Star Sailors League: In the heart of the action on Day 2 of the SSL Gold Cup 1/16 Finals

Fleet 1 – Race 2

The start was all action, with Estonia squeezing out the two yachts from Malaysia and Austria at the committee boat end, which gave Chile the opportunity to get away cleanly, leading from start to finish. Well-oiled teamwork by the Chilean ‘Finis Terrae Sailors’ saw them keep the boat moving in the tough waves and maintain a 100 metre lead over the following pack.

Malaysia beautifully timed a lee-bow tack to overtake Estonia on the first upwind leg, but the Estonian ‘Icebreakers’ kept their cool to power back past the Malaysian ‘Monsoon’ and finish second.

Austria once again struggled at the back of the fleet. As leader Chile rounded the second windward mark, the ‘Austrian Eagles’ were almost a kilometre behind.

Fleet 2 – Race 2

With the wind dropping off, keeping the yachts moving became imperative, especially with the difficult swell. It’s hot out here in Gran Canaria, but cool and smooth was the order of the day.

At the start, Hungary and Finland weren’t making it easy for Tahiti, who were at the pin end and tried to pull off a hard luff on the Hungarian ‘Shamans’, but ‘The Black Pearls’ ended up wallowing in the wind shadow of the windward yacht. Protest flags were flown on both boats, but the on the water umpires saw no reason to give either team a penalty.

This poor start showed the pressure was finally telling on the previously undefeated Tahitian team. Would they pull themselves together or had they reached breaking point?

The race briefly saw the reverse order from yesterday towards the leeward mark with Finland leading, Hungary second, Bermuda third and Tahiti lagging behind in last.

On the final downwind leg Hungary came in to take the win, with Tahiti staging an epic comeback to just pip Finland on the finish line. ‘The Black Pearls’ string of five wins came to an end, but they’ve maintained top spot on the Fleet 2 leaderboard with their runners-up result.

Fleet 3 – Race 2

There was disaster for Race 1 winners Croatia on the start, who were unable to slow down enough at the pin end, having to gybe away behind the line, leaving them 100 metres behind from the off. In these light winds comebacks are hard work, so getting off the line cleanly is paramount.

South Africa took full advantage of Croatia’s mistake and pulled away from the fleet to take a massive win.

The Croatian team were clutching at straws on the first lap, banging the corners both upwind and down, before realising they needed to rely on their boatspeed and tactics on the second lap, rather than trying to catch a lucky break. By then though they were 200 metres from the lead and had it all to do, but superb use of the wind shifts propelled them up to second at the final windward mark.

‘Team Ubuntu’ sang their way across the finish line, celebrating wildly, while Portugal retook second from Croatia on the downwind leg, while Antigua & Barbuda’s languished in last place again. ‘The Rum Runners’ need to rediscover their mojo fast to get back in the running.

Fleet 4 – Race 2

Lithuania emerged as the front-runner at the first gate, closely followed by Slovenia, Canada and Japan. Despite a few tactical manoeuvres shaking up the order, the teams more or less maintained their positions throughout the race right up until the finish line, making it a second win in a row for the Lithuanian ‘Ambers’.

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Text and images courtesy of Star Sailors League. Read the full release on the Star Sailors League website.