Puerto Calero
On the fourth day of the Puerto Calero Islas Canarias RC 44, three windward-leeward races were held, as well as the DHL Trophy, which rewards the winner of the coastal race.
The great protagonist was undoubtedly Chris Bake's Team Aqua, which took the lead in the overall fleet standings and also took the DHL Trophy by winning the coastal race.
Second place is now for the Swede Torbjorn Tornqvist's Artemis and third for the Slovenian Igor Lah's Ceeref.
The wind was capricious again, blowing softly with many shifts and
some holes, which caused several course changes and
surprises with victories from some of the boats that a priori were less likely to be in the top positions.
The first race of the day started with two boats over the line, Daniel Calero's BMW-Oracle and Igor Lah's Ceeref, which started early and had to return to the imaginary starting line. This and the lack of wind meant that their chances for
victory were gone. Chris Bake's Team Aqua was the dominant force in the race
taking the first partial victory, followed by the Swede's Artemis
Torbjorn Tornqvist, which temporarily took the lead after BMW-Oracle finished sixth. Among the Spanish boats, Carlos Morales' Islas Canarias Puerto Calero 2 was third, while José Juan Calero's boat finished in fourth position.
In the second race the wind continued to shift to the point that the last leg of the theoretical downwind was sailed upwind, after a wind shift of 180 degrees. The big beneficiary of the situation was the Dutchman Pieter Hereema's No Way Back, who after starting last behind the entire fleet arrived first at the windward mark, a position he never relinquished until the end. The only moment where his lead could have been in danger was at the first leeward mark rounding where José Juan Calero's Islas Canarias overtook him next to the buoy but was penalized by the jury as the Dutch boat was on starboard tack. Ponce's team penalized themselves, losing their chances of winning the race. After No Way Back, Artemis came in second position and Team Aqua in third. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero 1 was fifth and 2 sixth.
In the third race of the day and with the wind blowing from the east, the Race Committee changed its position and gave the start in front of Playa Quemada. On this occasion it was Maciej Nawrocki's Team Organika who brilliantly took the victory after leading the entire race with solvency. They were followed by Team Aqua, in their line of regularity throughout the day, and Islas Canarias Puerto Calero 2.
DHL Trophy
Although the wind conditions were not the best and with a shower
approaching the race course, the Committee opted to start the
DHL coastal race with a longer than usual windward-leeward course. The start was given, but immediately the Committee made a general recall as there was a significant shift. Once the wind was re-established, the final start of the coastal race was given with a seven-mile course.
Team Aqua was the winner, followed by Team Organika and the Swedish Artemis.
The two Spanish boats could not repeat the second place achieved last December in this same Trophy, with the boat skippered by José Juan Calero occupying sixth position and Carlos Morales' boat seventh.
Tomorrow, Sunday, the Puerto Calero Islas Canarias RC 44 Cup will conclude with the celebration of the last windward-leeward races, from which the first leader of the RC 44 Championship Tour will emerge, who will travel to Sardinia (Italy) for its second event of the year.
PROVISIONAL FLEET CLASSIFICATION
1 Team Aqua (UAE), Chris Bake, 3-6-1-3-2-0, 15 points
2 Artemis (SWE), Torbjorn Tornqvist, 4-2-2-2-4-4, 18 points
3 Ceeref (SLO), Igor Lah, 2-3-6-4-6-8, 29 points
4 Team Organika (POL), Maciej Nawrocki, 8-5-7-7-1-2, 30 points
5 BMW-Oracle (USA), Daniel Calero, 1-4-5-8-7-6, 31 points
6 Puerto Calero Islas Canarias 1, José Juan Calero, 5-1-4-5-8-10, 33
points
7 Islas Canarias Puerto Calero 2, Carlos Morales, 6-8-3-7-7-1-12, 37
points
8 No Way Back (NED) ,Pieter Heerema, 7-7-8-1-5-14, 42 points
*In bold the points of the DHL Trophy, which also counts towards the overall classification of the fleet races