The Tuscany coast once again presented light sea breeze conditions in the third regatta session of the 52 SUPER SERIES Scarlino Sailing Week. Barely six knots of wind awaited the fleet in the Gulf of Follonica, where they were summoned to contest two races, a program that finally had to be shortened due to the instability of the weather in the area.
Photo Finish Victory
The first start of the day favored the teams that relied on the right side of the field. After the very expensive off-line of the previous day, Quantum Racing powered by American Magic got out safely while Hong Kong’s Alpha+ broke away at the front of the fleet in the opening meters. The rookie of the fleet was soon replaced by the Thai Vayu, who led the very important first step by buoy, followed by Quantum Racing and Provezza. Vayu would lead the rest of the way, but gybed too early on the final run, giving ground to his pursuers and seeing Doug DeVos’s team literally slip past him at the finish line. The difference, just four seconds for the 2022 champion, who made up for the tenth suffered the day before due to a miscalculation at the start and returned to the battle for the Italian title. Third would finish Interlodge.
Víctor Díaz de León, strategist and navigator for Quantum Racing powered by American Magic, explained upon reaching land: «It was a very even arrival with Vayu, we saw the opportunity to gybe them and we took advantage of it, it worked and we are very happy. The level of the regatta is really high, I am happy to compete here with the best in the world, although we still miss Kostecki”.
Don Whitcraft, helmsman of the Vayu, was also satisfied with the performance of his boat despite giving up the victory in extremis: “We are not disappointed, it was a very good race and we only lost at the finish line, it was very close. I think there was a little more pressure and more stable on the left side of the stern, and Quantum just missed us. We are sailing very well and looking forward to continuing competing for the next two days.”.
The threat of storms in the regatta area discouraged the organization from giving the second start of the day, sending the eleven teams back to Marina de Scarlino with five sets on their scoreboard after three days.
Sled retains the lead
The provisional for the penultimate day of racing shows the American Sled in the lead with three points ahead of the Thai Vayu of the Whitcraft family, who seems determined to become Scarlino’s surprise. Quantum Racing powered by American Magic’s win sees the defending champion move up to third, tied with Provezza and just four points off the lead.
Andrea Visintini, Sled’s navigator, summed up the feeling on board after managing to defend the lead: «We are happy, we are still leaders with a couple of points compared to the second. The conditions were difficult, but I think that in this scenario we are quite fast. Honestly, we don’t look at the classification, we go race by race and focus on what’s to come”.
2023-06-02 04:48:10
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