Alinghi struggled early on with an out-of-character fifth place in the opening race of the GC32 Lagos Cup, but the Swiss regrouped and soon rediscovered their mojo to take the last three winner’s guns of the day from five races, moving further ahead of Red Bull Sailing Team in second place overall.
The six teams couldn’t ask for more of the conditions than they experienced on the penultimate day of the GC32 Lagos Cup 1; sunny skies, flat water, moderate breeze but very shifty, meaning you could never relax for a moment.
After breaking their mast the previous day, the Swiss crew on Black Star Sailing Team were looking for redemption. They didn’t have to wait too long, finishing third in the first race and then firing their first Lagos bullet in the next. A good bounce back by Christian Zuerrer and his resilient team.
“It feels great,” said Zuerrer, “and only possible for us to race again today because all the teams helped us on the water yesterday without any major damage to the mast.
“I’m really grateful to Zoulou for lending the bottom section of their spare mast to us. Our whole team made a great effort, a long night shift to set up the new mast by the morning. Sopramar Nautical Centre did a great job helping us with the craning in the mast.”
What a return to form for Black Star: “We wanted to come back with a bullet, unfortunately the wind shift was not with us in the first race, but then we got our bullet in the second race. We’re aiming for the podium tomorrow,” Zuerrer said.
Red Bull Sailing Team from Austria holds second place overall with 43 points, Team Rockwool Racing from Denmark is third on 47, Black Star on 51 and French team Zoulou on 55.
In such shifty conditions on the Algarve coast, expect some reshuffling of the pack on the final day. Although Swiss Foiling Academy struggled to make an impact on the fleet today, the young team continue to learn and show great determination to raise their game.
