 points, while Sweden and Spain were tied with 14 points for second, followed by NED (7 points), CAN (6 points), and GER (1 point).
The breeze increased to 10-12 knots from 200°, finally shutting down the Foiling Graveyard, primarily due to crew mistakes—mostly caused by oversteering leading to rudder ventilation and washout. Canada incurred a boundary penalty, placing them at the back of the fleet for the first windward-leeward, although they managed to recover and finish third.
Nevertheless, the Canadians faced a setback with a rudder washout shortly after rounding the first mark in Race 4, falling from second to fourth place.
Race Summaries:
Race 1:
Mark 1: AUS (04m 30sec); NED (+0m 05sec); ESP (+0m 06sec); SWE (+0m 23sec); CAN (+0m 24sec); GER
Mark 2: ESP (08m 01sec); AUS (+0m 04sec); SWE (+0m 12sec); CAN (+0m 22sec); NED (+0m 38sec); GER
Mark 3: AUS (13m 31sec); ESP (+0m 03sec); SWE (+0m 08sec); CAN; NED; GER (no times)
Finish: SWE (19m 51sec); ESP (+0m 45sec); AUS 5pts; CAN 3pts; NED (Gate 2); GER (Gate 2)
Race 2:
Mark 1: AUS (04m 07sec); NED (+0m 10sec); ESP (+0m 21sec); GER (+0m 46sec); CAN (+01m 57sec); GER
Mark 2: AUS (08m 06sec); ESP (+1m 54sec);
Mark 3: AUS (12m 59sec); ESP (+01m 54sec); NED (+2m 20sec); CAN; NED; GER (no times)
Finish: AUS (16m 29sec); ESP (+1m 47sec); NED (+2m 21sec); 5pts; CAN (>2m 39sec) Times for other teams not provided
Race 3:
Mark 1: NED (03m 42sec); ESP (+0m 03sec); SWE (+0m 11sec); AUS (+0m 14sec); GER (+0m 24sec); CAN (+0m 39sec)
Mark 2: ESP (06m 48sec); NED (+0m 05sec); SWE (+0m 12sec); AUS (+0m 13sec); GER (+0m 29sec); CAN (+0m 54sec)
Mark 3: NED (11m 23sec); ESP (+0m 08sec); GER (+0m 38sec); CAN (+0m 47sec); SWE (+0m 52sec); AUS (+1m 18sec)
Finish: NED (14m 15sec); ESP (+0m 15sec); CAN (+0m 52sec); GER (+0m 52sec); SWE (+1m 00sec); AUS (+1m 33sec)
Race 4:
Mark 1: NED (04m 37sec); CAN (+0m 12sec); AUS (+0m 20sec); ESP (+0m 24sec); SWE (+0m 42sec); GER (+0m 56sec)
Mark 2: NED (08m 04sec); AUS (+0m 05sec); ESP (+0m 06sec); CAN (+0m 19sec); SWE (+0m 22sec); GER
Mark 3: NED (12m 37sec); AUS (+0m 21sec); SWE (+0m 31sec); ESP (no times)
Finish: NED (15m 03sec); AUS (+0m 06sec); SWE (+0m 20sec); ESP (1m 13sec); GER (+1m 28sec); CAN (+2m 11sec)
Points and Placings
NED 5, 3, 1, 1 27pts
ESP 2, 2, 2, 4 24pts
AUS 3, 1, 6, 2 23pts
SWE 1 INR 5, 3 21pts
CAN 4, 4, 3, 6 12pts
GER 6 DSQ, 4, 5 6pts
Points Table:
Live Video
Weather:
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Crew Lists:
