DHL Trophy
This Saturday the DHL Trophy of the RC44 Gold Cup was held in Puerto Calero, the long-distance regatta that connected Puerto Calero with the Airport and return to port, in a 15-mile course, in which the Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, skippered by Daniel Calero, achieved an outstanding second place after the Swedish Artemis of Torbjorn Tornqvist with Dean Barker, a champion of the Louis Vuitton Cup and runner-up of the America's Cup 2007, as tactician.
The Canarian boat reached the mark buoy in fourth position, in a tough fight with the Ceeref, while the Artemis and the Banco Espirito Santo, passed first and second, after some successful tactical maneuvers by Dean Barker in the first windward leg.
The battle for the lead was on, since after the Artemis was the Banco Espirito Santo, dominant in the long-distance regattas of the RC44 circuit, with Patrick de Barros at the helm and Russell Coutts as tactician.
In the middle of the course, with a buoy located at the height of the airport, passed Artemis, Banco Espirito Santo and Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, which made a great windward leg. Behind them passed the Ceeref, the Aqua and
the BMW-Oracle.
The second section of the course was decisive and when everything pointed to a photo finish between the Artemis and the Banco Espirito Santo, a crew member of the latter fell into the water and despite the quick recovery maneuver of the "man overboard", the Islas Canarias Puerto Calero overtook him to achieve a second place that a few days ago would have been unimaginable for the increasingly competitive Canarian crew, which points to an extraordinary evolution towards the February event that will inaugurate the 2009 Circuit and that will also be held in Puerto Calero.
Despite this last-minute incident, the boat of the important Portuguese businessman and sailor Patrick de Barros, one of the alma maters of the RC44, also had its reward, since the third place was enough for the Banco Espirito Santo to take the overall classification of the DHL Trophy in the RC44 circuit.
After the BES, the Ceeref entered in fourth position, which begins to touch the ground after some first days of anthology, fifth the Team Aqua and sixth the BMW-Oracle, which had a problem with the spinnaker that relegated it to the last
position.
FLEET RACING
Prior to the coastal race, two Fleet Racing races were held.
In the first one, the Aqua won, followed by the Ceeref and the Banco Espirito Santo, which made a great comeback, after being penalized for crossing the imaginary starting line prematurely by just over a second. The race was being dominated by the Artemis until it touched the buoy after the windward leg, receiving a penalty that was going to cost him dearly.
The Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, after being third throughout the leg, had problems with the spi when mounting the last pass through the windward mark and finished sixth.
In the second race, the Banco Espirito Santo won, followed by the BMW-Oracle and the Artemis, after a start with the Aqua in first place and a final jibe by the Banco Espirito Santo that gave it a tight victory against Larry Ellison's boat, on a day in which the work of Russell Coutts as tactician gave excellent results to the Portuguese boat.
In the general fleet, the Ceeref remains outstanding in the first position, second is the Banco Espirito Santo, third the BMW-Oracle and fourth the Aqua, these last three in a handkerchief, which augurs a great final day. The Islas Canarias Puerto Calero is sixth, just two points behind the fifth, the Artemis.
The wind has returned to accompany in the penultimate day of a week of dreams, blowing from the northeast between 15 and 20 knots of intensity.
For tomorrow Sunday, the last day of this exciting event, the celebration of the last three windward-leeward legs and the awards ceremony in the afternoon is planned.
FLEET RACING CLASSIFICATION
1 Ceeref (SLO), Igor Lah/James Spithill, 1-1-2-1-4-4, 15 points
2 Banco Espirito Santo (POR), Patrick de Barros/Russell Coutts,
5-4-3-3-3-1-3, 22 points
3 BMW-Oracle (USA), Larry Ellison/Mark Mendelblatt, 4-3-1-2-5-2-6, 23 points
4 Aqua (UAE), Chris Bake/Cameron Appleton, 2-2-4-4-1-6-5, 24 points
5 Artemis (SWE), Torjorn Tornqvist, 3-(DNC)-(DNC)-(DNC)-4-3-1, 32 points
6 Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP), Daniel Calero/José María Ponce,
6-5-5-5-6-5-2, 34 points